Redford Cemetery Association

Early SPRING WORKDAY 2007

DATE: 24 March 2007

TIME: 9:00am-1:30pm

LOCATION: Redford Cemetery

After a long winter, work at the cemetery begins again!

For our first workday of 2007 we decided to tackle the dying and disfigured willow located along the north fence. This tree had lost a number of major limbs in the past two years and had some worrisome internal decay, threatening both the tree's aesthetics and the safety of visitors to the cemetery grounds. These factors together necessitated the removal of this once majestic tree. Additionally, there were a few larger limbs and one mid-sized tree that had fallen during the winter that needed to be cleaned up.

It is our intention to finish clearing the north fence this spring. We will then work to control the return of the ailanthus, sumac, and poison ivy this coming year. Replanting of the north fence should begin this fall, and will include both ornamental deciduous trees and evergreens, along with attractive low-maintenance flowering shrubs. As always, donations towards this effort are appreciated.

Mike and Brandon got to work around 9:00am on a misty Saturday morning. Within a half hour the mist had turned to rain, which made for some moist work! All the same, the tree was taken down and separated into material that could be chipped and material which was too large for chipping. These larger chunks of wood were advertised on detroit.craigslist.org as free firewood and much of the wood was collected.

Starting the process. For the sake of perspective, the bar on this saw measures 28"!

And she's down! Mike begins breaking the tree trunk into manageable pieces. Also for the sake of perspective, Mike is 6'3" without his boots on!

The tree trunk was so large that it required working from both sides AND from above!

Still in excess of 30" at this point, the trunk was cut into thick cookies which were then halved and quartered for ease of transport.

The widest point of the trunk was massive enough to require that it be pieced apart. It did make us wonder why we didn't bring the big saw with a 42" bar!

In the end we had a large row, two or three rows deep in spots, of wood to offer up on craigslist.

The true stars of the day: the saws! From top to bottom: Makita 6401, Stihl 066, Dolmar 7900, and Stihl 026Pro