As previously mentioned, I have been dying to remove 3 old plum trees on the side of my house. They are wildly untamed, planted far too close together, never produce fruit and are infected with a disease called Witch's Broom. The struggle however, has been how to manage the removal, as well as what to plant in their place. There is a shade garden there that I cannot imagine will thrive if the shade suddenly disappears.
After weeks of thought and careful consideration, I have decided that I did indeed want to take the trees out this winter, and that two vine maples would go in their place. Vine maples are native, get great fall color and do not get as tall or messy. I found a great tree farm that sells larger trees at great prices. Score! The only problem now was that I needed to cut the suckers down. Imagine for a moment three 20 -25 foot tall trees that look like an upside down broom. Not an easy task for a small white girl like me.
Enter Michael, my husband. He has a very sturdy frame, the type that could be a buff bodybuilder if he actually had the time to lift weights ferociously. He used to work as a mover and would routinely out-lift his co-workers whilst calling them pansies. In our time being married I have seen him single-handedly lift washers, dryers, dressers, beds and a refrigerator. Most of these items were in the 300 pound range! He is truly like the hulk. Thus, when he offered to help me cut down and remove these trees, I readily agreed.
Most of the removal went fine, with him sawing and me cleaning up (ha! Tossing limbs over our back fence is more like it). However, it was near the end, when all the trunks were stripped of their branches like crooked totem poles that the problem emerged. We had both been sawing all afternoon and were dead tired. The wise (and lighter) option would be to cut each trunk into 2-3 foot segments and cart them off. Michael was so tired however that he just said "screw it," and cut the 10' trunk poles to the ground to save on sawing. The lightest pole was about 180 pounds and the heaviest was ~ 280 pounds.
I could help with the first two but when it came time for the last one, even one end was too heavy for me to lift. When I suggested that we cut it into segments, Michael proceeded to squat down, place one end of the log on his shoulder, pick up the other end, and balancing the whole thing on his shoulder, cart it off. I was dumbfounded. I mean, wow. I stand in awe of his lifting glory. He did get some pretty knarly red marks from where the log rested on his shoulder, but apart from that, no damage done. There is no way I would have been able to do this in one day on my own. I think it would have taken me at least a weekend. So cheers to the most awesome husband in the universe!
The picture below is of him holding the smallest of the 3 logs. Next to that is the 280 lb monster. When we told this story to the owner of our favorite diner up the street, he called Michael 'Paul Bunyon.' Awesome.
After weeks of thought and careful consideration, I have decided that I did indeed want to take the trees out this winter, and that two vine maples would go in their place. Vine maples are native, get great fall color and do not get as tall or messy. I found a great tree farm that sells larger trees at great prices. Score! The only problem now was that I needed to cut the suckers down. Imagine for a moment three 20 -25 foot tall trees that look like an upside down broom. Not an easy task for a small white girl like me.
Enter Michael, my husband. He has a very sturdy frame, the type that could be a buff bodybuilder if he actually had the time to lift weights ferociously. He used to work as a mover and would routinely out-lift his co-workers whilst calling them pansies. In our time being married I have seen him single-handedly lift washers, dryers, dressers, beds and a refrigerator. Most of these items were in the 300 pound range! He is truly like the hulk. Thus, when he offered to help me cut down and remove these trees, I readily agreed.
Most of the removal went fine, with him sawing and me cleaning up (ha! Tossing limbs over our back fence is more like it). However, it was near the end, when all the trunks were stripped of their branches like crooked totem poles that the problem emerged. We had both been sawing all afternoon and were dead tired. The wise (and lighter) option would be to cut each trunk into 2-3 foot segments and cart them off. Michael was so tired however that he just said "screw it," and cut the 10' trunk poles to the ground to save on sawing. The lightest pole was about 180 pounds and the heaviest was ~ 280 pounds.
I could help with the first two but when it came time for the last one, even one end was too heavy for me to lift. When I suggested that we cut it into segments, Michael proceeded to squat down, place one end of the log on his shoulder, pick up the other end, and balancing the whole thing on his shoulder, cart it off. I was dumbfounded. I mean, wow. I stand in awe of his lifting glory. He did get some pretty knarly red marks from where the log rested on his shoulder, but apart from that, no damage done. There is no way I would have been able to do this in one day on my own. I think it would have taken me at least a weekend. So cheers to the most awesome husband in the universe!
The picture below is of him holding the smallest of the 3 logs. Next to that is the 280 lb monster. When we told this story to the owner of our favorite diner up the street, he called Michael 'Paul Bunyon.' Awesome.
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