Kevin fell.... a tree

this is the tree in question... now you see it...

Well, if I'm completely honest, Martin felled the tree, but Kevin engineered the task, to an exacting science. Once again, we had a tree issue. Kevin had noticed a few weeks ago that there was a significant crack in one of the trees that was located beside the driveway and leaning on another tree. He was worried it would snap and fall on its own... probably directly on the electrical wires (Sod's law).

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A different perspective of the same tree... you can see how it's leaning into the other tree. To the right of the tree is a bank down to one of the ponds, directly in front of the guesthouse.

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This is the electrical wire that could get in the way, so, we had to get it down, somehow...

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So, leaving nothing to chance, Kevin took care of this little detail before the chainsaw was fired up: the electrical wires covered a distance of approximately 400 feet. He climbed up a ladder that was precariously balancing on scaffolding. That was yesterday's job. It wasn't hard work per se, but it was harrowing to say the least. Gulp! For the record, Kevin is not afraid of heights... just ladders!! So there was a lot of fear conquering going on... poor guy. He had to set up and go up, then down, three separate times. It was so mentally exhausting, he was completely drained afterwards. Who can blame him.

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With the electrical wires safely on the ground, out of harm's way, this morning, Martin began to saw the tree. After a few minutes, he decided the chainsaw was too loud and he couldn't hear the tree cracking. He needed to hear that very specific sound the trunk makes when it's ready to go. Martin elected to fell the tree with an ax instead. The plan was to chop it in such a way that when the tension gave way, the bottom of the trunk would slip vertically down below and the top would fall forward across the driveway.

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The drama mounting... my nerves were shot by this time. We heard that tell-tale 'crack' and Martin and Kevin both ran down the driveway like their life depended on it (because it did!). Plan A worked precisely as hoped... miraculously. I don't mind thanking whatever angels might have been watching over us today.

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Once the tree had fallen, we saw, yet again, how hollow it was. It was a good thing we cut it down before it wreaked havoc on its own accord.

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The view without the tree... and all the wood that Martin cut with the chainsaw. They both worked all morning to clean it up.

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Then, of course, the electrical wires had to go back up...

From the bottom of the scaffolding to the top of the pole is approximately 18 ft. Then, calculate approximately 50 ft in the opposite direction, if he were to fall. I held my breath the whole time. All's well that ends well. Phew. I sure hope 'we' don't have to do that again anytime soon.

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This is the electrical wire... up close and personal.

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