The End of a Tree

We have/had a HUGE Chinese Elm tree that was getting WAY out of control and had developed many dead areas and areas of weeping and dripping.

Although, we have had it topped at least twice, and Terry’s Grandfather had it topped at least once that we know of, the tree had reached its end.

After talking to several tree services the company we had to finally hire wanted $4,000.00 to cut and clean up the tree.

It took two days to cut it down. (We even had sunshine on one of those days)

In order to get a good look at the size of the trunk we had the girls stand by the downed tree trunk

An enormous tree!

Since we have lots of help we decided to save the $2,200.00 it would have taken to clean up the tree.  And save the wood for our own use.

We were stopped by the snow. But most of the branches and trunk were gone.

As soon as the snow melted enough the clean up crew arrived again

Until there were only two pieces of the trunk left

Terry hauled those off today

Now I have to figure out what to do with the stump and get use to having lots of hot, western sun. 

Oh, and I need to either re-plant my very damaged hedge or build a fence or…..

Linda

26 thoughts on “The End of a Tree

  1. Sad to see the old tree go, but I think you made the correct decision. It
    looked like it was pretty close to your home and in a fierce storm could have
    come crashing down on your home. Did you REALLY have to pay $4,000???
    That seems an extraordinary price to pay.
    You certainly will have plenty of fire wood now for the winter months.
    Good to see that the snow has gone for the moment.
    Cheers
    Colin

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  2. The hubbies parents paid 1500 to cut it down and we cleaned it up. It was five feet across. That is a good idea to do the clean up yourself. We are glad that we did it that way.

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  3. Awww, so sad to look a big friend like that. I’m sorry. It was SO big! Hope you can plant another tree in it’s place (near) to give you the shade (eventually) in the summer.

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  4. Is that guy in Whitewater still doing his chainsaw statues? I saw someone suggest a chainsaw sculpture. That would be cool. And isn’t it outrageous how much it costs to cut a tree down?!? I am very glad we only have 3 Japanese maples in our yard. They don’t get too big.

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  5. That was one HUGE tree! I can relate to taking down trees. Here at my daughter’s farm my son in law has had quite a few old trees taken down. They actually sold the trunks to a company that buys wood and got a real good price. The branches were cut up for use in the wood burner that heats the house. I miss some of the trees but there are still quite a few. At least the house is warm! The wood man comes around every few months asking if he can buy some more trees, but my son in law says enough have come down for now.
    Those large pieces of trunk are impressive. I’m sure someone would want them.
    Good luck. Hope you grow a new tree!

    Jennie

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  6. That was one HUGE tree, Linda… Looks like everyone worked hard in getting it down… As much as I love trees and hate seeing them cut down, in your case, that one probably needed to go…. Congrats on getting it down!!!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  7. First thing we thought of was….That thing was going to be hard to buck up. Looks like you all have it under control. Sorry, to see it go but sometimes there is no option.

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  8. That was a huge tree. It’s sad when such a large tree needs to be cut down, but sometimes it’s necessary. I’m glad your volunteer clean-up was able to save you some money. It looks like they did a wonderful job.

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  9. Wish we lived closer and would have saved you alot of money. William just took down a red oak next to a church that was 6 feet round or however you say it. He had to climb and cut several sections off before cutting the tree completely down. We are still cutting and splitting wood and have already gotten 9 cords so far! We took the job for just the wood though he would have charged someone else $1800. Enjoy the warm fires that beautiful tree will bring!

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  10. HUGE job!

    Sad to see such changes, so time to make new plans. :o) Yeah, it’s going to be hot and dry there now. How about a trio of aspen a little further away from the house, with a little sitting area inside? The possibilities are endless. A blank canvas. :o)

    I’ve got to take care of some trees that hang toward the house. Whenever it’s windy, I have Michael sleep in the living room, as they aim right at his bedroom.

    ~Faith

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  11. Sad to have to lose trees but better than replacing a roof when they fall! Good thing you have lots of help and heavy equipment to haul that monster off! Too bad you didn’t have someone that does the chainsaw art that would come do something fabulous with those big pieces!

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  12. That is one huge tree…
    it is so sad when the old ones have to go
    we have lost several in our area… 100 years old at least…sad but they were dangerous

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  13. I guess it’s always better to take an ailing tree down, than to wait for it to fall down (on your house!).
    Any ideas on how old it might have been? Maybe that’s something the grandkids can do when they get bored–count 10 rings and then mark them. Count 10 more, and ten more…..

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  14. Pingback: Work—Monday, January 20, 2015 | Life on a Colorado Farm

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