Saying goodbye to some mature trees = sad but necessary.

[AJB Temple]

In less than three weeks six or seven mature trees will be removed from our garden. Mostly because they are growing into over head power lines. In a couple of cases because they are dangerous. Work is being done for free (mostly) by the power network who have been really good. It's been delayed for a few weeks by people elsewhere on the line being silly about allowing access to their land resulting in the network threatening to get a court order and forced entry. We called them in because we kept seeing burns on the trees and they agreed it was unsafe and would eventually bring the power lines down. These are just poles - of which we have three across the garden and three across the orchard - not pylons. Not sure what the voltage is. The slightly odd thing is they don't supply us.

One huge willow (this will be pollarded about 25 feet lower than it is now) - wood from that I will try to retain. It's dead on one side due to darkness so is very unbalanced.
One scots pine, maybe two. Probably cut as firewood.
One very big pine with light green foliage not sure exactly what it is.
Two maybe three huge multi trunk horrible leylandii - one of which is badly storm damaged. Will be dried for three years for firewood.
One cooking apple tree (lighting strike and rot resulted in a big split and partial fall.). Firewood. I'm felling that one probably.
My wife has already removed three mature ceanothus. Interstingly they have self propogated beneath with maybe half a dozen baby plants. We thought the felling would land on them anyway, and they are quite old and too leggy.

It will have a big beneficial impact as it will let light in to better specimens. And permit two new garden areas. All foliage and small stuff is is being shredded on site and the stuff not suitable for mulch will create path toppings. The grid guys will have the power off for 6 to 8 hours to get them felled and then day two will be shredding. I might need to get a bigger chainsaw and the utility co will not cut into firewood lengths I suspect, though we will have some notes available.

It's a bit sad, but it was getting out of hand with sparks and arcing on the wires in storms, and eventually a fire would be inevitable apparently.

 

[duke]

Always sad to see trees go but at least you will use the felled wood and the wood chips are a bonus!

 

[Cabinetman]

Doesn’t sound as if they’re much special so just has to be dealt with. Over here the power lines run along the edge of the streets as do lots of trees, it’s quite common to see trees cut to form a Y shape to allow the lines room, quite odd when you first see it.
What use will you put the Willow to Adrian? Never worked it and apart from cricket bats I’m not sure what it would be good for.

 

[AndyP]

Willow can be gorgeous when turned.

Lidded Pot. in willow and cherry

My first go at a lidded pot. The grain on this wood really took me by surprise. Brownie points available for anyone who can guess what it is. The lid, I think is cherry.

www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk

The lid is beech.

 

[AJB Temple]

Doesn’t sound as if they’re much special so just has to be dealt with. Over here the power lines run along the edge of the streets as do lots of trees, it’s quite common to see trees cut to form a Y shape to allow the lines room, quite odd when you first see it.
What use will you put the Willow to Adrian? Never worked it and apart from cricket bats I’m not sure what it would be good for.

I don't know Ian. I've never used it but I was thinking perhaps some turning or even cut to use as roofing timbers for a porch I have planned.

 

[Guineafowl21]

Willow is quite incredible - it will sprout from felled trees or even firewood logs if left on the ground. You can make a quick willow hedge just by laying the tree down where you want it. The upright shoots can be laid/pleached/woven in years to come.

I made a pickaroon using a slightly curved willow branch, rived, not sawn, that has proved to be very strong.

On the fire, it works well as a starter wood, spitting and crackling, and generally getting things going. Perhaps my fondness for it stems from my Somerset origins, seeing the stands of ‘withies’ growing everywhere.

 

[AJB Temple]

Willow is quite incredible - it will sprout from felled trees or even firewood logs if left on the ground. You can make a quick willow hedge just by laying the tree down where you want it. The upright shoots can be laid/pleached/woven in years to come.

I made a pickaroon using a slightly curved willow branch, rived, not sawn, that has proved to be very strong.

