I've got sympathy for you Harv. We have a similiar problem in Southeast Michigan. Apparently a bug called the "Emerald Ash Borer" got here from China, riding in some wood pallets several years ago. This beetle has quite an appetite for ash trees. There is a six county quarantine for firewood movement, and we're losing ash trees right and left. There is no reliable treatment, and I'm sure it will spread since these darn things fly!
We're also having problems with our oak trees. There is a fungal disease called "Oak Wilt" that can kill a massive, healthy oak tree in a single year. This incidence of this disease has been increasing steadily over the past two years.
First the Chestnuts, then the Elm trees. I hope your pines, the ash trees and the oaks aren't following behind.
So I spent the weekend up at the property and met the enemy face to face. Although I had to squint some to see the li'l critters, I had no problem seeing what they were doing to my pine trees. Can't feel anything but sad when I look out across the pond and see all those brown needles where green should prevail.
This was my first chance to watch my caretaker in his element, taking down trees, cutting them up and burning them to ash. In the 28 hours I was there, he took down a about a dozen good-size trees and reduced them to rubble. Started feeling my age all of a sudden. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
When he walked up to the first tree of the day (about a 60-footer), I figured he was exaggerating his skills when he said it would be a burn pile in about 20 minutes. But while I just stood there looking stupid, he donned his spikes and walked up the tree about as fast as I walk to the refrigerator. At each set of branches, he hauled up his chainsaw, dangling from his hip (motor running), dropped a half-dozen branches and continued his climb. I was fascinated when I saw three 3 to 4-inch diameter branches falling through the air at the same time. That is, before the first branch hit the ground, he had cut two more.
Reaching the top took about 5 minutes by my watch. All branches removed. Then he started the downward journey, lopping off 3 to 4-foot logs (for easy handling) and dropping them into a neat pile on the ground. Once he reached the ground himself, it was just a matter of tossing the downed branches on the pile and setting a match to it. Came out to 18 minutes, total. [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img]
The next tree was close by, so he just felled it so that it landed right behind (touching, actually) the burning pile. Being a city-slicker myself, I was alarmed that the branches of this freshly downed tree immediately burst into flame, but by the time I was able to voice my concern, he had limbed every part of the tree that was not immediately on the fire. A few minutes later, the non-burning part of the tree was sectioned into 4-foot lengths so we could easily end-over-end them onto the fire.
He dropped the third tree in a simlar fashion, forming a triangle around the fire, with the third side being the pond. Scary as it was for me to watch, these three trees were all part of a well-organized fire in about an hour from the first cut.
Once he was satisfied that the burn was properly contained and proceeding at a leisurely rate, he moved on to the next group of trees. By nightfall, he had four burn piles going. This again was of great concern to me, since I had always been most attentive whenever I had just a single burn going. When he suddenly announced he was done for the day and walked off to rustle up some barbecued ribs for all us, I was flabbergasted and said I didn't like the idea of leaving all these fires going unattended. He told me I could stay and watch them if I wanted to, but said that I would soon understand why it's okay. He was right.
I patrolled the burn piles for about 20 minutes more, during which time the air temperature dropped to near freezing. The piles quickly turned to coals, and just glowed steadily for the rest of the night. By morning, there was little left but ash. Hard to believe those trees could be reduced to white powder in such a short time, but there they were.
Current tally: 33 down and 18 to go. The attached picture shows all the main characters of the saga.
As I prepared to leave for home, no matter which direction I looked, I saw a scene similar to the attached picture. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
I second these thoughts. My neighbor used to be a logger and I've learned quite a bit "helping" (looking stupid) him cut trees on his place. I've considered getting some climbers and giving it a shot, but I'd have to find some shorter trees than mine to learn.
Harv,
Sorry to hear you had to drop so many trees. You may be amazed how things come back though.
On the burn piles, you did the right thing. It is a pian in the patootsie sometimes to hang out with that burn pile. But, one good gust from a breeze could blow ashes to other combustibles. A fire may not move fast with the condidtions we have, but it can move. And, if it does, you are responsible. You are liable if it escapes to a neighbors property.
Those trees went up quick; imagine if some embers were blown to another tree that was just as dry.
Maybe I'm sensitive to it, since I worked at the local fire station for a few years. But, I have seen them escape, even at this time of year. It aint worth the risk.....
Update - I read this week that the emerald ash borer has escaped the six county quarantine area in Michigan and has been found in Northern Ohio. I think this is going to be a really big problem.
I live in southern w.va. and we have the same problem.The old scaby pine trees that I have alot of didn,t bother me to bad,but the last couple of years they have even been boring into apple trees,a sweet gum beside the house top was dying and I topped it last fall so the dead limbs on top wouldn,t fall onto the house.I don,t know there rightfull name but what they do is bore into the tree in nice little patterns and than they girdle the tree limb and that part dies,in the pines it seems they start lower on the trunk,there is a big brown beatle that hatches about july and eats leaves like they are going ouy of style for only about 2-3 weeks and than is gone,I believe this is the adult stage of these borers,and they than go to the ground and come out as beatles boring holes. I've already sprayed my trees in my yard that show the holes twice this year with borer spray,[its the only thing I could find that said borer on it],and when those brown flying bugs come out this year I am going to try and kill every one I can with poison spray,seven.So sounds to me like they are everywhere.I've got a few big blue spruces and they have had holes in them for over 11 years now and they show no sighns of dying,Ibelieve the sap in these kill them or hinder them because they got to be the same damned bug or maybe we've got evary kind of borer there is. RICHARD GAUTHIER
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