The Community Arborist

The take down Process

2011-07-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

This series of shots encapsulates the process of taking down a Douglas fir. The first pictures show me topping a Douglas fir after I removed all the limbs.

After topping the tree, the next step is chunking the spar down to the ground.

I had to pull out the big saw, 32" bar, for the final cuts.

Finally, you can see why this tree had to come down. A lightning strike scorched the back side of the causing a huge column of decay. If the tree had fallen on its own, my clients house would have been crushed.

The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall

2010-11-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

This was my first take down of a Giant Sequoia. There is a reason they are not call Petite Sequoia. The Giant Sequoia grow at astonishing rates to incredible sizes. For these reasons, they are not well suited for urban environments. These trees were planted only eight feet from the house, and about four feet from each other.

With this job necessity drove innovation, and I used a zip line to send all the large branches directly into my trailer. It was an intense couple of days but the trees are down safely.

I know I post a lot about felling big trees, but I do so much more than that. I do a lot of pruning of large trees, small trees, fruit trees, and shrubs. These big trees really leave an impression on me and on the ground when they fall. That is why I like to post about the big trees.

Logger For a Day

2010-07-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to fell five large Douglas Firs yesterday. They ranged in size from about 120ft to 150ft tall. We had to fell them all due west because of power lines to the south. I used my trusty Big Shot to set ropes in the trees. Then we applied a 3to1 pully system and pulled them down one by one. All the trees came down perfectly without any problems, except for the poison oak on my arms. Here is video of three of the biggest one coming down.

Enjoy.

Trees at wrong Angles

2010-06-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Most trees you see are perpendicular to the ground. In the past couple of weeks I have encountered two trees that I would say were at the 'wrong angle.' Sometimes trees grow at odd angles due to competition for light with other trees. Sometimes they just fall over. Either way it looks very unnatural to see a tree not doing what trees should be doing.

The first tree was an Oregon Ash that fell over on to the neighbors, which happened to be a daycare. The tree fell on a Saturday so no children were present. This is what it looked like.

The roots where rotten, even though the crown was healthy, the tree just went over on a day with no wind or rain. The back yard was back filled with soil after the house was built. Buried roots will suffocate, die, and then the tree will either die standing or fall overs.

The Second tree was a Spruce that was in competition with very large cherry tree, and as you can see the Spruce grew out at a dramatic angle to get any light it could.This next shot is after I Limbed and Topped the tree. Seeing the trunk bare it is evident how much of a lean the tree had. The top of the tree was almost 30from the trunk. If the tree would have fallen it would have crushed the neighbors porch and Maple tree.

Grand Old Oak of Cottage Grove

2009-11-20T23:27:00.000-08:00

I saw this tree In Cottage Grove while out on an estimate. My client told me to stop by the Mormon Church on my what out of town, and look for the big Oak. I drove around the parking lot and then saw it standing on the south east corner. Although not the tallest Oak I have seen, it defiantly is the thickest. It is an amazing specimen! I am 6'3 with a +3 ape index, and the diameter is much more then that, as you can see in the pictures. My advice to all my readers is to keep your eyes open and take note of the trees around you. You might find something amazing in your back yard.

Big Trees Falling Down.

2009-10-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Trees have to be cut down. In the urban environment we cannot just let them fall down on there own. Although sometimes they still do.

I have had the opportunity to fell some large trees this fall. I enjoy doing the process of felling a large tree properly. In all of the videos below I have a rope set at the top of the tree connected to 5:1 pulley system. This insures the tree goes right where I want it to go. As you can see this works very well.

Big Jobs, Little Jobs, and New Jobs

2009-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

The summer of 2009 has been a very productive one for the Community Arborist. Jobs of all sizes have abounded. There has been big Douglas Fir take downs, fine pruning of oaks, maples, and elms. I have expanded my services to include installing trees and other plants in landscapes, stump grinding, and also Cabling to aid in preservation of existing trees.

