A Tree Falls—Again

The husband went out yesterday morning to let the pigs out, and when he came back, he said, “There is a tree hanging over the path to the garden, so watch when you go out there.”

Of course, I had to go look:

It’s a skinny grand fir, but you can see it leaning from bottom right to top left in the pic.

I walked to the other side and got a reverse angle shot. These trees tend to rot at the bottom and then shear off in the slightest breeze.

The fir got hung up in this mountain maple, which is another tree I dislike. They aren’t “trees” so much as they are a collection of branches sticking up from the ground. About their only use is for cushioning the fall of bigger trees. This maple kept the fir from taking out our little bridge.

[Krause Creek runs near our house. Many years ago, before the creek was diverted (in the 70s, maybe?) Krause Creek actually ran through our property. The old creek bed is still visible. The bridge in the picture goes over that old creek bed.]

I positioned myself in a safe spot and watched the proceedings. The husband cut the tree at the base, first, to see where it would go. It was pretty well hung up in that maple, so it didn’t do much except cantilever up and down. He worked back and forth from either end and got most of it cut up.

And then he surgically dissected what was left of the fir from within the maple. I commented that I wouldn’t be too busted up to see that maple disappear if that made his job easier, but it’s fire season and we don’t want to add to the existing brush. He said we could re-evaluate this fall when we’re cleaning up the property.

It was hot and windy yesterday. Today is “supposed” to be the last hot day—not as hot as yesterday, though—before we get rain and cooler temps tomorrow. Let’s hope. I am going to get done what I can while it’s cool this morning. I’ve got to get my serger class handout written up, too. The cooler weather coming up is going to make it much easier to finish the garden cleanup for the garden tour.

I am still figuring out the finer points of the dehydrator, like exactly how long it takes to dry cherries, but I can tell that it’s going to be a useful piece of equipment.