I See the Trees Fallin’

Today Gregory Forrest Lester took down approximately 15 trees from the side and back yard of my house in preparation for my future garage.  I thought I had hit pay dirt when I contacted a woodmizer out of Indiana who, in exchange for the 5 walnut trees, was going to cut down all the trees for FREE.  Well that turned out to be too good to be true as their plan was to “fall” the trees, which required a street closure permit.  In order to get that they would need to apply for the permit, be bonded, and insured with the city.  They were none of these, so back to plan A, paying to have them removed.  I got several bids in the same ballpark, but selected Gregory Forrest Lester because they were on the City of Cincinnati’s contractor list.  They also agreed to match my lowest bid, which included the grinding out of the accessible stumps.

I’m so glad I went with them.  The two other low bids were smaller operations and would have taken at least a week to clear all the trees.  Their crew arrived at 7am, as stated, and they made quick and efficient work of removing the trees.  They were finished by 2pm.  The crew was super friendly and very accommodating.  There were several branches and debris on the roof and I asked if the young man in the cherry picker could use their backpack blower to removed the and they did.  There was a bunch of out of control grape vines entangled around the two cluster of trees that remain near the front and they removed a lot of it for me.  They also cut out a couple of rouge branches from those clusters.  One of the crew members gave me a great landscaping suggestion, planting Redbud trees along the back.  I’ll probably give them a call when it’s time to tackle the landscaping.

Here’s another Quik video capturing the event: I See the Trees Fallin’ video
I swear my house was smiling, basking in the warmth of the sun, something the rear of it had not felt in years.

I have a strong desire to make my own dining room table (I have these really cool cast iron table legs that are screaming for a wood top), so I’m still allowing Woodwright’s Portable Saw Mill and Woodworker to take the walnut trees.  Randy Wiper, owner, will properly cut the trunks into slabs and dry them out and I’ll get enough for my little project.  If I chicken out on tackling the table I will at least get enough to create a vanity shelf in the two bathrooms.