Yesterday I shot a crew of people moving an oak tree. It was quite impressive. This is the same company that moved all the trees for the Sea Island Company's new development out towards the north end of St. Simons Island. They moved close to 200 trees, and some as far as two miles. Dang.
Hopefully, it was easier for them then as it was yesterday. It took awhile to move that 100+ year-old oak tree in a new condo development across from the King and Prince Hotel. They started by digging a four-foot-deep trench around the entire tree, about 10 feet from the trunk. They then take a cable and drag it under the tree with a back-hoe and sever all the roots. They bind the bottom with a burlap-type material, hydraulically pound steel poles and plates under the tree until it is now sitting on this platform of sorts. It took two 1,000 lbs back-hoes about 3 hours to move this tree 100 yards.
I have some experience pulling things that are stuck, being some what of an "adventurous" driver, but this was nothing like that. These back-hoes are amazing. They actually would lift themselves into the air and then allow the whole back-hoe to drop to create the force needed to jerk this tree one foot. The whole ground would shake. At one point a shard of metal roughly the size of a football broke off and flew through the air. It could have easily killed someone, but luckily it landed no where near the crowd of people that had gathered to watch this event. The foreman assured us that this doesn't happen often. Anyway, I though it was interesting. Here's another interesting thought, do you think this tree moving company guarantees their work? I mean, can you guarantee that the tree lives after all this? I highly doubt they guarantee their work, as far as the tree living is concerned. What a job. We move your tree, you pay us around 15 G's, and if your tree dies, sorry! (Notice the tree's relationship to the white house in the first and last photo... see, it moved!)
So, this weekend I am, you guessed it, working on Margaret. I'm skipping down to Jacksonville early in the morning tomorrow to pick up some new seats out of a wrecked Wrangler to put in my Jeep. I'm pretty excited. I hate the seats in it now. I should finish body work this weekend and maybe get a coat or two of primer on! Can hardly wait. Hope you guys have a great weekend, I know I will.
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