A Great Big Timber

The two huge poplar trees in our barnyard had their day and it was not recently.

We have two hypotheses for the cause of their demise.  We think it was either the drought of the Summer of 2016 or else, nitrogen overload from the donkey/sheep manure pile near their base.  Either way, these enormous trees have been dead for a few years now.  As they have started to decompose, the trees have begun dropping their branches from the top.   Given their location right next to the barn, I have been increasingly worried that a badly timed falling branch will knock Charlie unconscious during the next wind storm.

The trees are huge, so we had to call in professionals to cut them down.  Ian captured the tree cutters at work in the video below, complete with a chain saw soundtrack.

And the deed is done.  No more poplars in the donkey paddock.

Our farm's landscape looks a littler more bare but at least Charlie and the sheep will be safe on windy days.