A Better Weekend
Sunday, October 9th, 2022 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioNot a bad weekend! The fall colors are coming along, and I wanna blather on about that further below, but the bigger news is that I got up early enough on Saturday to get some work done out back.
First thing to do was fit the chainsaw with the new 20" bar & chain. It all went together, but the bar was kinda heavy, and the chain was a bit loose, because the tool can only extend the bar so far... and this bar was just a tad too long.
It still worked, but because the bar is so heavy, it's vibrations had the effect of slowly loosening the chain.
So I got some work done with it, but I don't want to damage the tool, so I'll have to order a 16" bar soon, and settle for that.
--<>--
It was a glorious 59F out there, with a strong breeze, so, working in just my shirt, with no jacket, all my sweat instantly evaporated, keeping me nice and cool! And it was the first time all season that the sun did not feel like it was pounding down on me.
What I focused on, with the long bar, was the hulking root that lifted up out of the ground in the back neighbor's yard, and mangled his chainlink fence.
I sawed through it on my side first, then hopped the fence and severed it on his side... near the fence and near the ground... and hefted the hunks over to my side... leaving nothing but a gaping hole in the fence.
I was surprised to find thick white sap oozing out of the cuts, because this root had split off from the trunk at the time of the fall.
But, as I've read, the root systems hold on to their resources, so this one's got a lot of stored energy down below the soil.
There's still a hunk of it sticking up out of the ground in the back neighbor's lawn... that was too close to the dirt for the chain saw. But I've got a sawzall that will work to cut that out later on.
--<>--
I tried to cut all the way through the trunk, a little further back on my side, but that's when the chainsaw chain started getting a little too loose, so I decided to leave it be and focus on other jobs.
I had a huge pile of sticks, from breaking down the branches, that had to get moved, if I'm ever gonna mow the lawn, So I got that all moved over to the main brush pile, and then raked the grass in that area, to scrape out another two wheelbarrow's full of debris.
--<>--
I should've just been breaking braches down at the site of the main brush pile from the get go, but... those first few weeks of grappling with the tree were kinda confusing.
Now, it's a real job site, where the work area stays clean. All the small sticks go on the main brush pile, and I have piles in other locations for larger, longer staffs and for thick logs.
And the tree itself is coming apart, and you can walk freely around it without mad branches smacking you in the face.
I did break down about half the remaining pile of third order branches too, but by then the sun was going down, so I called it a day.
------------{=0=}------------
Today, Dad and I went out to eat, and along the drive we saw a lot of fully orange and red trees, along with a few more that were halfway turned. But also a lot more still fully green.
Until this year, I did not know why, you get some trees turning so early in October, while others hang on weeks longer.
But according to the audio books I read on the subject last June... the timing is up to the individual tree. It's not like... one species all turns at this time, and another species all turn a week later.
--<>--
When leaves turn colors, it's because the tree is sucking out all the sugars inside them, and storing that energy inside the trunk and root system.
This shuts down photosynthesis for the season, but every individual tree decides for itself, when it wants to do that...
like every guest at a party deciding for themselves, when it's time to grab their keys and head home for bed.
--<>--
But Fall is a two-step process. Sucking the sugars back down into the roots is what makes the leaves turn color... but that doesn't make them fall off!
A chemical has to be deliberately deployed to the stems of the leaves, to make them drop off.
I remember a few years ago, we got a sudden snow, out of nowhere, on the night before Halloween. And that morning... ALL the leaves were down!.. all over town!
Every tree in town had just dropped them all at once... green leaves... colored leaves... everything down on the ground... all branches completely bare!
It's not like it was that cold either. It only went a few degrees below freezing.
We've already dipped below freezing this year a couple nights this year, and the leaves are all still up right now!
And that year, it was only an inch of snow.
But what I learned was... the trees had deliberately ditched all their leaves that night before Halloween... as an emergency measure to avoid snow load!
Snow load is the only reason deciduous trees ever drop their leaves at all!
If they wanted, they could hang on to them all winter, and start using them again in the spring to photosynthesize immediately... rather than growing new leaves from scratch.
And in some climates closer to the equator, deciduous trees do just that! They never drop their leaves!
