I showed you the lightening struck oak tree on Tuesday's Blog. The tree was struck just before our planned trip to Tennessee. While in TN, we attended the wedding of our niece. It was an outdoor wedding under a tent on one of the hottest days of the year. Thank goodness the reception was inside in the cool Air Conditioning. Just one month prior, this entire facility was under water from the flood! Lots of hard work and the facility was back into shape for the wedding. My dad, the grandfather to the bride, was not sure he would be able to attend the wedding with his hip jumping out of place and leg now in a brace. Brides mom came up with the idea for him to be driven beside the tent so he could easily slip out of the back of the van and into a seat to view the ceremony. The Saint was his chauffeur and it worked well. Shorts, no shoes and all. A Wedding with a touch of redneck but hey, I am the one with chamber pots in my garden right?
It was a beautiful wedding and all went according to plan. Here you see the beautiful bride, her groom and my parents just after the wedding, before the Saint drove dad up the hill to the reception hall. 
The Saint returned back to Georgia that following Monday while I stayed on a bit longer to assist my parents. I had a set back with my cars Air conditioning draining into the floor board of the car! Yikes, I was getting flooded out of my car with running the AC but in that heat, I had no choice but run the air. Luckily, the puddle of water was on the passengers side and I was driving alone. The car had just lost its warranty with my many TN trips so the Saint said he would repair the problem once I got back to Georgia. So down the interstate I go with a flooded floorboard. This is the sight I arrived home to see. 
Can you imagine the look on my face to see this monster in my driveway? The thing weighs 22,500 pounds, moves about 3 mph and has one heck of a boom that can reach the tallest of trees!
I knew the Saint was renting a Cherry Picker of some type to assist in removing the large Willow Oak that was struck by lightening, but I had no idea of the type machine he had in mind! The Saint had already pruned up the tree and was now attaching the rope to secure the tree while cutting.
The rope was attached to the tree way up high, then around a tree in the woods, then back to the front of the house where the rope was attached to the machine. As the Saint directed the machine, the rope was kept tight, thus a perfect fall where we want the tree to land. Once all were happy with the rope being attached, they cut a notch out of the tree in the direction for the fall. 
All was going as planned until the rope broke! Yikes, they had to stop what they were doing and run to town for a new rope. Meanwhile, I sat in the sun room staring at the tree hoping she would not fall before they returned. And yes, the wind started to pick up! This was too close for comfort but I remained calm. I have all this on video but for some reason, Blogger will not load the video for me today....
A happy ending with new tow ropes being purchased, Quick zap of the Chain saw and the tree fell exactly where they wanted her to land. They measured the trunk and the Willow Oak was 93 feet tall. This was a mighty oak indeed!
I had the Saint also limbing up the two sweet gums that we plan to take down this fall as well as two other trees in the front yard. He also remove two more trees along side of our driveway that were a danger for future storms. The Saint and our neighbor (The one which gave me lots of Lilies) worked their butts off that weekend with removing many trees and branches in our yard as well as his yard. I had to joke with them that they picked the hottest weekend with record breaking temps to tackle this job. Silly guys.... 
Later that night, the Saint spotted this bruise on his thigh. He has no idea how it got there. I would think that hit would have made an impression with him but not so. He will whine over a fly bite but when playing with big machines and getting a big boo-boo, he never complains. Gee....
We now have tons of limbs on the ground. The Saint has been cutting them into long branches for a chipper which we will rent soon. I can see lots of pretty mulch in my Gardens near future....
That was some job and stress CUTTING THE MIGHTY OAK, In the Garden....
Note: The Saint repaired the car within 10 minutes! AC Drain clogged. He is my hero...
No question why you call him "The Saint"! That tree cutting business is heavy duty. Glad he could do the repair on the A.C., too. He's a keeper.
ReplyDeleteWeddings SHOULD be personal statements - reflective of the couple and their families - not cookie cutter extravagances.
Glad you're home safe and sound.
Yeah! What a good guy to do all that!
ReplyDeleteYour niece is beautiful!
What a lovely, family wedding. You all worked to make your Dad be comfortable and a part of it all. (I am so glad their home is coming along.)
ReplyDeleteWhat a bummer about that ancient oak. What a great machine though to help take it down. Tree cutting business always makes me nervous.
Glad your DH fixed your a.c. problem.
FlowerLady
Thank goodness for the men in our lives! They manage to save the day and scoff at the boo-boos. That pic of your dad with his granddaughter is wonderful. Everyone is just beaming with joy in spite of the heat. I'm so glad the tree came down the way it was supposed to. Were you able to salvage any of it for lumber?
ReplyDeleteWhat a monsterous job your Saint took on, glad everything worked out. :)
ReplyDeleteThat saint is a "keeper".
