You can see the major crack extending vertically up and down the poplar's trunk.
The crew mentioned to me that when they were standing at its base, observing and
considering their modus operandi - they could hear it working, moving in the wind.
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Tree Work
Monday, 6 April 2026
We have a house in the woods so we live surrounded by trees. Trees may live for a very long time, even centuries. But there are issues: pests and diseases such as emerald ash borer, oak wilt, beech leaf disease. Environmental issues such as drought, or storm damage. Accordingly, for years now we have a crew come from Steve and Son Tree Service for a day's work, once in the spring and again in the fall. Last October when the tree work was done and Steve came to inspect, he pointed out two trees that needed to come down, a cottonwood and a poplar, both with rot. Today was the day.
You can see the major crack extending vertically up and down the poplar's trunk.
The crew mentioned to me that when they were standing at its base, observing and
considering their modus operandi - they could hear it working, moving in the wind.
Rather windy today, hazardous to climb. So they set a strap from tree across driveway.
Arborist cut piecemeal all the way around the tree at its base. Ran away as tension applied.
The tree started down, accelerating as it came, and landed with shattering branches and a thud.
Poplar is not the best for firewood. It is suitable for what are called the "shoulder seasons," which are
early spring and late fall. The better sections of the trunk were brought up and stacked near the log splitter.
Paul will cut them to 18-inch lengths, turn log splitter to vertical, and split them up
to begin drying. Good thing it can be turned - the logs are 20 to 24 inches in diameter.
And even when cut to stove length will be too heavy to lift up onto the horizontal cradle.
The cottonwood also has an obvious crack but not, to my inexpert eye, as serious as the poplar.
Cottonwood has limited value for firewood: holds a lot of moisture when freshly cut so needs
lengthy period to age. Then too, it is difficult to split as it is very stringy and doesn't separate cleanly.
After discussion with the experienced crew we decided not to keep any of the cottonwood.
It was trundled down the driveway and fed into the massive chipper to be carted away.
First and foremost we need to say a huge "Thank You!" to Steve. When he said
the cottonwood needed to come down because it was rotting I had no idea that
it was really just staying upright from habit.
If you have any comments or questions, you can e-mail me: jgglatt@gmail.com
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