Dodged a Bullet

As my great (late) plow guy Roger once said...

"You can always tell a flatlander... they refuse to cut down the trees around their camps."

This guy had one branch resting on the bottom step:



Actually this tree died in the last year and I was going to drop it, but hadn't gotten to it.  Still mosts locals probably would have cut this and a bunch of others years ago.

Pulled out the wood boss and chopped er up in no time. Nothing runs like a Stihl.

Other bullet dodges welcome in this thread.  :)

Looks like another candidate to the left in the photo. Clear them out, you won't regret it and it still won't feel like suburbia or leave them where they are and support the local economy...with repair labor and materials!

Seems weird but I am loosing a birch every year since I bought the home.    I am no logger and either don't have or don't want to spend the money (yet) to hire one.   A few trees have been very close to my home.    I cut the notches, use wedges and still ask my cousin who summers in LP to come down with his Jeep.    A winch with a rope ensures sucess every time.      Cut two that were leaning into the home like that birch in the background of Harv's recent photo.       My technique there was to cut slow and then let them slowly (very slowly) creep until they were leaning on my roof--like a butterfly touching down on a snowflake.    No dents, no lifts, no climbing a dead tree, but anxious momements and a prayer that trees did not break...just slowly bent over on a windless day.  


A stitch in time, saves nine...right?  


I have several  100 foot, 36" diameter pines behind the home that a porcupine deparked?   Hoping they 1) stand tall until rot takes over. 2) fall fast and hard into the house.  3) fall into the park.      They are just on the ADK side of the property boarder, can't cut them and would not have the money to do it if I could.      If the wind blows to the home, they will significanly crash it for sure.      With my luck they will fall on my property, but only cause enough damge to make me work all summer weekends and be under my $5k deductible. It would be years of cutting, splitting and campfire burning.  My 7 yr old will become good at splitting--maybe make money selling campfire wood.    

Sadly, my bullet dodging only has to do with speed traps.

The tree to the left of the downed one in the photos is leaning away from the house so that one is ok and probably provides some nice cooling shade in the summer.  The big birch on the right is leaning toward the house - that one needs to go.  Birch is soft and breaks easy.

Trees seldom break / go down the opposite way they are leaning.

I'd say U got lucky for sure

My cuz is a logger, specializes in hard cuts. Here's a vid of them taking a BIG white pine down in LP on Swiss Rd

Mattchuck once said..."I'm a one man economic stimulus machine."  That's not exactly me, but I do spend most of my discretionary in the Southern Adks. (Actually I take that back, skiing is not discretionary!)

Neither of those two trees would hit the building IF they fall the way they are leaning.  No way on the pine. The birch... maybe a few upper branches would graze, but the bulk would miss. You know IF.  The pine I have no love for, the birch is actually a very cool tree.

Every tree withing 90 feet of the cabin has been super analyze for this.

Here's a branch from the ice storm in March 2008 that was carefully evaluated and was determine to "ok."

The tips of it also missed the cabin:



I also think about noreasters and fronts - when wind IS rippin what direction is it coming from?  Still I know it's all roulette.  That WoodBoss may get put into more extensive service in the spring.

Cool video, thanks for sharing. Does the tree then get used for lumber, and if so does this affect the price of the job? I don't have any trees, just curious....

Yup, I'm sure he had it sold.

Yes, the value of the tree is taken into consideration for the price of the job. Just like the stock market, timber prices go up and down, so one must be pretty darn sure of what's going on.

Camp--thanks for the video, I love stuff like that.  


That can be posted under the definition of "Real Man"     Climbing a tree that high, hanging on by rope, handling a chain saw all while a 1400# tree swigging the wrong way breaks you like a twig.     The crane op gets cudo's.   Hands of a surgon.  

Bet that homeowner was not thinking of the tree removal expense when they purchased the home....or maybe in LP 4-6k would just be a cup of coffee.    

Agree, I couldn't even imagine climbing that damn thing---no thank you. Helps to be half crazy

Seems as tho every logger i know is nuts.

I’ve been lucky twice over the years at my place. I cut down what I’m comfortable with. For surgical strikes I have a friend in Saranac Lake who has a tree business on the side. This guy is an artist with a chain saw; it is amazing to watch him work. If anyone ever needs tree work in the High Peaks area let me know and I’ll hook you up with him. You can’t beat his prices either.

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

I’ve been lucky twice over the years at my place. I cut down what I’m comfortable with. For surgical strikes I have a friend in Saranac Lake who has a tree business on the side. This guy is an artist with a chain saw; it is amazing to watch him work. If anyone ever needs tree work in the High Peaks area let me know and I’ll hook you up with him. You can’t beat his prices either.

Is that Big jason??? If so, he knows my cuz, in fact, I think they may have worked together a couple times.