The Largest Job had to be the Douglas Fir I removed that soared over 150 ft tall!!! I spent a total of about two days climbing the tree. Day one I limbed and topped out the tree. Every branch had to rigged out, because of a new fence, and a Madrone tree. The next day I ascended to the top and it took me 20minutes. Then I took the tree apart piece by piece.

This tree was an Urban Giant, not a forest tree. Removal became a neccesity after construction of a new driveway cut the roots on the south side of the tree. It was a shame to lose this unieque tree. Check out this slide show and video to get an understanding of how massive this tree was.

Poor Quality Tree Work in my Neighborhood

2009-03-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

In my neighborhood, there has been some very low quality tree work happening. I have taken a few pictures and one video to demonstrate how NOT to do tree work. First, we have a small Mimosa tree that has been topped. This is the most abhorrent of all forms of tree mutilations. For this tree, it is not the first time it happened, note the sunburn on the top side of the branches. I myself will not go into details about topping but I will let the International Society of Arboriculture tell you why Topping Is Bad.

Second, we have two London Plane Trees that had many lower branches stubbed off. Not only is the cutting of the trees bad, but my wife, Quincy, witnessed the cutting happening. She said there were two dudes on 30ft extension ladders with out any Personal Protection Equipment ie; helmets, eye protection, or any sort of fall protection. The ladder was not tied to the tree in any way and the dudes were just up there hacking away with cheap bow style saws. These guys are lucky not to have hurt them selves. Here are the results.

Finally, we have a picture and short video taken from my back yard of a Thundercloud Plum being taken down. To set this up, it was a Sunday morning and my family was getting ready for church. We had heard a chainsaw running nearby for a little while. Both Quincy and myself noticed about the same time that the chainsaw had been running full throttle for a very long time. We both turned to each other and said something to the effect of 'Wow, they are really going for it out there.' At that point curiosity got the best of me and I looked out my back door to see this.

Now, let us count the number of violations of OSHA safety guidelines here: 1- No helmet, sorry the baseball cap does not count. 2- No eye protection, again the baseball cap does not count. 3,- No hearing protection 4- OSHA dictates that a tree worker must be have two separate tie in points while operating a chainsaw in a tree. Dude is not secured to the tree in any fashion. Now on to the video.

I said earlier that the chainsaw had been running full throttle for some time and that is because it was so dull. This cut was started, and I had time to run and get the camera, take a still picture, and then take a 20 second video before he make it through a 6 in. diameter cut. In the still picture you can really see the smoke coming off the bar. So many things could have gone wrong and he was only 6ft. off the ground. There was no directional cut to guide the falling branch. With out that cut his saw could have been caught in the kerf of the cut and pulled him out of the tree. This was scary for me to watch.

So, in conclusion always hire an Arborist! A person with the tools, knowledge and experience to perform the work safely, and in the best interest of the tree. Do not sacrifice the integrity of your trees, and the safety of an under qualified tree worker to save a little money. It is not worth it! For more reasons to hire an arborist visit this site http://www.treesaregood.com.

A fine young Feller.

2009-01-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick video of myself felling a dead Noble Fir South of Eugene in Cottage Grove. The tree went a little to the left and smashed one smaller Incense Cedar.
I was the first big tree I have been able to fell in on piece in a long time. I had fun setting up a 3 to 1 Pulley System to pull it over. We did break a branch up high in the tree about halfway through the video so watch for that. Enjoy the destruction.

New Services Offered by The Community Arborist

2009-01-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

I am an Arborist dedicated to better serving my surrounding community through innovation and adaptation. So I am proud to offer two new services; installing deer antlers in trees and rescuing cats stuck in trees.

