We grow very large, tall pine trees here in South Carolina. Not me, personally, but "We," as in South Carolinians. My neighborhood is very wooded and the majority of those trees are pines; very large, old pines that are 100 to 150 feet tall. My rather large house looks tiny under the massive trees rising above it!
My neighbor has been the victim of said trees falling on her house.....twice! So she and her husband have decided to have some of their trees removed. 20 in all! That's a lot of trees! But there's so many other trees in their yard, the trees removed will hardly be missed.
The work began this week. There's a lot of noise, with the chain saws and the chipper going, but the fascinating part is watching how these trees are cut down without harming other trees, cars, or, most importantly, houses.
Top Cut Tree Service sent three guys over for this job. Two on the ground and one in the tree. They work their precision magic with each tree that comes down. And it's all done with the assistance of ropes, carbingers and a whole lot of skill.
Next all the ropes, carbingers, chain saws, and climbing gear are strategically placed for optimum efficiency.
Next the "cutter" climbs the tree using gafts that he straps to his legs, and climbing gear similar to what a rock climber would use.
He takes limbs down as he climbs higher. The limbs get a slip-knot strap looped around them so that the carbinger is attached to a "zip line" of sorts.
Once the strap is in place and the zip line is taut, the "cutter" cranks his chain saw and cuts through the limb. As it falls it is caught by the carbinger and zip lines its way down to the ground while being controlled by the ground guys giving slack to ensure it falls in the spot they've designated. There is no room for error. These guys take their job seriously......
Once the limbs and the top come down, they are fed into a chipping machine. This machine makes mulch out of large branches in a matter of seconds, as it is spit into the back of a truck. Logging companies resell this product for landscaping beautification.
A tree this size weighs several TONS, the ground literally shakes when it comes down.
The bulk of the tree is picked up by a logging company and taken to the mill for various pulp uses.
In the end, all that's left in the yard are the stumps, and those will be removed eventually. "A" for effort to the Top Cut Tree Service crew, and peaceful assurance for my neighbors who have dealt with crashing trees two too many times.
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