Apothecary Shed

In 2003, when we arrived at this house, there were five huge old maple trees (by old, we mean over 200 years). Two of them have been gone for a decade or more, felled by age and weather. The big mother tree is finally entering the precarious stage when massive branches rot off and fall from the sky.

In order to make sure that the new Josie Oak (well, new in a sense that it is only 25 years old) doesn’t become collateral damage, we decided to take down half of the mother tree.

JC did all of the work. Here he is roping up for a safe perch.

This is kind of a “before” shot. JC topped the parts of the tree he could get to safely, though rot prevented a complete treatment.

And down came the massive part (half the tree which is 42 inches wide at the base).

The fence was unexpectedly smashed from space (better this than the oak).

It was a relatively easy fix (including a new post driven down into the ground).

And that left us with a huge, several day cleanup job. Firewood, solstice fire wood, sticks and branches, and a massive butt log.

Its sad to have to cut out such a huge part of the yard, but trees require maintenance too.