That's quite a vertical commute

  • 6 Replies
  • 1779 Views
*

Subversive_plot

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Athens, Georgia, USA
  • 2390
That's quite a vertical commute
« on: March 26, 2021, 14:02 »
The neighborhood I live in was a managed pine forest before the houses moved in during the 1960's and later.  By "managed pine forest" I mean crop land, where the trees are planted in neat rows, the pines are a silvicultural crop, with a rotation of about 40 to 50 years between planting and harvesting.  The planted trees are virtually all Loblolly pines, the number 1 tree crop in this area for making lumber, cardboard and paper pulp.  Many of the trees are long gone, but about 15 to 20 percent of the trees remain.  As they get older and larger, they do become a hazard, and have to be cut down before they fall down (they are very shallow rooted).

My neighbor had several pines taken down this week along  the property line near my house.  They trees had pine cankers, which weaken the tree eventually (dangerous when close to houses).  The trees were in excess of 37 meters tall, the biggest trunk a meter across at the base.  Attached are a few photos of the operation to take them down (after which, the trunks go to the intended purpose when they were planted, lumber or pulp wood, the branches to mulch and compost, nothing wasted).

The first photo shows the climber on the tree to the left.  He's about five and a half feet tall, about 35 or 40 years old, clearly knows what he is doing, all the required safety gear and harnesses.  The rest of the crew call him "the Wizard".  He is about 30 meters up the tree there, after lopping most of the limbs with a chain saw. Before each limb is cut, it is secured with a rope to a carabiner, then fastened with a guy rope that slides the branch to the ground. He has secured that tree top to a cable, ready to slide down the guy rope.  Second photo, he's moved down the trunk to make the cut.  Final photo shows the critical cut as the tree top starts it's fall.

No photos of the trunk sections being taken down.  They are cut into suitable length sections for the steer skids to manage, dropped, and loaded on a truck.
IMG_20210323_132435542_HDR_20pct.jpg
IMG_20210323_132740944_HDR_20pct.jpg
IMG_20210323_132754166_HDR-20pct.jpg
"Somewhere between right and wrong, there is a garden. I will meet you there."~ Rumi

*

mumofstig

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Kent
  • 57878

*

mrs bouquet

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Worthing,West Sussex
  • 5874
Re: That's quite a vertical commute
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2021, 16:11 »
These "tree Monkeys" are absolutely fearless.   I don't mind climbing up trees, but I'll pass on those.  :D  Mrs Bouquet
Birds in cages do not sing  -  They are crying.

*

Aunt Sally

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Sunny Kent
  • 30460
  • Everyone's Aunty
Re: That's quite a vertical commute
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2021, 16:18 »
Amazing photos SP.  Lumberjacks certainly deserve their macho reputation.

*

jezza

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • 1602
Re: That's quite a vertical commute
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2021, 18:37 »
Hello impressive yes, but do  you realise that a lot of the timber being felled in America is shipped to Germany and Sweden to be made into pellets then shipped to a power station in Yorkshire to generate renewable  carbon neutral power,100 acres a day required    jezza

*

Growster...

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Hawkhurst, Kent
  • 13162
Re: That's quite a vertical commute
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2021, 07:17 »
Is there much of a root system, SP?

They must be a problem afterwards surely...

*

Subversive_plot

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Athens, Georgia, USA
  • 2390
Re: That's quite a vertical commute
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2021, 16:01 »
Is there much of a root system, SP?

They must be a problem afterwards surely...

They do have a broad but shallow root system. A lot of people contract a "stump grinder" that pulverizes the stumps in place. My neighbor plans to do that. This leaves a lot of acidic, resinous wood chips in the soil though. We have soil termites everywhere, they will break down that wood.  I plan to post an alternative method to deal with stumps in your Hacks thread.

Jezza: yes, they do sometimes make stove fuel pellets from our harvested wood. I don't know if they do that here in Georgia, but they probably do.


 

Page created in 0.164 seconds with 46 queries.

Powered by SMFPacks Social Login Mod
Powered by SMFPacks SEO Pro Mod |