We decided to have the scruffy conifers in our back garden felled. The quotes varied: one very expensive, two similar to each other. Ray engaged one of the latter two because the owner, Dave, who came to estimate the work, was friendly and had a nice smile.
Dave and his co-worker, Simon, worked hard for several hours to complete the work in one day. I lost count of the cups of tea I made. Now we have more light as a trade-off for some lack of privacy but we are thinking perhaps another smaller tree or a taller fence.
Dave studied Countryside and Woodland Management both in Hampshire and Scotland. He worked for the local authority for over a decade becoming senior ranger for two of the county's flagship sites. Now he runs his own firm, Talisman, in order to have time and space for his family commitments.
I think my photo shows what an intricate job this proved to be - and I was very careful asking for a photo from Dave up a tree.
Could you send Dave up to me! We also have an issue with conifers - our neighbour wants them down as the roots are compromising the granite wall, he thinks. We don't want to take them down as they give us privacy. Don't want to fall out with the neighbours though. Going to chat about it tonight. This is a lovely image. And Ray was right. What a great smiling face - he deserved the job.
Great capture and smile always amazes me how these tree fellers leap about in their harness. Good to get them down Hazel the longer they are left the more it costs.
I have to confess that the paving by the location of these trees had become very uneven because of their roots.