I had to look pickaroon up! We are hoping that if the tree is cut right back to the main trunk, it will sprout again from the top. We have in the past taken cuttings from it to make a hedge, but it wasn't great. Consumes so much water that it affects anything nearby. We took it out and replaced with laurel - this is around my building materials and old shed area to hide them and the bonfire!

 

[Guineafowl21]

We are hoping that if the tree is cut right back to the main trunk, it will sprout again from the top.

Yes, it will ‘coppice’ vigorously. If you manage it properly, you could harvest straight spars every few years that are handy for garden poles, etc.

A pickaroon is a very handy tool for flicking logs around, and doesn’t take long to make.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

One scots pine, maybe two. Probably cut as firewood.

I have a distant emory bell ringing Adrian. It says: "This is cracking timber". I can't recall the context, but I think it was along the lines of exposed beams or panelling.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've seen some beautiful large bowls turned from Leylandii.

 

[AndyP]

If you can see past the photobucket logos here is another willow turning .

Willow Bowl - Movement

This is the log:- That provided the blank:- That went on the lathe:- That was turned until it was round on the outside :- That then had the inside removed And ended up like this. I found it impossible to take a better picture of those vertical grain patterns running down one side...

www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk

 

[AJB Temple]

I have a distant emory bell ringing Adrian. It says: "This is cracking timber". I can't recall the context, but I think it was along the lines of exposed beams or panelling.

Yes, Sam but I don't have much control. The positioning of these trees is directly beneath the power lines and they can't fell conventionally because the are pretty much surrounded by my oak outbuildings, two fences and two sheds. The tree guys need to move fast as obviously the power is off for the whole area. I don't actually know how they will do it - I assume climb into the trees.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Ah. Sorry. Hadn't appreciated the constraints.
S.

 

[fuse]

We had to have a forty foot norway spruce taken down.
As kids we rescued the 1975 Christmas tree from the compost heap and secretly replanted it.
The timber guys climbed up the tree like monkeys taking off the side branches on the way up then lopped off Im lengths from the trunk on the way back down.
The ground guys shredded as they worked and the job took 45 minutes and seven hundred quids.
Sad to see the memory go but they left me a 10 ft totem which I have a hive at the top.
The house is about thirty ft away and no longer has the gutters blocked with pine needles

 

[RogerS]

We had to have a forty foot norway spruce taken down.
As kids we rescued the 1975 Christmas tree from the compost heap and secretly replanted it.
The timber guys climbed up the tree like monkeys taking off the side branches on the way up then lopped off Im lengths from the trunk on the way back down.
The ground guys shredded as they worked and the job took 45 minutes and seven hundred quids.
Sad to see the memory go but they left me a 10 ft totem which I have a hive at the top.
The house is about thirty ft away and no longer has the gutters blocked with pine needles

Exactly how they did it at our place

 

[TrimTheKing]

We had to have a forty foot norway spruce taken down.
As kids we rescued the 1975 Christmas tree from the compost heap and secretly replanted it.
The timber guys climbed up the tree like monkeys taking off the side branches on the way up then lopped off Im lengths from the trunk on the way back down.
The ground guys shredded as they worked and the job took 45 minutes and seven hundred quids.
Sad to see the memory go but they left me a 10 ft totem which I have a hive at the top.
The house is about thirty ft away and no longer has the gutters blocked with pine needles

Did it have its roots in the house then, or did it root itself from the chopped trunk??

 

[SimonB]

they can't fell conventionally

This is ideal for that sort of job - https://amtreesurgeons.com/grapple-saw-truck/ - I've seen it in action, remarkable machine

 

[AJB Temple]

Luckily not my problem. I suspect the guys who work for the power networks are fully tooled up and used to it. Network is paying.

 

[fuse]

Did it have its roots in the house then, or did it root itself from the chopped trunk??

What??

 

[TrimTheKing]

What??

