And the Branches Came Down

Friends, it's been a week. 

Northeast Kansas has seen it go from the 60's to the 20's outside, 

with snow flurries, terribly gusting winds to 40 mph, and everything 

in between. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the young men from 

Forest Keepers Tree Care were here working, despite the 

insane conditions outside. 

Longtime readers will remember our beautiful old 

walnut three which we called the Green Goddess... here she is last summer. 

She was mostly dead at this point, and had stopped dropping walnuts some years 

ago, but poison ivy and Virginia Creeper used her as a support, and of course, 

the birds were everywhere in her branches. 

I snapped this picture of her on Monday evening, as I came out of the 

hen spa.  

Her base (huge) was shifting and the trunk had twisted, and in the winds 

of the last few weeks, many pieces of trunk and branches had fallen down. 

Keith and I had put off taking care of it as long as we could, but she 

was becoming dangerous. 

And here, in the other direction, is Mabel, the huge silver maple by the house.  Mabel was also 

getting to where she would drop bits and pieces of her branches, and some 

were dangerously close to the deck. 

There was also one that hung down and brushed your head as you mowed, you 

can just barely see it to the right, behind the pole.  

Mabel this morning, as I came out of the henspa.  

Notice the cross bar on the last fence section near where you see Lilly standing, is gone.  That is the only damage done in two days of intense tree removal. 

Mabel is now good to go for a while, the dangerous limbs have been removed, and 

she is safe to sit under.  Some of the limbs showed sign of rot within, and the arborist 

told me it was lucky we got them down. 

Notice the bird flying at the top of the tree!  

Where the walnut stood.  From her rings, it was estimated she was close to or over 

100 years old, just as I had always thought.  That mound of wood mulch is not from her.... the walnut shavings were hauled away as they are toxic.  

Approximately twenty decent-sized saplings and young trees were removed from the old hen yard. 

I left a clump in the middle, right behind me in this picture.  

These trees, and the trees removed from the side of the barn/shop... were what went into the mulch. 

Some of these trees were 16 feet tall (maybe 20) and were pretty big around. 

I can now start re-habbing the fence around this yard.  Some of it is tilting, but the exterior fencing is still in decent shape, and yes, it's going to be a pain to fix.  Slowly, but surely, we'll get it done. 

I don't expect to use it until next year, I have to figure out a place for the ferals to sleep, first. 

I also had trees along the road removed or trimmed from the bank.... and one walnut there 

which was trimmed back considerably, since it had dropped a huge branch last fall that was 

still hanging dangerously.  That is all cleaned up.  I wish, now, that I  had had them remove all the 

small saplings from the road bank, as some are growing way too close to the fence. 

I was impressed with the safety precautions, the crew leader, who did the trimming, 

tied off carefully before he cut each branch, and moved slowly and methodically. 

Remember, it had plunged to the twenties, and the wind was blowing, hard. 

Some branches had to be tied and lowered to the ground. 

Each worker wore a helmet that also included a speaker phone, so they could communicate. 

I stayed on the porch it was SO COLD. 

As the branches came down, they were promptly ground. 

Little by little, the big tree came down. 

But not without some drama, enlarge that picture and you will see it was blowing snow. 

The crew chief laughed after he was safely back down, saying he had had to grab around the trunk at one point to keep from being blown off. 

And then there was this: 

There had been a piece of metal pushed or pounded into the tree at some point, probably 60 years ago, and it caused some problems... the scar of it is on the right, where you see a darker place to the right of the central opening.  (not the red).  It did cause a little problem. 

However, they left me with a four foot high trunk, smooth on top, as I requested... I am going to 

put planters up there.  (I think).  

I asked them to haul the huge trunks away, and they did, on Wednesday.  I was in the 

house concentrating on something and did not see the big crane truck come and 

drag the trucks onto it's bed!

They have a small mill at their place, and are going to put that wood to good use. 

Lilly was in and out, (remember, it was cold) keeping an eye on things. 

Jester mostly did this. 

Oddly enough, the chickens were unfazed through the whole ordeal, despite the loud noise of the grinder, etc., and the big machines moving all over the yard.  They went about their business, shifting themselves away from where the men were working. 

I also saw an unusual phenomena, but did not get a picture.  The maple tree was the 

last thing they did.... and after they had finished and were getting ready to go, 

I stood with the crew chief in the yard and saw hundreds of birds flying around the maple.  He told me he sees it all the time, it's as if the birds are recalibrating in their minds where the tree is now, 

and what shape it is in.  Fascinating!

