Ground force

Our next door neighbours with the semi finished pub had their beech tree chopped down at the weekend.

They’ve been lucky (though it’s cost them a pretty penny to have it done) as we live in a conservation area and all the trees are under a protection order.
We have to ask permission before we can even trim a branch and the lady in charge at our local council is notorious for not allowing pruning, let alone felling.

However, a tree surgeon assessed the tree and said it was diseased, decaying from the inside out and potentially a danger as it had started to lean. He apparently has a good relationship with the council lady, so clearly used his charm to get the necessary permission.
We’ve asked if he can trim a few branches for us too, so hopefully he will get the go ahead for it.

It’s been fascinating watching them take the tree down; I especially liked the mulcher. I think I could do that for a living, it looked very therapeutic.

The main trunk didn’t take long at all to fell; they laid logs in the road to cushion the fall but even so, our whole house shook as it landed.

Mr A tried to count the rings to see how old it was, but it’s a bit churned up in the middle so it’s hard to say for certain. This stump is all that remains :-)

DQ x