Lumberjack of All Trades

Part of clearing the new I Tell You What estate has involved two projects that I highly recommend to any red-blooded 'merican male. We are talking serious exercise of dominion. One is to cut down a mighty tree, definitely big enough to wreak havoc (see below). The other is to harken back to days of wooden axe handles and iron... axe heads, I guess. Yes, chopping down somewhat smaller trees with axes. It is a good kind of feeling to hack away at the base until you know one final swing is about to fell the tree. I have stolen a sports phrase to describe this: the walk-off swing. Just like a baseball player knows when his swing has driven in the winning run late in a game, you know that one more swing of the axe will topple the tree, bringing a satisfying groan as the tree leans, then a thump as it lands on the ground. Great times, and my hands are getting to where they've stopped complaining about blisters and just deal with it. Of course, even on axe days I am using a chainsaw for clean-up because, well, I do have other things to do and I AM a big fan of 2-cycle mo-chines.

The first tree we dropped was really just a warm-up, nothing nearby to damage

And there she goes

And now for the more precarious poplar; note the nearby garden fence

Yours truly sawing away; note the lean as things get exciting

The apple tree calls for a fair catch, but is going to take a hit either way

So... if neither end of the tree is on the ground, have we truly cut it down? Note the steep angle on the back-cut. My bad.

The intrepid crew of engineering lumberjacks who risked life & limb to help out, I Tell You What. The orange hardhat (yup, from Home Depot) is just an example of how dorks have fun. Hard workers with solid backs and shoulders all.

Lessons learned: keep your axe and chainsaw sharp, Sharp, SHARP. Keep your backcuts with the chainsaw flat, even if your experienced friends advise otherwise. Keep family members clear of the area (let's just say the apple tree was not our target)