Up north, they have to do it, because snow building up on the leaves would weigh down the branches and limbs to the breaking point! And for a tree... if you lose a limb, that can wind up being a fatal wound.*
Might not kill the tree immediately, but... it'll allow microbes inside the trunk and from there, it's... like cancer. The tree can cope for a while, but in the end, it's gonna die.
--<>--
The word, "deciduous," is distantly related to the word, "decide." The former means, to fall. The latter means to cut. But even today, we sometimes speak of decision as... where you might fall on a matter.
They weren't called deciduous trees for their decision making... but it turns out that they do, very carefully and independently make critical decisions about when to turn, and when to drop their leaves.
--<>--
So... the next time you see a blazing orange maple, surrounded by deep green trees and wonder how it happened?... it's because that maple simply made a decision!
We imagine those decisions are made, based on light, and temperature, but trees get a lot of other data from the soil, and through the air that figures into their calculations.
Every year, it's a bit of a gamble!.. Keep photosynthesizing longer, and you get more energy... but you risk a flash snow or ice storm busting your limbs off.
Play it safe, and shut down early in October... and you'll stand a better chance of survival... but you won't grow as fast.
Younger trees tend to take more risks. Older trees tend to play it safer. But in the end, it's up to the individual tree.
--<>--
All of this makes me feel worse, for the Mullberry that flopped over in my back yard. But it did have cancer. It was rotting away near the base for twenty years.
I honestly don't know how it stayed standing this long, given that it was growing at almost a 45 degree angle to the ground.
But part of me really thinks... it registered those locust seedlings I transplanted into it's vicinity last July... recognized them as offspring of the big locust tree nearby... understood that they were gonna be allowed to survive...
And then handed off the baton, like God speed, little ones! and finally let go!
--<>--
Maybe I'm getting a bit dramatic about it... I dunno.
But whatever the case... I'm stuck being the undertaker for that old fellow.
And it's a long process... so I do find myself pondering it's life, relationships, motives, and personality.
------------{=0=}------------
At any rate... the weekend went well.
We'll be threading the needle, financially this week, but I think we'll squeak through it, and the second half of October... and the rest of the Fall should be smoother sailing.
Oh!.. and I have to remember to bring the S8 this week to scope out some SONO material!
°¦}
* Evergreens can stay green through the winter because of their conical shape, and needle like leaves. They are designed to easily shed snow load.
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
First thing to do was fit the chainsaw with the new 20" bar & chain. It all went together, but the bar was kinda heavy, and the chain was a bit loose, because the tool can only extend the bar so far... and this bar was just a tad too long.
It still worked, but because the bar is so heavy, it's vibrations had the effect of slowly loosening the chain.
So I got some work done with it, but I don't want to damage the tool, so I'll have to order a 16" bar soon, and settle for that.
It was a glorious 59F out there, with a strong breeze, so, working in just my shirt, with no jacket, all my sweat instantly evaporated, keeping me nice and cool! And it was the first time all season that the sun did not feel like it was pounding down on me.
What I focused on, with the long bar, was the hulking root that lifted up out of the ground in the back neighbor's yard, and mangled his chainlink fence.
I sawed through it on my side first, then hopped the fence and severed it on his side... near the fence and near the ground... and hefted the hunks over to my side... leaving nothing but a gaping hole in the fence.
I was surprised to find thick white sap oozing out of the cuts, because this root had split off from the trunk at the time of the fall.
But, as I've read, the root systems hold on to their resources, so this one's got a lot of stored energy down below the soil.
There's still a hunk of it sticking up out of the ground in the back neighbor's lawn... that was too close to the dirt for the chain saw. But I've got a sawzall that will work to cut that out later on.
I tried to cut all the way through the trunk, a little further back on my side, but that's when the chainsaw chain started getting a little too loose, so I decided to leave it be and focus on other jobs.
I had a huge pile of sticks, from breaking down the branches, that had to get moved, if I'm ever gonna mow the lawn, So I got that all moved over to the main brush pile, and then raked the grass in that area, to scrape out another two wheelbarrow's full of debris.
I should've just been breaking braches down at the site of the main brush pile from the get go, but... those first few weeks of grappling with the tree were kinda confusing.
Now, it's a real job site, where the work area stays clean. All the small sticks go on the main brush pile, and I have piles in other locations for larger, longer staffs and for thick logs.
