Bringing more direct sunlight into our house, protecting our investment by allowing the sun to dry the roof and walls, and improving our curb appeal are just a few of the reasons why yesterday we had our four 80-year-old white spruce trees trimmed. I first wrote about this back in May when we got the estimate. Tuesday we had just been talking about this, and yesterday I saw two doors down the same guy who had given us the estimate. Seemed like as good a time as any to have the work done. And I’m really glad we did.
As with anything else, it will take some getting used to, but I really think it was the right thing to do. Having the branches of the four giant trees trimmed up about ten-plus feet really opens up our yard and our property (a fifth skinny and not-so-healthy tree was cut down altogether). Not only do we get more sunlight and got the drooping branches out of our yard and off the roof, but it just feels bigger and more open.
It was amazing watching the team of four tree professionals in action. The climber and branch cutter, with 20 years of experience, scaled the trees with a rope and chainsaw — no helmet or other support. I watched in awe as he literally swung from tree to tree with a running chainsaw dangling by his side. He stood gracefully on one branch while cutting off others, letting them fall to the team below, who used another chainsaw to make them smaller before shoving them into the wood chipper temporarily parked in our driveway. It was pretty awesome to behold and the whole operation was done in less than three hours. The smell of fresh sawdust was a nice feature.
(Photos, from top, are of the biggest tree before (May 11, 2005), during, and after yesterday’s tree trimming.)