ReplyDeleteLove the story about the wedding. Very sweet!
I think it's wonderful that you made sure the grandfather of the bride could attend. Family is more important than fashion!
ReplyDeleteWow--tree removal is frightening to me. Yes, your hubby is appropriately nicknamed The Saint.
The Musician was a forester early on in his career and he has some tree (and forest fire) stories.
Hope you get your car a/c fixed. It will be 101 here today with a heat index out of this world. I've decided that I could be doing more damage than good by trying to water the garden today. It's already too hot.
What a beautiful wedding. So glad the Grandfather was able to attend.
ReplyDeleteOh my, what a giant of a tree. That machine sure was a big help. The Saint {appropriately so} sure was a brave fellow to tackle such a feat.
Glad your AC wasn't some major problem.
MRI scheduled for Saturday. Hoping for good results.
Good Morning all! Another hot one in GA but to be expected this time of year I reckon. I was out watering the garden's yesterday when I soaked a bee's nest. I had no idea it was there or I would have been careful. A swarm attached me and I was stung about 12 times! OUCH.... I am itching like crazy today….
ReplyDeleteRebecca, You are so right about weddings! My dad was unsure about going as he would be a spectacle; I assured him that being there for his grandchild was more important then what anyone else thought. She was delighted to have him there for her big day…
Dawn, Thank you! She is not only beautiful on the outside but on the inside as well. She is an awesome niece to us both…
Flowerlady, The wedding was wonderful and so relaxing like a wedding should be. The loss of the oak was a bit sad but Mother Nature took her so she had to go…
W2W, A bit hot but a perfect wedding otherwise! We were all beaming that day. My Saint is a good man to me and so knowledgeable about things such as tree cutting. We have done our share of cutting them in this yard. We are so thinking of condo living with our next home, lol… The oak wood will be burn in our fireplace this winter! The mulch, will be spread about as well so not a total loss…
Racquel, I was so proud of my man up in that bucket working to remove that tree. Why pay for it when you can do it yourself….
Rosey, When I fell in love with the Saint, I was lucky as I had no idea how brave he was with high places! He has such talents and never ceases to amaze me with his skills…
Cameron, I agree about fashion. I think Fashion is so over rated anyway, but then again, I am a tomboy, hee hee… AC was not broke just a clogged drain hose so the water was coming inside the car instead of draining outside. The Air worked fine through all this mess. I could not be too upset at the flooded car after what my parents are going through with their flooded home. The Saint is a keeper indeed! I bet the Musician has some great stories to tell on forest’s and fires as well. Fire is too scary for me…
Lola, I hope the procedure goes well on Saturday, I will keep you in my prayers and thoughts for a good report… The Saint was so brave indeed. Our neighbor, who rented the machine, was too scared to get in it as he has a bit of fear of heights! How funny is that, he rents the thing then cannot use it! lol. I cannot make fun of him as he gave me all those beautiful lilies, hee hee…
How grand that your dad was able to attend the wedding!
ReplyDeleteWillow Oaks are mighty, indeed! We lived in a neighborhood full of beautiful huge willow oaks for 23 years. It was a sad thing when Hurricanes Fran and Floyd toppled many of them - some toppled into the street but many landed on houses. We were fortunate that they fell all around us but not on us!
The Saint obviously knows what he's doing!
I'll bet it was a beautiful wedding. I'm glad everyone was able to go and enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
Shorts, no shoes, whatever, HE WAS THERE!!!! That is what matters to all. I bet all would have enjoyed the wedding if he HAD not been able to get there but there would have been a dark cloud hovering around. Do not need that at the happy time!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so darn lucky to have a hubby that knows how to do things. My hubby can barley drive in a nail. I am very luck that all 4 of my girls have a man that is very hand, like the saint and they have all done things for me.
It's great your dad made it to the wedding Skeeter. Wowser on that tree and equipment to cut it down. Now that IS the way to do it. I know you all feel better clearing some of the area and taking out those trees and limbs but what a heck of a job! Kudos to the Saint for fixing the A/C line. So frustrating...to have this issue when driving in the heat.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bride and happy ending with the AC getting fixed:) Hope everyone is staying comfortable in this heat. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteOh Tina, I had fresh peas for breakfast -from the garden. Hubby laughed -I couldn't wait for dinner I was so excited to have so many:) Ciao
Anonymous, Lucky you!! That sounds fantastic for breakfast:)
ReplyDeleteWow, that was a great solution to your dad attending the wedding (that's not redneck, lol!). And I think maybe the Saint is afraid that if complains about boo boos from big toys, you might not let him play with them any more! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThere is always a way. Glad your dad got to enjoy the wedding too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a job with the tree. It was big. I hope the wood can be used for something nice to "live" on!
There is always a way. Glad your dad got to enjoy the wedding too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a job with the tree. It was big. I hope the wood can be used for something nice to "live" on!
