THE "WIDOWMAKER"

You don’t need to tell me that felling and cutting trees is dangerous. My extended family has suffered two losses through woods accidents – my mother’s first husband and then my half-sister, Nina.

Mike says that my brother Chuck taught him everything he knows about cutting wood, and he practices those lessons annually when he and a friend assist each other in getting firewood. I’m always relieved when they don’t have to fell a tree – and so are they.

The area in question -- looking eastward from the north field

Yesterday, as we continued to clean and clear after the fire, we got into a very dangerous situation. The pine in question was the one that broke in the lane. It wasn’t super-big, but it had twined a limb around a buddy pine. After Mike cut it, it refused to fall. 

 

Every attempt was made to encourage it -- wedges, another  cut, etc. -- but it was determined to remain standing. So, Mike attached cables to a limb of the tree and attempted to pull up the lane. The tree didn't fall with the initial effort.

 

Tree pulled off stump

With the second try it pulled off the stump and was now standing on the ground with the support of its neighbor -- a precarious situation.

Mike climbed tree to attach cable

 

Yes, it was scary, but I preferred we should take care of it nevertheless. So, Mike climbed the tree to attach the chain as high as he could. 

And now it's down

Then he turned the Dakota around and pulled from the other direction – down the lane instead of up. And that did the trick. The tree fell. (The dogs and I were well out of the way.)

We cut only this broken tree. Two other pines remain standing. But, I suspect I will have to say good-bye to my favorite “pine-apple” tree. I picked the available apples and made sauce last night. KW