"To Fell A Poplar Tree"

Ok, so it doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "To Kill a Mockingbird" does!

So what are these guys in orangish red jumpsuits holding on to that rope for in the middle of a school yard? (That building behind them is part of the school.)This is the way we make sure that when you cut a tree down, the tree falls into the school yard rather than onto the power/telephone lines in the opposite direction! It is also the way we guide the tree when it starts to fall when the wind is blowing like crazy and the top of the tree is swaying this way and that even before the cutting begins. I happen to think that the guys holding the rope are kind of brave - that tree is a whole lot taller than the rope is long!It's strange, looking at this photo I realize that two other trees closer to the gate have already been removed. I don't know when that happened - earlier in the day (I doubt it - no tree litter around the area and the stumps are not very white), yesterday, a year ago, 4 years ago. Anyway, here is a photo of the sawyer cutting the second half of the wedge out.Cutting from the back side. This photo reminds me a lot of my father - I've watched him cut down so many trees over the past 40 years... This guy took off running the opposite way when the tree started to lean. However, the tree just stopped falling at an angle and he had to come back over and cut a bit more. Note the lack of safety equipment on the man. TIMMMMBBBBBBERRRRRR! Wow - you should have seen those guys run! heh heh I like the way I was able to catch one of the branches flying through the air above the falling tree. It sounded like a bomb going off when it hit ground, and the trunk actually broke into several pieces. Mel commented that he wondered what the pavement under the tree looked like after!I was amazed at how quickly they cleaned this tree, and all the debris, out of the school yard. We didn't stay to watch, but when we drove by in a taxi a couple hours later, only the smallest little twigs were still lying on the ground (and there were a lot of them). The trunk and all of the branches were completely gone, as were the men and the vehicles.I think that the next tree in the line, the one behind the girl walking in the photo, was also cut down. I'll have to go over and look.