First new service; Installing deer antlers in trees. This is done to prevent damage to branches and trunk by squirrels. Squirrels are rodents, this means their teeth never stop growing. So rodents will chew on just about anything to keep their teeth from getting to big for their mouths. In the case of squirrels that means chewing on the trees in your back yard. I have witnessed branches chewed more than half way through in Oak trees, trunks of Douglas firs striped all the way around. These injuries weaken the tree making them more prone to a dangerous failure, or death.

Now I know some of my sillier readers might be picturing me mounting a full rack of antlers in a Maple, but that is not how it is. The antlers are cut into 6-8in. lengths with a hole drilled through. After a climbing inspection of the tree I will isolate where squirrels have chewed in the past and install the antlers there. I will us aluminum nails to prevent the nails from rusting away and having antlers dropping from the sky. From my experience squirrels prefer chewing the antlers and will leave the trees alone. One time while cutting down a Douglas Fir I actually found a rib that a squirrel had hauled up into the and had been chewing on.

Here are a few pictures of some chewed on branches. Some are from an Oregon White Oak I recently cut down, and from the Crimson King Maple in my back yard. Last of all there is a picture of an antler installed in my back yard Maple.

Second new service; Cat Rescue. I was inspired to start doing cat rescue by one of the best tree climbers of Pacific Northwest, Dan Kraus. He has been the World Champion Tree Climber and has offered cat rescue since 1999. Since then he has rescued over 600 cats plus an assortment of pet birds, orphaned baby squirrels, model airplanes and pet iguanas. Learn more about Dan Kraus @ http://www.catinatreerescue.com. So I guess I should not limit my services to cats but expand it to any thing stuck in a tree. I have preformed one kite rescue but that is a blog post in it's self.

Don's Doug Fir

2009-01-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

On January 15th I had the engaged in the removal of a Douglas Fir. Like most Douglas Firs in the urban environment it had grown to big for it's surroundings. The tree was so wide that it completely shaded out the small orchard on the north side of it. Fruit production had all but stopped in the last few years.
Here is a slide show of the removal all the pictures were taken from the same spot. It show the process very well. I am also pleased to report that the fence and the fruit trees were not harmed during the removal of this tree.

Douglas Fir Removal

2008-12-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

On Dec 6 I removed a large Douglas Fir at the home of our church's Bishop. The tree was boxed in with power lines on one side. A fence a shed and some fruit trees on the other side. So I had to lower out every branch on a rope.
I had a ground crew of about ten hard working volunteers untying branches, cutting fire wood, and hauling brush. I keep them working hard, and the bishop kept them motivated with doughnuts. A ten to one ratio of Ground Crew to Arborist works out very well. All the fire wood was split and will be distributed to members of church who are in need.

There were a lot of great pictures and some video taken that day. They can be viewed at my friend Rune's site: http://picasaweb.google.com/norwayfamily/TakingDownBishopsTree#

Oh the places you'll go

2008-12-12T22:15:00.000-08:00

In my time as an arborist I have meet some very interesting people. I mean interesting in every sense of the word. People who you want to invite over for dinner, and people who you feel weird even sharing the same Zip code with.

During my time in Logan Utah I had the opportunity to prune a large Boxelder tree for a family featured on the show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Being a volunteer for the show gave me the opportunity to participate in filming some of the big shots for the show.

While staging for the shots, I got close to the star of the show Ty Pennington. My coworker Brandon had a camera so I jumped out of the crowd and grabbed Ty and had Brandon take a picture. Then some girls in the crowd followed my lead, and jumped into the next picture. So the first shot it looks like Ty and I are old buddies, the next picture we are both wondering who all these girls are. It was an experience to say the least, I might go into the more gruesome details at a later date. I do still have my blue Extreme Makeover Home Edition shirt and white helmet. So Ty Pennington, Thanks for the memories.

the Large Cottonwood or My next two days.