And the tree itself is coming apart, and you can walk freely around it without mad branches smacking you in the face.
I did break down about half the remaining pile of third order branches too, but by then the sun was going down, so I called it a day.
Today, Dad and I went out to eat, and along the drive we saw a lot of fully orange and red trees, along with a few more that were halfway turned. But also a lot more still fully green.
Until this year, I did not know why, you get some trees turning so early in October, while others hang on weeks longer.
But according to the audio books I read on the subject last June... the timing is up to the individual tree. It's not like... one species all turns at this time, and another species all turn a week later.
When leaves turn colors, it's because the tree is sucking out all the sugars inside them, and storing that energy inside the trunk and root system.
This shuts down photosynthesis for the season, but every individual tree decides for itself, when it wants to do that...
like every guest at a party deciding for themselves, when it's time to grab their keys and head home for bed.
But Fall is a two-step process. Sucking the sugars back down into the roots is what makes the leaves turn color... but that doesn't make them fall off!
A chemical has to be deliberately deployed to the stems of the leaves, to make them drop off.
I remember a few years ago, we got a sudden snow, out of nowhere, on the night before Halloween. And that morning... ALL the leaves were down!.. all over town!
Every tree in town had just dropped them all at once... green leaves... colored leaves... everything down on the ground... all branches completely bare!
It's not like it was that cold either. It only went a few degrees below freezing.
We've already dipped below freezing this year a couple nights this year, and the leaves are all still up right now!
And that year, it was only an inch of snow.
But what I learned was... the trees had deliberately ditched all their leaves that night before Halloween... as an emergency measure to avoid snow load!
Snow load is the only reason deciduous trees ever drop their leaves at all!
If they wanted, they could hang on to them all winter, and start using them again in the spring to photosynthesize immediately... rather than growing new leaves from scratch.
And in some climates closer to the equator, deciduous trees do just that! They never drop their leaves!
Up north, they have to do it, because snow building up on the leaves would weigh down the branches and limbs to the breaking point! And for a tree... if you lose a limb, that can wind up being a fatal wound.*
Might not kill the tree immediately, but... it'll allow microbes inside the trunk and from there, it's... like cancer. The tree can cope for a while, but in the end, it's gonna die.
The word, "deciduous," is distantly related to the word, "decide." The former means, to fall. The latter means to cut. But even today, we sometimes speak of decision as... where you might fall on a matter.
They weren't called deciduous trees for their decision making... but it turns out that they do, very carefully and independently make critical decisions about when to turn, and when to drop their leaves.
So... the next time you see a blazing orange maple, surrounded by deep green trees and wonder how it happened?... it's because that maple simply made a decision!
We imagine those decisions are made, based on light, and temperature, but trees get a lot of other data from the soil, and through the air that figures into their calculations.
Every year, it's a bit of a gamble!.. Keep photosynthesizing longer, and you get more energy... but you risk a flash snow or ice storm busting your limbs off.
Play it safe, and shut down early in October... and you'll stand a better chance of survival... but you won't grow as fast.
Younger trees tend to take more risks. Older trees tend to play it safer. But in the end, it's up to the individual tree.
All of this makes me feel worse, for the Mullberry that flopped over in my back yard. But it did have cancer. It was rotting away near the base for twenty years.
I honestly don't know how it stayed standing this long, given that it was growing at almost a 45 degree angle to the ground.
But part of me really thinks... it registered those locust seedlings I transplanted into it's vicinity last July... recognized them as offspring of the big locust tree nearby... understood that they were gonna be allowed to survive...
And then handed off the baton, like God speed, little ones! and finally let go!
Maybe I'm getting a bit dramatic about it... I dunno.
But whatever the case... I'm stuck being the undertaker for that old fellow.
And it's a long process... so I do find myself pondering it's life, relationships, motives, and personality.
At any rate... the weekend went well.
We'll be threading the needle, financially this week, but I think we'll squeak through it, and the second half of October... and the rest of the Fall should be smoother sailing.
Oh!.. and I have to remember to bring the S8 this week to scope out some SONO material!
°¦}
* Evergreens can stay green through the winter because of their conical shape, and needle like leaves. They are designed to easily shed snow load.
