We are very glad that our new garden has quite a few established trees. Trees add height and a feeling of maturity to a garden while also providing a haven for wildlife. They take up water and give shelter too. In the garden are several Birches, Alders, Beech, Willow, Flowering Cherry plus several fruit trees, Plum and Apple I think. There are also 4 Poplar trees. Actually I’ll rephrase that. There are 3 Poplar trees.
This is the 4th one which was fifty feet tall and dangerously close to the house. Poplar are notorious for being shallow rooted and fairly short lived. It was too tall and to close to the house for Andy to fell safely so the Tree Surgeon was called in. He had all the proper safety gear and the whole job only took about 45 minutes. That included the cutting up of the tree into manageable chunks.
I was amazed at how quickly he climbed to the top of the tree. I have no head for heights and felt a bit dizzy looking up at him.
Yes! That is a chainsaw dangling behind him. It was running all the time. He cut all the small branches as he climbed up then started on the crown of the tree.
He used the stump of the first big branch as a seat while he cut the rest of the crown.
It was a lovely day yesterday, if a bit windy. The tree was swaying back and forth as he worked away, this didn’t bother him at all.
I was so glad to see him safely descend the tree again.
If you look beyond the table you can see the pile of wood from the tree. Never looks as much as you think it’s going to be. Poplar is not great for burning, doesn’t give great heat, but we will chop it up and store it in the shed to season. Mixed with some Ash it will be very welcome fuel in the Winter months.
Meanwhile in the house Andy finished putting up the new ceiling in the sitting room today. I did all the filling in on the wall, tomorrow I will sand this off ready for painting while Andy puts on the skirting boards.
We are delighted that the ceiling is finished. It took a bit longer than anticipated but was worth all the effort.
In the conservatory the Kiwi which was already here has it’s new leaves. It looks very healthy. I would be delighted if we got some fruits. I love the soft downy feel of the leaves. Anyone know where the fruit buds come on a kiwi? I haven’t had one before so know little about their habit.
fromacountrycottage 