Deconstructing a kanuka

Not very much later than the crack of dawn Sam the arborist arrived to check what the team were to do today. His helpers arrived a little later, and then the three of them worked hard all day long, with only two breaks. The main task was to remove the four or five large kanuka on the bank beside the house. The current retaining wall is crumbling and the trees embodied a major risk. The new retaining wall is planned to be a bit further away from the house, and the kanuka would have had to go then anyway. 

Now that they have gone a lot more light reaches the house and the whole property. The neighbour will use a fair bit of the wood for his fireplace (we no longer have an open fire). I will add the sawdust to the compost bin.

The main photo shoes Sam coming down the last kanuka in stages cutting off the piece above him all the way down. The extra was earlier in the process and shows that he went higher than the roof on each knauka.