Tree felling

There was drama out in the garden today when it was decided that the time had come to fell two 60 foot conifers which were blocking the light. The first tree was very straight forward and fell exactly where they had planned. The photo may look as if J is standing in the wrong place but in fact he is directing N to make sure that he makes that first important cut in exactly the right place, and there is no danger of the tree falling on him at this stage. N and J are quite experienced tree fellers and consider all aspects of the job very carefully, with safety being paramount.
The second tree turned into a bit of a mammoth task as the space where they wanted it to fall was quite narrow and the tree just refused to topple, no matter how many wedges they drove into the cut after the first wedge had been removed. The extras show the boys considering the problem and then the tree falling to the ground. There will now be quite a few days of cutting up and clearing up but the amount of light now coming into that part of the garden has made it all worth while.