Cutting Down a Tree Safely

Winter is just around the bend and a topic that can't be stressed enough is cutting down a tree...safely. We'll certainly be in the woods this winter cutting our share of trees out of the wood lot. We plan on using wood heat when we build our home, but in the meantime, we use the trees out of our wood lot for making maple syrup in the Spring. We know that every time we go out to cut down a tree, there is the possibility that injury could occur and that keeps us on our toes.

But if you're not used to cutting down trees, doing it safely should be your number one priority. Take this story for example. My grandparents had an old shady maple tree in declining health. My father, and two uncles tied a chain to the tree and hooked the other end of the chain to the tractor. The tree had a diameter of about two and a half feet. This was a very large tree. So they proceeded to cut the tree down, but as I look back, I really don't think they knew what they were doing. The tree had a lean to it. A lean towards the house. Even a heavy chain and a tractor wouldn't hold that beast of a tree back. And it didn't When they were about 3/4 through the cut, the tree leaned ~ further towards the house ~ the chain snapped and grandpa and I got a huge awakening from an afternoon nap in the living room as that tree came crashing into the front side of the house. The front two windows of the house shattered into thousands of pieces and the top of the tree lay smashed into the roof. The "sons" paid a price for their mistake that day as grandpa got two shiny new front windows. Thankfully no one was hurt. But the pride of the three "loggers" out front sure was. I wish I could have been awake to see their faces when that tree fell. I'm sure it would have been priceless.

But back to the moral here, if you're going to be out cutting down a tree this winter, please remember to keep safe and have someone watching for falling limbs and the tilt of the tree while you are cutting.





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