The Grandfather tree is no more.....

[ltljohn]

Out behind my house stood a very big ash tree, the biggest tree on my property. I quit counting at 125 rings it was an old tree.  Over the last few years the emerald ash borers have taken their toll and it has died.  It was a very big tree about 90 feet tall and almost 5 feet in diameter at the base.  It was close enough to the house that if it fell this way it would take out the house.  I had someone come and take it down today.  I had never seen a 54 in bar on a chain saw before "impressive"  and heavy.  They rigged a winch system to fit it in to a tight space and started cutting.  When it hit the ground the whole house shook.  I will miss my giant tree.

For reference the rock under the tree is about 3 feet tall

The second picture is the damage just under the bark that the Ash Borer does and kills the tree

[TEWKS]

Ah that's too bad, trees are kind of cool. That is, until they decide to take a nap on your homestead!  Good move! 

[RandyShields]

Sorry to see it go, but good decision versus taking your chances with the storms.

[Rinkydink]

Beautiful grain. It’s a shame. Is the wood junk, too damaged,  or is it worth something? They make guitar bodies from swamp ash. Just wondering?

[ltljohn]

It is back in the woods a bit and very difficult to get out.   It would cost more to get it out that I could get for it.  I am going to slowly cut it up and give it to all my neighbors that need firewood.

[Rinkydink]

I hope you have a hydraulic splitter. 😳 That or you are a he-man. Supposedly somewhat easy to split. Have fun 

[ltljohn]

I have a splitter and ash splits nicely.  The thing is I no longer have a fireplace I switched to a pellet stove.  If I had a way to make pellets.....

[Rinkydink]

Yes, but for me and a tree that size it’s getting the wood to the splitter that is so tough. My Kubota tractor came in handy for that. 

[ltljohn]

I am only taking the small parts from the top that I can easily carry out.  The rest will be reclaimed by mother nature.

[Sonor]

That is really a shame.  Ash is becoming a rare wood.  It is beautiful and strong.  Maybe you could split it and take it out in planks.

[John Ranalletta]

51 minutes ago, Sonor said:

That is really a shame.  Ash is becoming a rare wood.  It is beautiful and strong.  Maybe you could split it and take it out in planks.

 

 

Often, felled ash trees are recycled into mulch, spread to other neighborhoods where the borers take new victims.  Leave or burn (firewood) in place if possible. 

[Oldironken]

The farm i grew up on in Ohio was called "Ashwood Farm"  Now it more like "Wood ash Farm" as the borers had destroyed them all   

[Sonor]

My father was a forester and surveyor.  I worked for him during summers and on weekends.  We would often go marking trees for harvest. At that time he told me that science had not discovered how or why Ash trees grew where they did.  All they knew at that time was they needed other trees around them, you couldn't plant a groove of Ash trees, they would not live.  Not sure if that has changed or not but I knew even then they were an endangered tree. 

[Sailorlite]

Where, or in what climate, do these ash grow?  Any way to slow down those borers?

[ltljohn]

7 hours ago, Sailorlite said:

Where, or in what climate, do these ash grow?  Any way to slow down those borers?

I am in Southeast PA the White ash grows from Texas to Nova Scotia.  The only thing that works and it is not 100% is to drill holes in the base of the tree and inject insecticide so the tree pulls it up.

[ltljohn]

8 hours ago, Sonor said:

My father was a forester and surveyor.  I worked for him during summers and on weekends.  We would often go marking trees for harvest. At that time he told me that science had not discovered how or why Ash trees grew where they did.  All they knew at that time was they needed other trees around them, you couldn't plant a groove of Ash trees, they would not live.  Not sure if that has changed or not but I knew even then they were an endangered tree. 

The woods here were logged out between 100 to 150 years ago.  My little patch has Ash, Oak, Maple, Tulip Poplar, Beech along with  a few Hickory and Walnut.

[ltljohn]

10 hours ago, John Ranalletta said:

 

 

Often, felled ash trees are recycled into mulch, spread to other neighborhoods where the borers take new victims.  Leave or burn (firewood) in place if possible. 

The Grandfather Tree will mostly stay where it is as it is too big to easily cut up and too expensive to have moved,  lots of big rocks in the way.  What gets cut up will be local firewood as every ash tree around here is either sick or dead.

[John Ranalletta]

10 hours ago, Sonor said:

That is really a shame.  Ash is becoming a rare wood.  It is beautiful and strong.  Maybe you could split it and take it out in planks.

 

I read that dogwoods are dying out in the eastern forests.  I would like to have seen the chestnut trees growing about the time settlers came over.  As written, the trees were so large, settlers built houses under their branches.  We've lost a lot of pine/spruce trees here in the last couple of years.

[ltljohn]

13 minutes ago, John Ranalletta said:

 

I read that dogwoods are dying out in the eastern forests.  I would like to have seen the chestnut trees growing about the time settlers came over.  As written, the trees were so large, settlers built houses under their branches.  We've lost a lot of pine/spruce trees here in the last couple of years.

As a child I watched as all of the huge Elm trees were removed from the streets and parks in my home town.

[Hosstage]

15 minutes ago, ltljohn said:

As a child I watched as all of the huge Elm trees were removed from the streets and parks in my home town.

 

That happened in my neighborhood too, a sad time.

[Sonor]

I remember in Lincoln MA there was a town park with a Chestnut tree.  It looked like it was in an ER at the hospital.  It had barrels attached with tubes running down the trunk attached to the equivalent of needles poked into the roots. My father was with me at the time and told me the species and said that was the drugs that were keeping it alive.  That was many years ago and I would bet it has since passed.  Sad ...

 

I remember Elms as well. Another beautiful tree that has gone by.  I also remember researching deeds for my father's surveying company and finding deeds from the 1800s that referenced, "the large Elm Tree by the creek" as a corner. Yeah, those were easy surveys ...

[Oldironken]

While on the subject of trees i would recommend a great book i read over the winter.  "The Overstory" by Richard Powers. 

 

It is a tree-hugger sort of book that weaves trees into the lives of people over generations.  

 

One line from the book i remember well goes something like this.  "When is the best time to plant a tree? 20-years ago. When is the 2nd best time to plant a tree?  Today."

[Sonor]

Nice Oldironken - I must say, I am not a tree hugger, just the son of a forester that taught me to appreciate them, the products they make, and the proper husbandry / care taking of forests / trees.

[ltljohn]

More cutting on the tree to get it down off the rock.  It was hollow and full of decayed material for about 8 feet.

[John177]

It was certainly a difficult decision for you ...
 

[ltljohn]

5 hours ago, John177 said:

It was certainly a difficult decision for you ...
 

We waited as long as we could but it had died off and was a hazard to the house.