My Tree Huggers

Many years ago, someone pushed a shovel into the ground,and took the time to plant some Black Spruce seedlings. Did he imagine, the beautiful grove of trees that 50 years of time would produce?

Unfortunately, sometimes a hard choice has to be made. In the front of the house is a mammoth, 100' Black Spruce that will die by the saw. This tree is huge and in the winter, it is absolutely stunning with its coating of fresh snow. The issue, it is 2 trees joined at the base, and the larger tree is learning towards the house. If this tree was to come down, it would cut the house in half and could kill anyone in its path. I wish it wasn't so.

I contacted a couple of tree experts to obtain a quote to take this tree down, the quotes ranged from $800-$1400. Then Willie mentioned it may not be my tree. I never thought about it belonging to the town, but he was correct. As a matter of fact, I believe I could have gotten in trouble if I cut down a town tree without permission.

I called the Public Works Dept, and Mark Kiefar, Superintendent of Public Works, promptly came out to look at the tree. Mark looked at the tree, and decided to get the opinions of Tim Veillette, Project Engineer with the Town Of Mansfield, and also he consulted an Arborist.It was decided, it should come down.

It is sad to see such a magnificent tree fall. This was not a easy decision, It was a beutiful tree, and it would be very costly for the town to take down. I admit while watching the tree come down, I thought, "did I make a major mistake?"

Les and Jeff from Tennett Tree Service took the tree down. These guys not only have the tools to do a complex, dangerous project like this, but Jeff's skill working in the bucket, 70' up in the air was amazing. That kind of experience does not happen overnight. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.

A crew from the town was here with dump trucks and a large bucket loader to haul away the 12' sections of logs. They worked hard and cut several hours off the estimated time it would take to complete the project.
These guys plow our streets in the winter, and I mentioned what a great job they do down here. They were a good group of guys. I was only a little insulted when they would not let me drive the bucket loader!

After the tree was down, and I inspected the stump that remained, my doubt was gone. Where the 2 trees joined, was a deep and long vein of mushy rot. Maybe not today, or this year, but this tree would have separated, and the results could have been devastating.

Now my only regret is, I could not convince Jeanne, this was a worthwhile reason to let the boy stay home from school.


Check out the video below. "A Giant Falls"