Trimming the trees

[ktinkel]

Today the arborists are working on our trees. I love watching these men work. It is almost like aerialists except, of course, they carry chainsaws and haul heavy limbs around.

We needed to raise the canopy on several large trees. One maple had branches that actually rested on the glass roof in my office. The other maple — the huge one that frames our view of the river and is itself a sculptural object that we love to look at — developed a big hole in the side of the main trunk. Another tree service agent said we would need to fill it and cable the tree. The people here today (which we had used in the past) said it had healed itself, and no care was needed.

An oak down by the water had developed a lot of lateral branches so we had those trimmed off so we could see better. And to shape the tree, which is a mere 20 years old, so it will hold a lovely oaky urn shape in the future.

I notice that they cut off limbs so that there is a stub, angled downwards to facilitate run-off in the rain. The hole in the old maple was probably made by cutting too close, or even leaving an indention, so that water gradually eroded it, making an opening in the trunk that runs down a foot or more. I see quite a few indented spots in these old trees, but nothing to do about them now. They also do not paint the scar; they leave healing to good old Mother Nature.

Meanwhile, we have this wonderful theater going on outside our windows.

It is a ferociously hot day. Supposed to be in the 90s, and already very humid. Not sure how these men do it. They are young — the company manager, now 53, has retired from climbing. But it is still hot. They do drink a lot of water!