If you're a regular reader, you may have gotten the idea that the sky has been falling here all year. That's definitely what it feels like, and often what it sounds like.
What could cause such mayhem? Is it COVID? Climate change? Extremists? Libertarians?
It's a little green beetle known as the Emerald Ash Borer. The beetles are kind of pretty, but the larvae look like albino centipedes, and they are very efficient at killing ash trees. Ash is about 65% of the trees around here, and thanks to these little beetles, they have all been standing dead for the last couple years.
Don't weep too miuch for the ash trees, they're kinda weedy around here, and the beetles seem to leave the smaller ones alone. All those beetles have been a fine food source for the Pileated Woodpecker, and magnificent and scary bird that has also seen a population explosion recently. I expect that within a few years, the beetles and birds will find a balance, and the ash trees will be free to reclaim the skyline. In the meantime, the maple and oak trees are getting a little breating room and putting on some size.
But enough about the beetles and trees, what about my house!
Well, it has taken some damage. I've posted a bit about the damage to the utility lines, but haven't shown much of the beating our deck has taken. When we came back from South Carolina, there was limb all over the steps, and where you see the missing space there was a smashed remnant of a step.
The tree centered in the picture above is the culprit. This used to be a large, vibrant ash tree that cast a lot of much needed shade on the house in the summer. Now it's a catastrophe waiting to happen. The catalpa tree to the right of it also needs to go.
This isn't going to be an easy task, and to drop the ash whole I'll have to remove (or sacrifice) these lower steps. That's not too big a deal for me, because they need to be replaced anyway, and I'm hoping to be able to cut all the boards from this ash tree. The other problem is that it's a bit over 30" across at the trunk, which is 6" longer than my longest chainsaw bar.
The missing step isn't the only one that took some damage and will need replacement. The next two steps up were both significantly weakened, and you can see the second one is missing a good strip at the front. The whole front deck really needs to be replaced, it's about 20 years old now and wasn't constructed that well when it was built. I was planning to do this last fall, right about the time that lumber prices tripled.
The bright side of all this dropping lumber is that we have plenty of wood to burn. This could end up being handy, because the price of kerosene is a wee bit high for my liking this year. I've built a rocket stove system that I can warm the house with, but Hedge Witch doesn't care for the smell of it, and it's a lot higher maintenance than the kerosene heater.
That ash tree is also getting to be pretty high maintenance. I have to clear out branches like this from the driveway almost daily. I thought the tree would run out of branches early this summer, but it seems to be able to borrow dead branches from other nearby trees. Someday I'll get the truck running again, then I can just drive over these things.
As soon as I get those picked up, I hear that tell-tale noise clickety-clacky noise behind me, and turn around to see this.
It's time to start sharpening the chainsaw chains. Happy Holidays everyone, stay safe out there!!!