Tough day today! Had a 38" dbh 120 foot plus doug fir to remove, hoping to crane it. Only access requires crossing a ditch, 1 foot deep and 2 feet on the other higher side. So we threw some firewood in the ditch, then chips. compacted it with my p/u, then the front tires of the chip truck, then backed it in, chipper and all. I misjudged the size of the tree, and may need a bigger crane. Estimated 2400 board feet in what's left, 85 feet, we leave it at fence height. The tree was one sided, due to two firs that were removed 5 yrs ago that were on the other side. Limbs were up to 9 inches around and long! It took 5 hrs to brush it out and chunk it down to 85 feet. The new owners are Asian, and, due their Feng Shui beliefs, had to have it removed. They are signing papers Monday, and must have it out by then. So I gotta find another crane co, the one I called said Tuesday was the earliest.
Then we drove 10 miles over to the second job, an 80 foot 30" dbh wolfy white pine, and brushed it out up to 45-50 feet, plus we removed a dying dogwood next to it. Got done at 6 pm. Mike is coming tomorrow with the 17 ton crane. I may lead him up to the fir job, as he can take the pine logs there, making one stop for the log truck. Then we can see if he can do the tree. If I keep the logs to 16-20 feet, the weights will be close to 9000 lb max, which may mean that Mike can get the tree down. But we aint taking any chances, so may hold out for the bigger crane.
Here's a pic, I brushed another 15 feet out before lowering a small top. Video only of that.
