Tree Trimmin

So many things to do, so little time...

Our trees needed trimming. Bad. 

Maybe it doesn't look so bad to you but we had a few problems with the situation. The limbs over the driveway were pretty low. Our moving truck didn't even have a foot to spare when we moved in. The limbs over the house were also very low. In various areas limbs had been trimmed, but they weren't taken all the way back to the branch collar (the spot where the branch splits from its parent branch or the trunk), leaving us with rotted stubs. Finally, the right side of the front and side was so overgrown that it was like a dark little forest cave. In the back we had similar low limb problems over the shop and shed.

It was just bad news bears to have that many low limbs over the house and sheds with all the hurricanes we have around here. We knew this would be a big job but we were up for the task. With three large oak trees, tall palm trees, and a few other miscellaneous trees up high in the sky, we decided that renting a man lift was the way to go. I'll tell you up front...totally worth the money!!!

We hit a good rhythm with the front oak and were getting things done just as planned. We only ran into one minor whoops. The limb over the driveway was by far the biggest limb we took down.We went along in sections so we didn't kill our driveway, made sure the lift was properly positioned, and were using ropes to direct falls. Unfortunately, we had a 'flop' as I like to call it. This huge piece hit the ground just fine and flopped toward the driveway. That was all well and good, but it was a few inches to long and caught the edge of the driveway and smooshed a bit of the concrete.  

Didn't see it? Yeaaahhh, its only about two inches, but it made me so sad because we were on track for a perfect record! Trust me, I'm beyond thankful that we got the job done safely and that no one got hurt :)

I suppose we had another casualty because if you glance at the background of the picture up there with the large limbs in it, you will notice that the big one in the back crushed some of our plants in front of the oak. Oops, they will bounce back!

We completely finished the front yard on day one!

Epic difference! And yes, I just said that. And no, our tree isn't dead. It is just the last oak tree to the 'lets drop all of our leaves and grow new leaves' party. Its just now sprouting new leaves while our neighbors trees are full and lush. Slow and steady, buddy, slow and steady. 

We tackled the back yard on day two and it also went really well. Some highlights: 

The Engineer stretching the legs of the lift and trimming above our beloved light post. What are the chances we can get that removed? One of the oddities of our home haha!

The before and after of the shop:

This one is a little difficult to tell because of the rough lighting in the before picture. If you remember from this post The Engineer had already trimmed a few low branches the day we worked on that corner of the yard. 

The before and after of the shed:

The area above the shed opened up very nicely, much better than the pictures portray. We also removed that bush tree thing to the left of the shed. It was a mean thorn infested plant covered in a thorn infested vine. Seriously. It looks and feels so much better now. 

The removal of the dead tree trunk:

The awesome mulch pile that is now where that trunk used to be:

The next weekend we rented a wood chipper because we had SO much on the ground. 

So so much, the pile practically covered the backyard. It was worth it though to get the chipper to not only get rid of all our branches and small limbs but now we don't have to buy mulch when we get around to out bed areas. Win! 

Trimming the trees made such a big difference and it was a big item to check off the list. I'm so glad we got it done before the hot summer months and before the hurricanes rolled. in. We are starting to love our yard now. We really can't wait until we get sod in. :)