It is a shame to have to cut down such lovely trees, but the job has to be done. I would have been nervous too, waiting for the guys to return with more rope to secure the tree. Glad everything worked out so well.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a big project. My kids have all enjoyed a book about trucks that features a cherry picker. But when I asked our electrical company employee neighbor about cherry pickers, he snorted and said no one called them by that name. Well, no one but the book's author, our family, and you, I guess!
ReplyDeleteAmazing...93 feet tall !
ReplyDeleteSorry you had to lose this beautiful tree. Glad to hear the Saint is well...what a guy.
hi,I m back of the USA , my jorney was realy great ! you can look at
ReplyDeletehttp://kalosreise.blogspot.com/
every day was realy nice and I miss the USA, I love you all !!! big hugh Kathrin , Bremen
Wow Skeeter! It seems you've been having a little run of bad luck lately. I hope that will change soon! I envy the free mulch but not the loss of such a nice tree. You just can't help mother nature though!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bride.... very cool tree demo pics too!
ReplyDeletePoor Mr. Skeeter - I mean The Saint,of course. Have you ever tried Arnica cream for bruises? My son had a bike injury last week and our nurse practitioner recommended it - seems to be helping a lot with the healing and discoloration.
ReplyDeleteGood evening everyone! I have been running errands and doctoring my bee stings. The itch is driving me crazy! As I was headed to the store for itch meds, I saw the temp on a nearby sign reading 103 degrees! Heat index was much higher so yuck it was another nasty day with no showers to cool things off....
ReplyDeleteGinny, I am so glad the hurricane did not topple any trees on your house. Hurricanes and the sand keep me from living in FL...
Marnie, it was, thanks…
Jean, you are so right. Dad being there was more important then how he got there or was dressed. The bride was so happy he was there for her big day. My parents are not so handy either so maybe these things skip a generation. Lol…
Tina, Mr Fixit would have been playing with them. Another neighbor stopped by to see what was going on. At one point he grabbed the sledge hammer to knock out one of the notches. He just could not stand there and not be involved. It was an awesome piece of machinery. My AC feels so wonderful, :-)
Anonymous, Peas for breakfast! Did you have honey with them? LOL, you crack me up girl. I am more of a cold pizza gal myself, hee hee…
Monica, I think you are on to something with the boo-boo. This weekend the chipper arrives. Oh boy, I cannot wait to get in the middle of that fun time. Not….
Sherlock, we will have plenty of wonderful sweet smelling oak in our living room fireplace this winter! I love the smell of burning oak fires. Just wish we could make a piece of furniture out of it instead of burn it, sigh…
Keewee, I was really on edge but kept my cool until they returned. I gave them instructions to get there and come straight home and no side trips anywhere. The wind picking up had me on edge but I do know the strength of wood and felt it would be okay…
VW, I have called those cherry pickers all my life. My hubby was born in Texas and has been from the east coast to the west coast and he too calls it a Cherry picker. Our neighbor which helped us, is from Wisconsin and he too calls it a Cherry Picker. Hum, I think maybe the electric man does not know what they are. Hee hee. Does he maybe call it a bucket truck? That would be the only other term I have heard for them but since this one is not attached to a truck, I say cherry picker…
Patsi, It was a grand old tree but it has a twin in our back yard and some smaller ones in the front woods so I still have willow oaks around me. My Saint is true to his name….
Kathrin, I am so glad you had a nice holiday in the USA. I will have to check in to see your pictures! We spent this past weekend with our German friends in Atlanta. They have a new boat and we spent time on the lake with them…
Dave, I am thinking the same thoughts about bad luck! I think I have had enough now and ready for some good stuff to happen in my life. I reckon waking up each day with a wonderful family and good health are good enough :-) IT was an awesome tree but I have plenty more willow oaks in our woods and one just as tall in the back yard so I still have oaks around me…
Dirty Girl, Thank you! The bride was on cloud 9 on her wedding day and the Saint was on Cloud 9 while playing with his toy. Hee hee…
JGH, I have never heard of arnica cream for bruises. My Saint would not use it anyway as he likes to show off his bruises and scraps. I have me a typical boy man. Hee hee. I make him put medication on his scratches and he fights me all the way just like a little boy taking a bath, lol….
I would have been so nervous in the house with the tree notched and ready to fall. You are brave :) Sounds like they got lots accomplished that day!
ReplyDeleteGlad your niece's wedding was able to take place at the place they had planned and that your Dad was able to be there.
Catherine, I was a bit nervious about the tree but not too stressed as I know how strong wood can be and there was enough wood in place to keep the oak upright. The wind was a bit scary though as that can really make a quick change. Yikes....
ReplyDeleteWedding was so relaxing and wonderful...