Thank you woodpecker.

[Crash]

Pileated woodpecker unveiled an underlying problem. I was going to cut and chunk this one down last fall and thankfully the job was put on hold. Are there laws that say you can't drop a tree into water? Obviously I would quarden off the target zone. Some holes are 2' long and other smaller holes circle the stem. Previous root disturbance probably about 15 years ago. Borers in the center.

 

[monkeylove]

I'm glad somebody got some good fortune from them, all they ever do is bore holes in my patio roof. I must have patched and repaired that thing a half dozen times by now. They just love that barn board.

 

[AxeTree]

I know it's fun droping into water, clean up is a pain unless wind is blowing all the stuff back to you!

 

[Rich_O]

I know it's fun droping into water, clean up is a pain unless wind is blowing all the stuff back to you!

Or it's winter and you have to push the ice out of the way to get to the tree.

 

[cerviarborist]

Looks like lots of nearby trees in the background. Can you rig a high line off a couple of them to work off of, so that you can chunk down the removal, rather than felling it into the water? The extra effort in setting up and working off the high line may more than pay for itself by making the cleanup easier.

 

[Crash]

Looks like lots of nearby trees in the background. Can you rig a high line off a couple of them to work off of, so that you can chunk down the removal, rather than felling it into the water? The extra effort in setting up and working off the high line may more than pay for itself by making the cleanup easier.

 

[guymayor]

Obvious wildlife value--leave a spar! tether it to nearby tree if risk is a concern.

 

[Crash]

I really want to drop it in the water and tension it with a boat, (fun factor) I'm confident I can steer it in the right direction. Maybe I can film it for ya'll. Highline hmm.. possibly, its pretty tall I'll take another look that would be fun too, theres another resinosa bout 15' next to it and 15 feet shorter I was thinking of tying into making sure I had my serrated knife ready . Def leaning towards the ka-splooosh!

 

[Crash]

Obvious wildlife value--leave a spar! tether it to nearby tree if risk is a concern.

The P. woodpeckers have been hammerin trees like crazy in my neighborhood, long winter, I know I was bangin my head waiting for it to end. Sounds like the majority of them have a vendetta against monkeyloves porch. If I had my way Guy my town would be littered with habitat trees with bat condos.

 

[kstreehuggerco]

Habitat Tree!?!? Is that what I get to call the 50 ft spar that I left in a guys back yard because he didnt have the money to take it all the way to the ground? I get to drive by it at least twice a day. Now instead of griping about a cheap customer I can cheerfully say, "hey, check out Harv's Habitat tree. Ya know I did that special project just for him"

On a serious note. Drop that sucker in the drink. I wanna see the video.

 

[JeffGu]

Habitat Tree!?!? Is that what I get to call the 50 ft spar that I left...

That's a big thing here, too. Cheapskates don't want to pay to take it all the way down and leave spars all over the place. Problem is, they're elms half the time, and they just grow back. My neighbor has a 60' one that's been topped once at about 25' up the trunk, than again at about 30' up, and it grew back again and is an awful mess. The toppings were done before the current owner bought the house, but after it dropped a limb on my roof, she finally agreed to have it removed. When the service quoted her a price, she just had them cut the dead wood and a few limbs off. So, I sent her and her insurance company a certified letter stating that the tree is a nuisance and I'd take legal action if it drops any more limbs on my property. I get along with the old widow, but it's been a little strained since then.

Once in awhile, people do leave some of the spar as habitat, but not very often. On that note... This sad ash tree is on a property I own, and I'm debating leaving some of it as habitat. It drops big limbs every year, but so far none have landed on the vehicles I usually have parked under it. It has fungus issues, carpenter ants up the wazoo, and was struck by lightning while the wife and I were standing on the front porch, 40 feet away, waiting for the rain to let up so we could make a mad dash for the car. Woodpeckers do their thing to it, racoons live in it all winter, and my dogs like to keep a cat or two up in it when we take them over there.

I'm wondering if it's even worth keeping some of it for habitat. I'm a bit worried the carpenter ants might start eyeing up the house.



It's a nasty bugger.

 

[guymayor]

When sketchy limbs are over one's airspace, I usually prescribe self-help before going legal. But a lot of people are just basically cheap; it's 'the neighbors tree', even though roots and branches are co-owned and can be co-controlled.
Pileateds are busy in the muggy south too; cool birds.
On the ash, lightning strikes are often covered by insurance which might pay for repairs. Simply reducing the limbs that look fragile and leaving the rest alone might be an option.
Glad to see you're thinking outside the unnatural keep-or-kill box that people too often fall into re trees.

 

[jmcscrap]

We leave Pecker poles or habitat trees when it makes sense along the trails in town, my boss couldn't figure out what I was up to when he found the first couple. He gets it now, but still shakes his head when he comes across them. The majority I have done are on dead trees in wooded areas that will make it to the trail if they fail in the wind - we will typically knock them down to a height that they will fall short by 15-20 feet if they fail.

 

[JeffGu]

I was in the town where the property is, today, taking out a leaning elm for someone. Stopped by afterwards to re-evaluate the tree. I believe the tree is a goner, but about 2/3 of it is alive. I think I'm just going to remove most of two large limbs, one that hangs over a parking area and slightly over the garage. The other hangs over the street, and I really don't want that one coming down on somebody's car. That one is dead. I think this will mitigate any chance of damage, when the storms start dissecting the tree next winter. The thing could live another ten years, for all I know, but it's really not going to hurt anything with those two branches seriously reduced. There was a woodpecker and a nuthatch in it, both trying to stake out a territory. There is usually one or the other, or both, nesting in it every year. I can bait the carpenter ants and keep them under control, so I'm now reluctant to remove the thing. We don't live on the property, we just use it for storage. If anyone whines about the ugly, old ash tree I'll just tell them it's housing for my guard 'peckers.