Fall Maintenance around an olde Cape.

View of the Spruce from the front dooryard as Todd inches his way skyward.

This is a project that Linda and I have waited several years to initiate. It's all a matter of priority though and finally this tree made it to the top of the list. It's a very large and very old Spruce that really adds nothing of significance to the property. It's surface roots spread far and wide and dominate this corner of the yard. It created un-wanted morning shade and robbed a nearby garden of water. It was time to go. 

From the backyard as he continues to disassemble this old tree.

So we called Todd Wilkins from Mont Vernon, NH and he and his crew arrived loaded for bear, because this Spruce is nearly 100 feet tall, 48 inches in diameter and is flanked by two antique capes that date to the 18th century. There's little room for error. Todd used his bucket truck for as far as it would reach, then donned his spikes, roped himself in and bravely continued up the tree on his own. After limbing the tree that left a tall thin obelisk, we considered handing Todd a pot of flowers and using it as a planter.  Rather though, he continued to dismantle the tree by cutting it into eight foot lengths and dropping them to the ground with the aid of gravity and his crew.

By this time a large gallery of interested observers gathered to watch Todd work.

Todd seemed unconcerned for his safety... but we were as we watched him move about effortlessly. After a few hours this massive tree was down, cut into manageable pieces, the branches shredded into wood chips and the trunk hauled off to a nearby saw mill to be cut into boards. It was not going to waste, not even the wood chips that were sold to a business who uses them to fire their furnaces.

Todd analyzing the cleanup. He had to drive his heavy bucket truck into the backyard, but before he did, he laid out a configuration of plywood sheets to drive on, saving us the work of having to repair deep ruts. When he was done, it was as clean and neat as when he started. I'll either have someone come in and grind out the stump or have Jim Sickler spend some time with his backhoe to eradicate it.

Let me show you another project that Todd completed for us just a couple of years ago. This is the view in our backyard. When we purchased this property you wouldn't have known that this existed as it was simply an overgrown wall of green. In three visits, he limbed up and out until the desired view was achieved. He also eliminated many, much smaller trees, that were being chocked out by their larger neighbors. I didn't want to do this all at once for fear of going too far and destroying the look. We lived a month or so with each cut, slowly expanding the view. 

I think you'll agree that Todd is an artist with a chainsaw.

This is the final product. In fact while Todd was here taking down the old Spruce, he spent an hour or so cleaning up small areas that have grown back. The result of Todd's work not only enhanced the view, but created wonderful breezes, gave us a more enhanced view of the sky, local wildlife and and contributed greatly to the health of the remaining maples and black-cherry trees. If you need tree work done, we recommend Todd very highly. To learn more about him or to contact Todd, click on TODD WILKINS TREE & LANDSCAPING SERVICES.

Same as above only a few months later

Before Todd arrived

I acquired this photo from a previous owner. This is how the backyard appeared before Todd rescued the view. It was chocked with foliage, there was no air movement and the mature trees were suffering badly. The spruce just to the right of the gate is the tree that Todd removed today.

Sometime in the future I plan to create a list of contractors and stores where I've purchased goods and services, something like an "Angie's List," to let readers know of local businesses with sterling reputations. After owning two antique homes over the last 32 years we have a pretty good feel for who does quality, dependable work. Stay tuned.

 

In the very first photo you may have noticed that the bulkhead doors had been removed. Linda, the perfectionist that she is was tired of their appearance. They're cedar, but must have been wet when painted some time ago as the paint was peeling off exposing bare wood. The hinges and handle had suffered through many paint jobs and were covered with old, crusted paint and rust. So off they came, and into the garage they went, where she attacked them with a scrapper, sand paper and an orbital sander. After priming and two coats of paint that match the house, they look beautiful once again. The metal work was removed, run through our wire wheel and painted as well. 

While the doors were off we purchased a 3/4" insulation board, cut it to size and attached it to the inner door with liquid nails. Interesting product that I'd never used before. It's dispensed with a caulking gun to the two surfaces, but once you get the material in place don't waste time fitting it exactly into position. Within a minute the surfaces were bonded and moving the insulation board wasn't going to happen. This should help seal this door better and keep drafts to a minimum on this north facing wall.

Autumn is here, winter is quickly approaching and there is much yet to do to prepare for it. Next I need to check both my generator and snowblower; change the oil, clean the filters and charge their systems to insure that they're functioning perfectly. 

Happiness is a 7500 KVA generator, humming away on a cold, windy night when ice coated wires are down and a nor-easter is slamming its way through the village.  I try to run my generator once a month for a half hour, so I won't be surprised on that freezing cold night without electricity when it won't start. Secondly to maintain familiarity with the machinery. I also attach the power cord into the house receptacle, in the background, and actually power the house with generator power. I know the generator is running but want to insure that the transfer unit is functioning properly as well. Don't forget to stabilize your fuel!

But you may ask, "how large of a generator do I need?" For a very simplified chart click here to read Consumer Reports answer to that question. Read through their list, determine what you want/need to power and add up the wattage. I ran this exercise and then added 1,000 watts to ensure capability and arrived at this 7500 watt unit. For my mother who is older and lives a few miles away, I selected a permanent unit that auto starts when it detects a loss of street power.