Tree Trimming

Last night we took a break from framing to trim some branches on the oak tree. These branches are in the way when it comes to the truss installation, so we figured we might as well cut them out now. Ken's (brave) son boldly offered to help with the tree trimming:

Ken, climbing the ladder to tie it to the tree with rope to reduce the chances of it sliding around up there

The boys, gearing up

While they were playing with the chainsaw, Nat played with Zeus

I think it's safe to say they were having more fun...

Both are full of energy :)

Meanwhile, Ryan climbed the ladder and pulled the chainsaw up by a rope

Although he handled the height like a champ, he was high enough to make me and everyone else watching pretty nervous!

Didn't even seem to phase him...

Here you can see the huge branch in midair after it was cut

Once that huge branch was cut from the limb, the entire limb bounced up and likely pulled the ladder up with it a bit. We were all pretty tense, and the chainsaw managed to drop in the midst of this.

So, that was a wrap on tree trimming for the evening...

Unfortunately Ryan was still up there and ready to descend, but the wind picked up and became a little unsafe. He was now working with less ladder at the top, and we worried once he got lower, the branch may fly up a bit more. As you can see, Nat was a concerned onlooker :)

The wind finally died down and he was able to descend low enough to step off onto the wall

I'm sure he was glad to be on solid ground! But then Ken had to climb the ladder to untie it from the tree branch, and I'm pretty sure I shaved a few years off my life watching him on the way back down.

Next, it was time to pull the fallen tree branch out of the living room.

 One branch down, two more to go. We have decided to go the safe route of hiring a professional (like I told everyone last night: the cost to pay someone is worth my sanity!), so hopefully they'll be able to cut what we need without cutting too much!