Tree surgery, very close to home

After spending the afternoon yesterday wandering around Westonbirt arboretum, observing the masses of trees felled as part of the regular management of the old woods, my ears perked up at the sound of this chain saw before lunch today.

The tree surgeons had come to Stroud cemetery, and out of our first floor window I could see a man at the top of this tree, chainsaw in hand, whilst his fellows pulled on steadying ropes. I missed the actual moment of felling, but by the time I was ready to walk the twenty yards from our front door, to get their permission to photograph them, they were already cutting up the trunk.

Apparently this old silver birch has a fungal disease and since it was sited right by the pedestrian entrance to the cemetery, it had to be felled. At the same time his two colleagues, the former rope holders, were chipping the smaller branches and stacking the logs from thicker ones. The cemetery is managed by the Green Spaces team from the Town Council, so it was interesting for me to see these specialised external tree surgeon contractors hard at work, doing a very good job. They were also very friendly and took time to explain what they were doing to me.

It will be strange in future to visit this gate into the cemetery, which is a designated nature reserve, and to see how the view looks without the foliage. I'm sure a new tree will be planted to replace this birch, but it will take some time to have the same presence, since this tree was estimated to be probably forty years old.