For Dru

I almost forgot... I was going to answer your questions from yesterday about DH taking down the trees.

You asked: How easy is it to chainsaw through a tree? And wouldn't it fall as you got to the other side? How big is the tree that DH could pick it up and then drop it? I know nothing about tree-cutting and find this all very interesting.

1. How easy is it to chainsaw through a tree?

It is TOO easy, LOL, which is why so many men with chainsaws think they can. When we first moved in here, DH and a BIL took down a TON of trees in our backyard (NH is just thick with them). In a matter of minutes, you can saw through a pretty decent sized tree.

2. And wouldn't it fall as you got to the other side?

The way DH does it is to cut a wedge out of one side (the side he wants it to fall on), and then makes a cut on the opposite side. Despite what folks may think, trees actually fall pretty slowly, and if you're paying attention, there is plenty of time to move away. The problem we had with the beech tree was that it was leaning toward the lawn, so despite all our efforts it fell the wrong way (and yes, foolish folk that we are, we even stood behind it and pushed... to no avail).

3. How big is the tree that DH could pick it up and then drop it?

When I said DH "dropped" the tree between our two apple trees, I meant that's where it fell when he cut it. Green trees, even small ones, weigh far too much to lift. The problem with that tree was it began falling ON the apple tree, so DH walked over to the trunk and gave it a hard shove as it fell in order to move it the foot or so it needed to drop right between them.

And, Dru -- for all the tree-cutting info you could want, feel free to ask Judy. She and her DH do that kind of stuff for a living (and, yes, she make a comment about amateurs when I talked to her about this *G*).

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.