Our Old Backyard Apple Tree Had To Be Removed

The decades old Apple tree in our backyard had to be cut down and removed due to some kind of disease; we noticed that the trunk was beginning to show signs of rot.  I called an Arborist to have a look at the Apple tree last week to see if we could perhaps save it with some pruning or any other kind of treatment but he recommended its removal and the planting of a new one.  This big old Apple tree had grown a bit wild over the years but still produced great apples each fall.

Reluctantly, we agreed with the assessment of the professional arborist and arranged for him to remove the Apple tree on Monday morning.  Luckily, even though the weather guessers were predicting rain, it turned out to be a nice, warm morning with a high overcast sky.  The arborist showed up at our house right on schedule at 9am with one helper.  Incredibly, they removed the tree, put all the limbs, trunk and branches through the chipper, cleaned up and were finished by 10am.  I was thankful I had abandoned my thoughts of doing this job myself!

There’s a huge gap behind the trellis where the Apple tree once stood

Upon arrival, one guy backed their huge 3 ton Duramax truck towing a big, heavy-duty wood chipper alongside our fifth-wheel and the side of our house to get as close to our backyard as possible.  I watched that very carefully!

The big 3-ton truck with the wood chipper towed in back

One guy climbed a ladder and used a chainsaw to top the tree and fall it and within just a few minutes the entire tree was down.  That was it!  Just minutes.  I would have made a career out of cutting this tree down and been lucky to escape with my legs and arms intact.

A couple of chainsaws made short work of this job

Paulette’s big worry was that her precious Rose Garden would be destroyed during the tree removal but these guys were real pros and it escaped completely untouched.  Again, I shudder to think about what would have happened if I had taken my chain saw to the Apple tree.  Anyway, all is well.

One of the biggest problems with cutting down trees and shrubs is the incredible amount of stuff that has to be hauled away.  Why is it that a tree or shrub is always looks smaller than the ‘sum of its parts’.  The limbs and branches alone would have made for many, many trips to the recycle station.  That would be after lots of work cutting them up and hauling them to the trailer.

Video clip of the wood chipper in action

Still version of the wood chipper

That’s where the heavy-duty wood chipper came in.  The guys just dragged limbs, branches and even parts of the tree trunk itself and fed them into the jaws of the wood chipper.  The blades ate these pieces up and spit them out the top and into the back of the truck as sawdust.  Seeing this machine at work reminded me of the movie “Fargo” – if you’ve seen this movie yourself then you’ll know what I’m referring to.  If not, then you don’t want to know!

With our old Apple tree gone, there is a significant gap above the fence where the tree once stood.  What that means is Paulette’s Rose Garden is going to be getting a lot more afternoon sun.  We plan to plant another Apple tree, maybe even two, and in a few years we should be “eating them apples” again.

Have a great Tuesday, and thanks again for visiting!