Pruning Trees & Raking Leaves

 

Since the first of October we have been slowly and methodically working on a pretty big project around here.  Our big sycamore tree (shown above in the background) was in need of some significant pruning.  The lower branches had extended over our garage roof and driveway as well as our neighbor's backyard and shed.  In order not to do damage to either one of our homes each fall we trim back the limbs to make sure they don't touch or rub on anything.  Last year I determined it was time to remove some of those limbs completely.

 

This tree is pretty massive and positioned smack in between two homes on our side of the property line.  She is the greatest source of shade in the summer which helps immensely to keep our house cool.  The trade off is the colossal amount of leaves she drops each fall.

 

The catalpa tree in our backyard

All trimmed up

Keeping her healthy and safe is my biggest goal when it comes to our sycamore.  About ten years ago this tree got sick with some insect activity and with some extensive treatment I was able to save her.  I keep my eye on her to make sure if it happens again I get on top of it right away.

 

For my birthday this year one of my gifts was a Ryobi electric chainsaw on a telescoping pole and I absolutely love this thing.  From the ground I can easily trim our trees and on a ladder I can reach the higher branches quite nicely.  From the crotch of Big Bertha I was able to get a better angle to carefully remove a couple of the limbs that were problematic and from the roof of my garage I was able to get the rest.  For someone who is afraid of heights this has been quite an accomplishment for me.

 

In total I removed seven limbs from this tree over the course of four weeks.  I would remove or two, depending on their size, and then cut them up with my reciprocating saw outfitted with a pruning blade and clean up the mess made from those limbs.  This served a couple purposes.  It made the job manageable and didn't overwhelm me or our garbage man (we have city composting), but most importantly by taking my time it didn't overstress my tree.

 

The cleanup process is the biggest part

Once we had the sycamore taken care of I moved onto our maple tree in the side yard and removed a couple limbs that had died off as well as cut back some areas so they didn't rub the house.  In the backyard we cleaned up the catalpa tree.  Then it was time to rake and rake and rake to clean up all of the leaves and other fall debris.

 

By far this was our biggest fall cleanup project to date, but the results are exactly what we I hoped for.  Our trees look very nice and we hope they will live healthy happy lives for many years to come while offering us some much appreciated shade and beauty.  In the spring we will prune the apple and the pear tree with the apple tree getting the biggest part of that task.  Fruit trees grow pretty fast so I prune them pretty much every year.

 

I think she looks great!

I am very glad to have the bulk of the tree pruning behind us.  Now we still have more leaves to rake, mulch and compost but that is okay.  Most of our leaves end up in the chicken coop and the hens have a ball with those.  It also helps keep the mud in check during winter and spring plus gives them something to do.  Plus fresh air and exercise, who can complain about that?

 

A sizeable woodpile

So that is what has been keeping us plenty busy around here.  The big pruning project.  Any of you have a big fall project going on?