Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Ruby Tuesday

My speck of ruby today is the tree faller's hat.

This tree used to live at the second house next-door neighbor's.
On the day that the municipality came and clear cut our trees by the roadway, our neighbor came to ask how much it cost to have this work done. After over 30 years of living with his big Douglas fir, he had finally become so spooked by the winter winds that he would go through the bureacratic maze to have it removed. But it was months before it actually happened.

Then one day we came home to a screaming chain saw and a man up a tree. I didn't envy him his job. This was a huge tree with branches at least 20 feet long. He tied a rope to each branch before it was cut off and lowered to the ground. You can see from the twin trunks at the top that, in the past, someone had tried to control this tree by topping it.



The process took two days and the almost constant whine of the chipper trucks - two of them at one point. Then the tree was cut down in rounds which thudded to the ground. I always wonder what the tree removal folks do with the big rounds of tree trunk that they truck away. Do they sell it for firewood? Make chainsaw carvings?

Mary T hosts the Ruby Tuesday meme here. There's lots of other red today...

14 comments:

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Oh my goodness!!! I wouldn't even like to watch such a process! I'm so glad my husband doesn't do that for a living.

Martha@A Sense of Humor is Essential said...

That is some big tree, Wow. Great R.T. picture, thank you. Thank you also for your visit to my blog.
Many tree companies sell felled timber to mills or sometimes compost it.

Leora said...

Whoa, that is one tall tree! And a cute red hat, too.

Julia said...

Nice hat, no way I'd go up that high! LOL

Lynn said...

What do they do with that would. I'm sure much is sold for firewood, but a pine tree? Is there a toothpick factory near your home? I'll bet that tall tree would make a year's supply of natural resources for them.

Lindy said...

Pretty amazing. I'm glad there are people brave enough to do that kind of work. This was an interesting post. Glad you were able to get a shot of the guy in action.

Felisol said...

The Douglas fur is such a beautiful tree, sought after in wood house buildings and wood art.
I dislike removal of trees.
They are a mighty sight, but one can understand things have to be done for safety reasons.
I'd hate to have any of my near and dear in the lumber business.
It's a tough and dangerous job.
From Felisol

Mamí♥Picture said...

C☺☺L!!!
Thanks for sharing!
Have a Lovely♥Day!
to view my mellow yellow visit My little Man’s photoblog:

http://www.chasinglittlecrocs.com

storyteller said...

Interesting post ... definitely not a job I'd enjoy but it IS a kewl RUBY hat! Thanks for visiting Small Reflections this morning ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Carletta said...

My hat's off to him! Pun intended. :)
I'm fascinated with people who have no qualms about doing this kind of work.

Pamela K H said...

I bet this tree faller never thought that he would become a star. Great shot. Happy Ruby Tuesday. Thanks for sharing.

Annie Jeffries said...

Oh wow. I would definitely give you the prize this week if there was an award for most unexpected post. Fantastic.

Becca said...

I love how it's just a teeny speck in the first picture. What a scary job!

Angie said...

Great shot & story. BTW my blog about
Rocket, it is known as Arugula, just read it is one of the anti-oxidant green plants. Thanks for your visit.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin