Got Lucky with latest Storm

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mark james

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Last night we had some strong micro-wind storms. And we got lucky. Of the 70-100+ trees within striking distance to out house, this one fell in the opposite direction. 85' high, 28" at the base, 55' from the living room - so only the top 30' would have hit the house :eek:!

Barn already has cut/split firewood for 10 years. Tree was a healthy Oak with a shallow root ball.
 

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Ed McDonnell

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Maybe it wasn't the wind. Maybe it just couldn't face the prospect of another cold Ohio winter and decided to try and head south. It was nice of the tree to not take out the house or a vehicle when it made it's move.

While only the top 30' hitting might seem better than the whole thing hitting, that top 30' would have been moving pretty fast by the time it got to the house. If it was right next to the house it might have only ended up leaning. All things considered, falling away from stuff is always better.

Sorry you have to deal with the removal, but glad that's all you have to deal with.

Ed

Who has had more than one tree end up leaning against a house after hurricanes / tornadoes and who now has no trees capable of reaching the house under any conditions.....
 
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Hi Mark. Got an idea for you that I did several years ago,...CLEAR CUT!!! My house (cabin) gets blasted with winds exceeding 80 mph this time of year. We've cleared anything around the cabin that could fall on us. Helps too with forest fires. Just a thought. I would worry every night when the wind started and I was in bed trying to sleep. Highest gust to date, 93mph which made the whole cabin rattle and shake.
 

mark james

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Yes, very glad that the tree fell the way it did. I'll get some commercial quotes for a logger to take down 40-50 trees, but unless it is "free logging for wood", I doubt we will pay for 40-50 trees to be dropped. It would be cheaper to pay "Robutacion" to visit and supervise the culling! :)

I spent 6 hrs getting the very top of the tree and the several other trees it pulled down cleared from my neighbors property. It went well. I got the property line cleared back 6' from our line, so I can take my time to get quotes to cut/remove the 85' tree.

Darn, but that root ball is big! I suspect 10' tall, but very shallow.

But, all is well, life in the woods.
 

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robutacion

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Yes, very glad that the tree fell the way it did. I'll get some commercial quotes for a logger to take down 40-50 trees, but unless it is "free logging for wood", I doubt we will pay for 40-50 trees to be dropped. It would be cheaper to pay "Robutacion" to visit and supervise the culling! :)

I spent 6 hrs getting the very top of the tree and the several other trees it pulled down cleared from my neighbors property. It went well. I got the property line cleared back 6' from our line, so I can take my time to get quotes to cut/remove the 85' tree.

Darn, but that root ball is big! I suspect 10' tall, but very shallow.

But, all is well, life in the woods.

Hi Mark,

Considering the possibilities, consider yourself and family very lucky this time, a tree like that would totally destroy a normal house with even its 30' of the canopy, wood is heavy, green even more.

I wish I had the financial capability to pack some of my tree work gear and get on an aeroplane to your place in the USA, I would have all the trees you need to cut down and supervise some of the other work that needs to be done to clear the place and make sure the wood was utilized in the best possible way, including selling it, how much would I appreciate to spend some time with you and I'm sure Merissa would be honoured to but, that would be a very expensive exercise so, let me know if you need any info on any issues that have to do with removing and "disposing"/utilisation of trees.

The thought of being there with some of my gear really really tickles my throat even though I sort of stopped doing that sort of work so, in my mind, I worked out that with my current energy, strength and Mojo I would need at least 1 month to get around all that work, a little at the time, a little every day that's my current pace, it would be slow but it would get done, oh boy, I'm so mad I'm so far away...!:frown:

Living surrounded by trees has its positives and negatives, people move to the "bush"/woods for a reason, is always a compromise and a constant fear from fire and falling trees, nevertheless, that is a price that I and many others would pay, there is just nothing like it but there needs to be some sort of "plan" when one moves to the woods.

Big mistakes have been made last century when people planted the biggest trees far too close to their houses, the idea of cool shade over the house in Summer was a good one but endup not being the right decision for many people that paid the price, some would build their houses under the biggest tree they could find, that is also a mistake that has been realised and confirmed decades later when the trees become too old and too heavy to support their own weight and wind shear ending up killing a lot of people and destroying a lot of property, this trend still exists today but younger generations are becoming more aware of the dangers and make a compromise of planting smaller trees a little further away from their houses, sheds, etc., and while this is all good and positive, those moving/buying property in the woods that have been developed long ago, may have no say in regards to what trees and where they were planted around the living quarters/area, that is when decisions have to be made that will "hurt" not only the wallet but also the living conditions due to exposure and lack of green vegetation, a problem that I was often confronted with when I was doing serious tree work so, cutting down totally healty trees was and still is something that I avoid if possible but, if your job is tree work, you've got no say in the matter, the Councils and Arborists will condemn trees when they see fit or by private ownership request/justification on private land.

So, why am I saying all these things and what is the moral of the story..?
Well, I don't really know, all of a certain I have become aware that my special friend Mark could do with my help right now but that is not possible and that took me into a different direction reflecting on Mark's situation and how that is familiar to me from experience, that and the fact that I never shut up, writing on the computer late at night, seems to be therapeutic to me, sorry...!:redface:

PS: Thank you for thinking of me...!:)

Take care,
Cheers
George
 
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mark james

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PS: Thank you for thinking of me...!:)

Take care,
Cheers
George


I was just poking you George. I think of you and Merissa more than I acknowledge.

Living with trees brings issues, which Nancy and I accept. We love our woods, maybe not the mice, raccoons, woodchucks, carpenter ants, mud wasps, snapping turtles, no gas lines/use fuel oil, etc... So we will carry on.

Be well!
 

robutacion

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PS: Thank you for thinking of me...!:)

Take care,
Cheers
George


I was just poking you George. I think of you and Merissa more than I acknowledge.

Living with trees brings issues, which Nancy and I accept. We love our woods, maybe not the mice, raccoons, woodchucks, carpenter ants, mud wasps, snapping turtles, no gas lines/use fuel oil, etc... So we will carry on.

Be well!

Hi Mark,

Well, when I said that, I was referring to your current tree situation and how you considered George's expertise to take care of the issue and I would like nothing more to actually make it a reality but reality tell us otherwise, huh...?

I know that you think of us often, the same way as we talk about your generosity and friendship, we have constant reminders of that and of how lucky we are.

I hope that you take the time to take lots of pics of how that big tree is going to be dismantled and with what, you may need a bigger shed to put all the good wood out of it for your own purpose and off-course share it with all you many friends around your neck of the woods.

Time to get your big gauges out and turn a few large bowls and vases so let's make sawdust, huh...?:wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George
 
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Mark,
Sorry for the issue you had from the storm. I had a delay finding this picture. But I had the same kind of problem when I was in Mississippi when Katrina came by. Wasn't making pens at the time but could have made a ton of oak pens. :)
 
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mark james

IAP Collection, Curator
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Medina, Ohio
Mark,
Sorry for the issue you had from the storm. I had a delay finding this picture. But I had the same kind of problem when I was in Mississippi when Katrina came by. Wasn't making pens at the time but could have made a ton of oak pens. :)

G'Day Tony.

All is well. I surveyed my property and identified 60 trees that could impact the house. I'll work on local tree service agencies/loggers to assist. But, if I had to predict (based on price), I'd bet that I'll do nothing and roll the dice.

This tree we believe was a pin oak. Most of my property is Beech, Oak, Maple, Hickory and some ash. Fairly typical for the area.

Since I have a full barn with 10 yrs of firewood already split; way too many personal blanks of unremarkable quality from my property (1,000+), and 2,000 more IAP Estate Blanks to peddle, I don't need to add to the inventory.

I have plenty of bowl blanks, but if I can get a service to clear this tree I will include some material for additional LARGER bowl/platter blanks. But this is not a priority as my play-time "To-Do" list is numbering in the hundreds!

As to storms, I suspect they will be more frequent and severe; hopefully I will be wrong.
 
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