Well, that was a little more work than I expected it to be.

a couple of years ago Cole and Sharon invited me to help take down a tree in their back yard. It was a fun project, no utilities were destroyed and there were, thankfully, no injuries to report. Perhaps a few nervous moments, but no injuries. And at the end, I told them that whenever they decided what they wanted done with the stump they should let me know.

Now, I have taken out a few stumps in the last 8 or 10 years. I love the process. Some people will use explosives, not me. Some people will put a stump dissolver in the wood, not me. Nope, I am a stump man of the earth. And up until a few years ago, the only tools I used were a shovel, an adz, and an axe.

Ironwood trees, no problem. Maple trees, no problem. Oak trees, no problem. Poplar trees, well then it gets a little more involved. The root systems on those are little more obstinate. I did have one at the bottom of the driveway that took about three days to finally finish.

I do not know what kind of tree it is/was that was in Cole's and Sharon's back yard. I do know that it was not any of the ones I had listed above. I also know it was one that did not want to be displaced. I guess I should have been a little suspicious when I started the removal project and discovered that one of the first roots I encountered was bigger than some of the trees I had removed at Peaceful Pines.

Well, to make a long story shorter to keep your attention, it turns out that this was a 6 day project that not only took my regular tools, but also needed the help of a sawzall,

block and tackle, 

and a tractor equipped with a front end loader.

It may be that I am getting older. However, the final roots that needed to be cut that were situated in the middle of the underside of the root ball still had a diameter of 4 inches. There were two of them.

But, through all of that, I realized that I still love the challenge. I love getting down and digging with my bare hands to feel the cool soil. The smell of fresh turned dirt harkens to a simpler life.

Of course, I am thinking I will turn down any more invitations to remove another stump of whatever that species was. But I do have my sights set on a couple back here at Peaceful Pines.