Peace has returned to Calamity Acres. 

Workin' In the Sun

I was standing under my Green Goddess looking up this afternoon. 

She is totally covered with vines that are growing ever higher. 

Around her base were growing many saplings. 

Here is the top of her (with a crow model, do you see him?) taken yesterday from the deck. 

She still has leaves on about the top 40 feet of branches, but the vines were growing 

ever upwards. 

You can hardly tell in this picture, but the base was circled with 

saplings and weeds.  Thickly circled. 

So, today I started attacking them. 

This gives you some idea.  Oddly, I did not find any poison ivy, just Virginia creeper and 

grapevine.   Some of the grapevine was really thick, and grown into the bark of the tree. 

I am going to have to set some money aside to have this tree taken down at some point, it is 

VERY soft.  

My helper stayed with me for a while, but soon he went back 

to the cool porch, where I had spilled some 

water filling the (let's face it, RACCOON waterers)... and Lilly and he watched from the cool porch. 

I had on a sleeveless shirt, and had remembered to put 

Neutrogena skin spray on my arms and on my face, with 

an SPF of 100.

This was my compost heap at one time. 

I'm going to confess something here. 

I never, ever let Keith use Roundup or anything like it when we 

lived there. 

I'm using Tractor Supply weed killer now.  I caved.  

I made a big pile of chopped saplings and grapevine at the 

base of the tree.  I still have not found anyone to haul the piles for me, and 

until I can get in the pasture, I can't start a new brush pile.  I am trying to find 

someone who can cut the pasture. 

My yard guy out there has a bush hog and a big tractor, but no way to bring them 

over.  

If I can get it knocked down once, I have a friend who will haul my John Deere out there, and 

I can keep it cut down, and then start another brushpile down in the bottom of the pasture for the little critters. 

This about killed me... one of the saplings I cut down (it was 

growing almost from under the tree) was a mulberry, and 

I love mulberries!!!  See the fruit on it already? 

I am also going to work on the big mulberry on the front fence line 

and cut the grape vines at it's base this week. 

I have exactly ONE globe thistle  left and it is blooming... I am ordering more. 

Pretty soon these vines will be brown.  

I was being watched the whole time. 

We saw our friends as we left. 

We saw them yesterday, too.  There are two new calves, and two 

that I believe were last years.  I counted 3 times and got 26. 

I did find out a little more about the bison. 

The property they live on, 150 acres, went into receivership for taxes. 

A man bought 35 acres of it, including the burned home, the barns, and the front drive. 

He has cleared it of the red cedar trees that are ruining the grazing for the bison, 

and also took down the fence on either side of the drive. 

Some of his equipment is in this picture. 

As you see, the bison were all grazing or resting up by the house. 

I was told by someone that this man is involved with the project to 

develop the next property over as a camping lake for fishing, where 

people can park their RVs short term.  The neighborhood is fighting it, 

because we are afraid that RVs coming in short term will end up 

being there long term.  

Knowing that the bison's actual owners were unable to pay the taxes without 

selling a chunk of the property... leads me to believe that the choked-with-red-cedar pastures that I suspect that the bison will be pushed back on will get worse and worse.  For now, they are 

able to graze on an open pasture with adequate grass.  

Make no mistake, though, these animals are dangerous. 

They are huge and can run fast. 

I am sort of hoping that the developer has bought them, too, and 

will use them as an attraction.  I know that every time I pull off to take pictures, 

someone pulls off behind me. 

In the first bison picture I posted, there is a roll of big fencing and many heavy round fence posts.  Maybe that will be to help the bison, not to hold them back.  I can only hope so. 

Yesterday, I drove down to Garnett again. 

Grandson Nathan was graduating from Anderson County Senior High. 

He cleans up pretty well! 

He tied his own tie after watching a video on You Tube, NOT KIDDING. 

It was an extremely windy day at the football stadium. 

See his tassel fly? 

I asked him to put his cap back on so I could get a picture, and he had to hold it down. 

I got pictures of him with every one BUT ME. 

No picture for Grandma. 

We celebrated with a dinner at a local restaurant, and had a great time. 

Grandma was worn out though, when I got home last night. 

The iris' days are waning.  These beds need to be dug out and replenished this fall.  I'll divide these and share them with a friend, including the blues in the bed behind this. 

Tomorrow night is our first Little League game of the spring!  Yee ha!  I'll be baking cookies tomorrow for the team. 

Jax is modeling the Sluggers new uniform. 

Can't wait to see them.