2008-12-01T23:05:00.000-08:00

Today I started a very big tree. It is a huge Eastern Cottonwood, and I will be climbing it for the next two day. People in the neighborhood say it is only forty some years old, but this thing is a real beast. Around 100' tall, and spreading about the same. The Diameter is about 7-10' across depending on what way you are looking at it. I am enjoying my self so far, it reminds me of the big trees I climbed back in Utah. I have mostly seen the Black Cottonwood in Oregon, and those can be very big, but it is different than the Eastern Cottonwoods. Well I am just glad I will not be cleaning up after myself on this job.

Best Looking Clean up Crew Ever!!

2008-12-01T21:50:00.000-08:00

Working close to home has its benefits, one of he best is having my family stop by and help out with clean up. Here we see Iris wearing what I call the Brandt family heirloom, this orange chainsaw helmet. I call it an heirloom because, as the story, it was given as a wedding present to my parents back in 1978 by their friend Jon VanVlack. Now I remember my father felling a few trees wearing this helmet, but not so for my mother. Not to say Jon was not thinking of her when he picked out the wedding present, maybe orange just isn't my mother's favorite color who knows. I do know I still wear the old thing quite a bit, so thank you Jon. One day I hope to pass I on to Iris.

Before and Afters-Douglas Fir

2008-11-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

The work of a skilled arborist can leave a tree looking more natural after the pruning is complete. It is often easy to forget what the tree was like before. I plan on photographically documenting my tree work to help keep my clients informed and up to date on the health of their trees.

As an example I have before and after pictures of a Douglas Fir that was developing a co dominant stem on the south side of the tree, right side of the picture. This co dominant stem was removed, and a more vertical stem was left. Hopefully with this cut made now will prevent a large more damaging branch failure in the future. This kind of work is what I call Pruning for Preservation.

The Simple Things

2008-11-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it is easy to forget about the simplest things. Like how to contact me if you want tree work done. The best thing to do is call or shoot me an email.

Phone# 541-461-3162

Email: CommunityArborist@hotmail.com

We can schedule an estimate, or if you know what you want we can just set a date for the work.

On a different subject, here a few pictures taken last year in Salt Lake City when I was working with ArborCraft Inc. A great crew that did good work. I miss those guys and hope all is well back in Utah. The picture in silhouette reminds me of how simple and amazing being an Arborist can be.

Early Jobs: Patty and Debs Maple Removal.

2008-11-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

Having to remove a tree is never my favorite thing to have to do. With that said I feel it the responsibility of all arborist and tree workers to do so efficiently and with the up most respect to the tree. Driving by construction sites and seeing trees that have been ripped out of the ground and dragged through the mud by heavy equipment saddens me.

With that said, one of my first jobs was cutting down two Crimson King maples at our neighbors house that had contracted Verticillium Wilt. The smaller of the two, only about 20ft tall and 10in diameter, was totally dead. The bigger maple, 40ft tall and 28in diameter, was still hanging on. It did display classic symptoms Verticillium Wilt ie; large branches dying in a seemingly random pattern. These trees had become hazards, and needed to be removed.

I have put together a slide show to share the experience along with a short movie of me removing the to top of the large maple. Thanks to Patty and Deb for helping us out in our earliest days, before we even had our slick business cards. Also thank you to our Friend Paul for letting us use his truck for hauling brush, as you can see we really worked the old boy.

Who is The Community Arborist?

2008-11-18T20:24:00.000-08:00

My name is Tracy Gale Brandt an arborist living and working in Eugene Oregon, and I am The Community Arborist . Tree work has become more then just a job, but a passion, and way of life for myself and the rest of my family. My wife Quincy, who is just cutting her tree climbing teeth. My little girls Iris and Violet, who are my biggest supporters, and motivation.

As The Community Arborist I want to share my passion for tree preservation with my friends and neighbors in and around Eugene. As a small business I will provide the most cost effective tree care possible. Please take the time to look up at your trees, think about the shade, and comfort they have provided, not to mention the beauty they bring to everyday life, and ask yourself; 'When was the last time I did something nice for my trees?'