The first project we’re tackling is removing trees near the house and outbuildings.
Ten trees grew close enough to the main house to overhang the roof, casting shade that allowed a bountiful crop of moss to grow on the shingles, and deposited enough leaves over the years to fill the gutters with compost.
So, before plowing too much money into the renovation of the house and other structures we want to make sure that no branches, or the trees themselves, could fall and do damage to the new work.
One surprise we found was that some of the trees had a bluish-purplish core, as you can see in the photo, that varied in width from tree to tree. Old-timers told us the discoloration is from metal nails, pins, or wires driven into the trees. They also said that copper driven into a tree will kill it. This was all news to us! – Kevin
