Broken Tree

On July 3, 2005 a fierce storm rushed though Lawrence and broke one of my trees. This is the same tree that has broken twice in the past and smashed my fence (both times). This time, the branch that broke got hung up on two other trees and did not fall on the fence.

This view shows the 8 foot long split near the base of the branch.

I gave the branch a rough estimate of 60 feet in length.

It's kind of hard to tell but here you may see that the branch is actually leaning on the two other trees.

At least the branch doesn't interfere with the power line to the light post at my corner.

I'm guessing that the branch at its thickest is bigger around and farther across than I am at my thickest.

My dad and brother came to visit and help with my problem. We were smart and decided to remove fence panels before cutting the limb down.

We weren't sure if we could control how the branch fell so we looped ropes to it just in case.

My dad had to use a ladder to get to the base of the branch.

Safety first! I parked my van with the blinkers going and we put out a safety cone and a couple of sawhorses to warn traffic.

With a crack and some slow shifting, the huge limb finally falls. Most importantly, no one is injured. It was a good thing we removed those fence panels.

Dad went right to work getting manageable pieces cut off. My brother did a fantastic job of dragging the pieces away and getting everything neatly stacked.

Several of my neighbors were curious about our activities. We had at least an audience of three who watched us with this process.

It was really hot out this day but we still managed to work mostly in the shade.

My brother is so cool!

I've got the best helpers in the state. It's hard to call them helpers when they are doing the vast majority of the work.

The limb does reach nearly all the way across the street. It would have been disastrous if this had fallen the day the storm came through.

All the tree pieces are stacked neatly and ready for pick up.

After calling around and calculating the costs, I ended up having the branches hauled away by Wes Blaufuss with A&W Lawncare. I found his info in an ad in the online version of LJWorld. Wes showed up exactly at the expected time with a 16 foot car trailer. With the help of my friend Rob seen in this photo, we got all the branches loaded up. Wes did a superb job and was quite reasonably priced.

We didn't actually load up all the wood, just the stuff that is too difficult to cut into firewood. My dad will return in August with a chain saw and a truck to cut up and haul the rest to his home.

A little sweeping of the street and this job is done!

On July 3, 2005 a fierce storm rushed though Lawrence and broke one of my trees. This is the same tree that has broken twice in the past and smashed my fence (both times). This time, the branch that broke got hung up on two other trees and did not fall on the fence.
This view shows the 8 foot long split near the base of the branch.
I gave the branch a rough estimate of 60 feet in length.
It's kind of hard to tell but here you may see that the branch is actually leaning on the two other trees.
At least the branch doesn't interfere with the power line to the light post at my corner.
I'm guessing that the branch at its thickest is bigger around and farther across than I am at my thickest.
My dad and brother came to visit and help with my problem. We were smart and decided to remove fence panels before cutting the limb down.
We weren't sure if we could control how the branch fell so we looped ropes to it just in case.
My dad had to use a ladder to get to the base of the branch.
Safety first! I parked my van with the blinkers going and we put out a safety cone and a couple of sawhorses to warn traffic.
With a crack and some slow shifting, the huge limb finally falls. Most importantly, no one is injured. It was a good thing we removed those fence panels.
Dad went right to work getting manageable pieces cut off. My brother did a fantastic job of dragging the pieces away and getting everything neatly stacked.
Several of my neighbors were curious about our activities. We had at least an audience of three who watched us with this process.
It was really hot out this day but we still managed to work mostly in the shade.
My brother is so cool!
I've got the best helpers in the state. It's hard to call them helpers when they are doing the vast majority of the work.
The limb does reach nearly all the way across the street. It would have been disastrous if this had fallen the day the storm came through.
All the tree pieces are stacked neatly and ready for pick up.
After calling around and calculating the costs, I ended up having the branches hauled away by Wes Blaufuss with A&W Lawncare. I found his info in an ad in the online version of LJWorld. Wes showed up exactly at the expected time with a 16 foot car trailer. With the help of my friend Rob seen in this photo, we got all the branches loaded up. Wes did a superb job and was quite reasonably priced.
We didn't actually load up all the wood, just the stuff that is too difficult to cut into firewood. My dad will return in August with a chain saw and a truck to cut up and haul the rest to his home.
A little sweeping of the street and this job is done!