09 August 2009

Farewell Old Friend (On Felling a Tree)

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” Psalms 34:7 KJV
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Yesterday this is the verse which came to my mind as I was praying for the safety of our property and most importantly -- our family -- as we fell a 35 ft pine tree.

Even though we have felled several trees since moving here, this would be the largest one yet, and the fall path would have to be precise in order to not endanger life, buildings or our gardens. Needless to say, I called my parents and best friend to keep us in prayer during this time.

A little after noon, the pine tree, precisely cut and perhaps guided by an angel’s hands too, came to rest exactly in the only area where no harm would be done from its trunk or large branches!
My exclamation as I saw the tree land SO perfectly and safely ..."Yes, Lord, thank you!”
Blessings,
Aimee
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Disclaimer & Important Warning: Felling trees is a dangerous task; we never take this kind of thing lightly and wouldn’t suggest it to anyone who doesn’t have a LOT of experience and knowledge on how to do cut a tree safely. So many things can go wrong and, in our case, as I have said, any other fall pattern would have meant damage to property. Although 35 feet is small compared to a lot of our PNW giants, it is still no easy feat to bring a tree this size down. Even with the experience and knowledge my Farmer Boy has, I would have hired a professional should he had felt that was best.
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Note: And now, should you be wondering, why did we fell the tree in the first place? The answer is simple--for the last two years or so the tree’s needles had been browning and dying. With the latest high temperatures, we were extremely worried about the fire hazard posed by her being in such a condition so close to a building too. Having said this and knowing it was necessary, I deeply feel the loss of this tree whom for so many years had served our family and the birds of our area with beauty and quiet majesty. I am not ashamed to say I shed a few tears about this and that our yard, despite its extensive landscaping, looks naked without her.
Photos:
White cosmos against pine tree & sky (yes this was her)
After she came to rest safely and before her tree top was cut off.
The reason for the felling -- brown & very DRY dead needles
Another view after the tree top was cut off; she fell in a perfect line alnng a path by one of our buildings! Given her branch size and her length it could not have been better:)

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