You said you rescued the Christmas tree from the compost heap and planted it. Christmas trees have generally been chopped down and the bare end of the trunk kept moist until finished.

If you’ve planted it and it’s grown, then either yours was a rooted tree, or you rammed them trunk into the ground and it grew new roots from the cambium layer…

Or have I completely misinterpreted what you said?

 

[fuse]

Yes

Parents always bought trees with roots.
Nowadays I persuade the o/h to keep last years and reuse it kept in its tub to suppress growth until December.

 

[Mike G]

.......What use will you put the Willow to Adrian? Never worked it and apart from cricket bats I’m not sure what it would be good for.

I think Adrian has a weeping willow. This is a very different thing from cricket bat willows.

 

[AJB Temple]

Yes, Mike is right. it is a huge weeping willow. I didn't know cricket bats were made from a different kind of willow.

 

[RogerS]

Luckily not my problem. I suspect the guys who work for the power networks are fully tooled up and used to it. Network is paying.

At our place before last we were supplied by Western Power. I remember a team of two coming round to our place to trim a tree.

They arrived around 8.30 but stayed in their van until 9-ish. By 10am they had done 90% of the work,. After a quick break they left. Cled

 

[RogerS]

We used to also be with Western Power and their support for faults was excellent. They needed to be a bit more on the ball with remedial tree work though. Their surveyor who came round to see how much work was needed to clear the overhead wire gave it a day.

They also arrived around 8.30am and stayed in their van until 9. They'd finished by 10.30am and when I went down to have a look saw they were flat on their backs sunbathing !

 

[fuse]

I had power put to a barn by Western Power
Four landrovers and a crew of eight rocked up
One guy went up the pole to tap off the supply and another fitted a meter box and connected the other end.
The remaining six broke out a camping stove and treated themselves to bacon butties and tea.
I had to dig the trench myself prior to the appointment and they charged me three point five grand for the entertainment.

you can see the norway spruce in the far distance
I concur with Roger re the emergency call out- our line is ancient and daisychained with numerous previous repairs
When it falls apart they are always there within 20 mins of a call out.

 

[RogerS]

My best 'story' comes from the mid 1980's shortly after we'd bought a house in the middle of farmland and was arranged as two semi's. We would change it back to a single habitat and so I wanted to get rid of the second electricity meter, disconnect one of the overhead feeds, install an Economy 7 meter. After a lot of in-depth investigations and many telephone calls to MEB (as was then) I soon worked out that this was carried out by different departments. I booked them all for the same morning.

Now access to our place skirted some fields, was about 3/4 mile long and any vehicles visible from the house. MEB 1 arrived. When he saw the place there was a sharp intake of breath..."Ah, you need to get that done first", he said. "I'll need to come back once it's done".

"Wait a minute" I said. See that MEB van coming up the track ?"

MEB 2 arrived "Hello, Bob, what are you here for".

"Hi Jack..." he explained. Sharp intake of breath from Jack. "Before I can do that you need to...."

You get the picture. I ended up with five MEB vans but there was a hiccup. One tiny bit of information not given to me which required a different skillset. But the guys were on such a roll that someone had managed to pull it all together, they got on the phone to Brian ...the missing link...and told him to "get round here ASAP".

Job done.

 

[fuse]

Ive another!
Similar situation.
We had let the place out a couple of years back and I was phoned by the tenant that there was a "gang with chainsaws hacking at the trees down the drive."
I was on the other side of the county at the time but got there to find work still halted by the unexpected savaging from her.
Hell hath no fury as they say -they did actually look scared and with no mobile signal no one could hear them scream.
It turned out they were hired by BT to clear a pathway for fibre connection up to a cottage further up in the woods and no one had thought it wise to consult with me even though the line was due for installation the next day.
I had the heady sense of power over their fate and could easily have said FRO but I know what bad comms lines are like out in the sticks ( at 8 kbps even your dialup modem drops out) so I let them carry on for the cottage occupants sake.