The lot had a half-dozen tall pines and oaks leaning the wrong way — over the roof, near the lines, and down the lakefront slope. I brought in a tree crew with a bucket truck, a climber, and a crane for the trickiest one over the chimney. They felled and bucked, the chipper and grapple truck hauled it all out, and I had a yard I could actually see across again.
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Before Climbing rope and rigging staged on the slope before the crew started up. Steep ground, lots of pre-rigging.
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During Bucket truck pulled into the driveway. From here on, the day moves fast.
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During Arborist up in the bucket sizing up dead limbs before any cuts. You don't guess on a tree this big.
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During Climber on rope between the trunks, chainsaw on his hip, taking it down in pieces.
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During Roped into the oak, prepping the top before cutting — that one was leaning hard at the house.
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During Tall pine over the lakefront yard coming down in sections. Couldn't drop it whole without taking out the deck.
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During Climber with helmet and spikes high in the canopy. This crew was good — quiet, fast, no improvising.
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During Climber working high while the groundsman handled rigging at the base. Rhythm of two people who'd done it a thousand times.
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During Bucket up high near the power lines, picking limbs off the leaders before any trunk cuts.
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During Crane boom over the roofline for the dead one near the chimney. Worth the rental — no chance with that one freehand.
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During Crew working the steep hillside lot with the chipper truck staged on the road. Drag everything downhill, chip it on the road.
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During Chipper blowing into the dump trailer. The pile of brush goes from waist-high to gone in a few minutes.
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During Big trunk on the ground, bucked into stove-length sections beside the road. Saw and gas can where they finished.
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During Felled trunk and the stump beside it. That tree had been threatening the corner of the roof for years.
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During Roadside slope with the trunks down and stumps fresh. Going to grade and reseed all of this in the next pass.
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During Cut logs stacked along the road, ready for the grapple truck. Neighbors were watching this all day.
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During Removal truck staged for the haul-out. From here it's mostly trucking.
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During Crane truck loading logs onto the trailer. By far the cheapest way to move trunks this size.
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During Grapple loader hauling the last of the trunks. Stump in the foreground for scale.
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During Lakeside lot after — fresh stumps, groundcover bruised, but you can finally see the water from the house.
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During View out the window of stacked logs and bagged mulch by the road. Inside the house and out, both projects running.
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After Hillside behind the house cleared out. Now light hits the back wall and the moss has a fighting chance.
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After Out the picture window after the trees came down — the lake view I bought the place for, finally visible.
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After Sat down on the flagstone with a beer at dusk. Took the whole day; worth it.
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After Roll-off across the street for the demo material — fresh stumps and salvaged slate visible after the trees came down.
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During Marked up the section we needed gone before the crew climbed it. No surprises that way.
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During Crane loading the big rounds straight onto the log trailer — way safer than dropping them whole.
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During Trunks going out on the truck. Stump in the foreground was about three feet across.
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During Felling on the road slope with the chipper staged below to take everything as it came down.
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After Helper wrestling an oak round off the foundation — biggest log of the day.
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Before Big fallen trunk lying across the wooded slope. Had to come out before I could regrade.
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Before Stone pillars at the entrance with a brush pile that looked like it had been there ten years.
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Before Wooded slope above the cottage with a big boulder buried in groundcover.
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Before Old wrought-iron lamp post leaning over with the lantern broken off.
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Before Front steps before — weathered concrete, stump stools, no real entry to speak of.
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After My son hauling a trunk section away from the foundation. Made faster work with two of us.
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After My son next to the big trunk we'd just cut down. He earned that trip to the diner after.
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After Slope cleared, soil exposed, stone pillar visible again for the first time in years.
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After Unloading equipment near the porta-john. Always feels good when the trucks start coming in regularly.
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