And They All Fell Down!

In my last post I mentioned that we were ready for bigger projects. Our latest project was so big that we had to call in the professionals to help. After last year's lumberjack 'oops' back by the shed, we figured that it was best to hire someone to cut down the two gigantic white pine trees near the house and garden shed. One of the trees had grown into two with a huge trunk, and the other one was leaning in the wrong direction. The guys we used didn't use a truck or boom to top the trees, they actually climbed up and cut limbs along the way.

Then large sections were cut on the way down. We give the climber a lot of credit for this dangerous job, and he sure got himself into some precarious positions, toting a chainsaw too!
When the trees hit the ground it felt like an earthquake hit, rattling the windows. I can't believe I caught these mid-air pictures of portions of the trees falling down.


If the photos look rather mono-chromatic or even black and white, that's just how the day was. In fact, there was thunder in the distance and it poured rain for awhile. It never even slowed down the crew. Of course being that high up on a tree with thunder would make ME work fast too!

Once the trees had fallen, it was time for us to take over and clean up the mess. Hercules to the rescue! Karl and Dave chained the huge sections and skidded them away to be put to use as part of the motorcycle trials course Dave wants to make.

Meanwhile, I hand lugged mounds of branches into the woods. Later Dave used the New Holland tractor to bucket load and rake the small stuff up. Afterwards we were a sticky mess, since these trees constantly ooze sap. No wonder white pines aren't used for much except paper and turpentine.

Unfortunately, while hauling away the logs, Hercules started making some increasingly noisy knocking sounds and spewed out antifreeze. These are not good signs. I think that Hercules is out of commission for awhile, which will put several of our other projects on hold. Needless to say, Dave is a bit depressed, especially since he has only put 10 hours on it since we bought it late last summer. At least we still have the New Holland for smaller jobs (and I can drive it!), but lacks the power needed for some chores. I'll try and keep you posted on whether Hercules gets his strength back.