My family and I live on a lakeshore in the woods Northeast of Spokane, Washington – about six miles from the nearest state highway.
When our youngest daughter Allison was probably four – we were driving almost to the state highway. A new business had put up its sign. Allison, wanting to show off her newly developed reading skills, spouted out, “Hey Dad, Look! Affordable Arsonists”!
The ‘arsonists’ were actually arborists, but we have made sure to never let Allie forget her famous miscue.
An arborist is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, the cultivation, management and study of individual trees. This is a distinct profession from either a forester or a logger.
We have two pole buildings on our property. The Southernmost one has been hit twice by our neighbor’s falling dead evergreen trees. The worst of which dropped about a dozen feet of tree through the roof!
Last April and May we were gone for several weeks and when we returned home, found the 65 foot tall fir tree to the West of our smaller pole building garage had gone from healthy to dead while we were away. This tree was directly behind our house and not three feet from the pole barn garage.
While I have no personal qualms about felling a tree in the woods, in tight quarters, not so comfortable.
Not wanting to repeat the “drop through the roof event”, I went on a mission a few days ago to hire an arborist, better known as a tree feller, who could climb the tree to remove it.
Being a ‘child of the internet’ I placed an ad in Craigslist under gigs and watched the responses pile up in my email box.
One stood out – he was reasonable, licensed, bonded and insured and could do the job the next day. When Johnny Giltner arrived, I could tell he was ready for work. A very personable young man, he shared with me his love for the work he does.
Johnny used a rope to ascend the tree and had spikes (also known as gaffs or spurs) attached to his heavy boots.
I love watching magicians and artists at work, well Johnny is both as he kept up an interesting and educational banter while taking chunks off the offending tree. I could quickly tell he takes a great deal of pride in his work – he even swept the needles off the roof of the garage!
I’ve been told I am frugal, but the entertainment value made it well worth the investment and a significant trip.
Have a challenging tree to be removed on our near a new building site or existing pole building like mine? If so, make the investment in a good tree feller.
In the Spokane, Washington – Coeur d’Alene, Idaho area, I can highly recommend Johnny Giltner of Giltner Tree Care (208)819-9246 or johnny_giltnertreecare@yahoo.com.
As a postscript to this blog, a few days after the tree was down and this blog was written, I got a call. It was Johnny the tree feller doing a follow-up to ask if his services met our expectations. Wow!
