Tree cutting is hard work.

The hard-working tree cutters kept at their task today until the rains came and ended their work early.  By day's end, all of the trees that could conceivably have caused harm were down to a manageable size.  The guys managed to drop the huge logs in a reasonable space in the yard.  Although the grass and plantings have taken punishment, the damage is reasonable relative to the task of felling those big, dangerous tees.

This loblolly was 60+ feet and 30 inches in diameter and would have inflicted a fair amount of damages whichever way it fell.

The poplar was dead and hollow at the top and waiting for a brisk wind to send the crown crashing onto a yard, house, or backyard pool.

The guys had to cut the branches into small pieces to get them through the back-yard gate, which they viewed as an eye of a needle.

The big loblolly was the last to go.

At day's end, the loblolly looks more like a totem pole.

Timber!

We're having four good-sized trees taken down in the back yard.  Two are enormous loblolly pines and two are good-sized poplars (or cottonwood).   These are nuisance trees with shallow roots that are just waiting for a tropical storm to tip them over and onto the house.  They should have been removed when the house was built 12 or so years ago and by now we'd have some credible hardwoods in the back yard.  Our plan is to get those new trees going for the next homeowners.

 Larsen inspects the smaller of the two poplars.