I woke up this morning to the words, "Babe, I think a tree fell on our house."
Those are not words you want to hear when you are trying to sleep in on a Sunday morning. I have never jumped out of bed so quickly. Threw on my boots (in my pajamas) and ran outside to check out the damage.
We have HUGE Live Oak trees on our property. These trees are big, heavy, old, and HARD. We knew we needed to take care of some of the limbs to prevent major damage, but hadn't had the opportunity to do it yet.
This was our wake-up call. We need to get on top of our tree maintenance to keep our home safe.
Thankfully, it just hit the side of the house. No major damage, but some damage to the exterior wall of our home. Which changes my plans for the week, but caused way less stress than the damage could have been. Neither one of us has ever had to deal with such large trees.
I have only used a chainsaw once.
Our biggest fear when cutting the limb off of our house was doing more damage. So we got a little creative. Supporting the limb was our main goal. Knowing the risks of bodily harm if the limb fell on either one of us made us super cautious. We wedged our folding ladder under the limb above our swamp cooler to prevent it from falling onto the swamp cooler.
The first cut the chainsaw got wedged in the limb.
Tried the Sawzall to cut a wedge around the chainsaw. That only got it more stuck. Andy had the brilliant idea to use the jack. We jacked up the limb and released the pressure on the chainsaw.
Then tried to cut through a smaller branch to relieve some of the pressure of the heaviest part of the limb. The chainsaw got stuck AGAIN! This time, we were able to relieve the pressure with the Sawzall and get the chainsaw out.
Having friends who know more than you can be super beneficial in this lifestyle. Andy called a friend from work and with his advice, we came up with a plan.
Live Oaks are hardwood trees with lots of twists in them. We learned the pressure being put on the tree by being wedged between the house and the ground made figuring out where to place relief cuts more difficult. That coupled with the fact the wood is soaking wet made for a really fun Sunday.
We did end up going to Home Depot to buy a second, larger chainsaw. Mostly so we could both work on cutting apart the limb, which was the size of a small tree.
This week will be full of phone calls to insurance, contractors, and the electrical company. All things that were not on my to-do list, but are now at the top.
Every day is a lesson on the farm, and every day we go to bed knowing more than we did when we woke up. Today, I learned how to cut up a giant limb, have researched how to cure wood for our fireplace, and that the electrical company will take care of the limbs threatening our electrical lines.
I can't wait to see what lessons I learn tomorrow.
While I love learning out of necessity, I would rather learn proactively.
What are some lessons you have learned unexpectedly?
Check out the full video of how we handled the situation!
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