Acer circinatum. Latin for "lovely from a distance". Anyone who has the pleasure of driving over Stevens Pass in the fall knows that Vine Maple offers some of the best fall colors we have in the northwest. But anyone who has to work in Vine Maple can point to the scars on their shins and can tell serious stories of bushwhacking through a temperate jungle.
About half of our backyard was consumed by one tree, which in and of itself is bad enough. But in Seattle any plant that has the audacity to grow more than ~3 feet high on the south side of your property is asking to be firewood. This particular tree-shrub did just that
Mr. Circinatum meet Mr. Stihl.
Marya dusted off her fire boots from her Hot Shot days and fired up a rental chainsaw. For about 45 minutes she methodically took down about half of the tree while observing every safety rule in the book. When her arms needed a rest Brooks, in his Asics running shoes, finished off the rest only getting interrupted twice by a screaming Marya for apparent safety violations..."use two hands!"
In any regard the tree was reduced to a few piles of cord wood. And we now have enough daylight in the backyard for a vegetable garden and space for the chicken coop.
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I have some chaps you can borrow next time. Way to wrap that thumb around the bar too, Marya. I also like your wide stance, your hotshot crew would be proud! TJ
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