Douglas Fir Removal

On Dec 6 I removed a large Douglas Fir at the home of our church's Bishop. The tree was boxed in with power lines on one side. A fence a shed and some fruit trees on the other side. So I had to lower out every branch on a rope.
I had a ground crew of about ten hard working volunteers untying branches, cutting fire wood, and hauling brush. I keep them working hard, and the bishop kept them motivated with doughnuts. A ten to one ratio of Ground Crew to Arborist works out very well. All the fire wood was split and will be distributed to members of church who are in need.

There were a lot of great pictures and some video taken that day. They can be viewed at my friend Rune's site: http://picasaweb.google.com/norwayfamily/TakingDownBishopsTree#

Oh the places you'll go

In my time as an arborist I have meet some very interesting people. I mean interesting in every sense of the word. People who you want to invite over for dinner, and people who you feel weird even sharing the same Zip code with.

During my time in Logan Utah I had the opportunity to prune a large Boxelder tree for a family featured on the show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Being a volunteer for the show gave me the opportunity to participate in filming some of the big shots for the show.

While staging for the shots, I got close to the star of the show Ty Pennington. My coworker Brandon had a camera so I jumped out of the crowd and grabbed Ty and had Brandon take a picture. Then some girls in the crowd followed my lead, and jumped into the next picture. So the first shot it looks like Ty and I are old buddies, the next picture we are both wondering who all these girls are. It was an experience to say the least, I might go into the more gruesome details at a later date. I do still have my blue Extreme Makeover Home Edition shirt and white helmet. So Ty Pennington, Thanks for the memories.

the Large Cottonwood or My next two days.

Today I started a very big tree. It is a huge Eastern Cottonwood, and I will be climbing it for the next two day. People in the neighborhood say it is only forty some years old, but this thing is a real beast. Around 100' tall, and spreading about the same. The Diameter is about 7-10' across depending on what way you are looking at it. I am enjoying my self so far, it reminds me of the big trees I climbed back in Utah. I have mostly seen the Black Cottonwood in Oregon, and those can be very big, but it is different than the Eastern Cottonwoods. Well I am just glad I will not be cleaning up after myself on this job.

Best Looking Clean up Crew Ever!!

Working close to home has its benefits, one of he best is having my family stop by and help out with clean up. Here we see Iris wearing what I call the Brandt family heirloom, this orange chainsaw helmet. I call it an heirloom because, as the story, it was given as a wedding present to my parents back in 1978 by their friend Jon VanVlack. Now I remember my father felling a few trees wearing this helmet, but not so for my mother. Not to say Jon was not thinking of her when he picked out the wedding present, maybe orange just isn't my mother's favorite color who knows. I do know I still wear the old thing quite a bit, so thank you Jon. One day I hope to pass I on to Iris.

Before and Afters-Douglas Fir

The work of a skilled arborist can leave a tree looking more natural after the pruning is complete. It is often easy to forget what the tree was like before. I plan on photographically documenting my tree work to help keep my clients informed and up to date on the health of their trees.

As an example I have before and after pictures of a Douglas Fir that was developing a co dominant stem on the south side of the tree, right side of the picture. This co dominant stem was removed, and a more vertical stem was left. Hopefully with this cut made now will prevent a large more damaging branch failure in the future. This kind of work is what I call Pruning for Preservation.

The Simple Things

Sometimes it is easy to forget about the simplest things. Like how to contact me if you want tree work done. The best thing to do is call or shoot me an email.

Phone# 541-461-3162

Email: CommunityArborist@hotmail.com

We can schedule an estimate, or if you know what you want we can just set a date for the work.

On a different subject, here a few pictures taken last year in Salt Lake City when I was working with ArborCraft Inc. A great crew that did good work. I miss those guys and hope all is well back in Utah. The picture in silhouette reminds me of how simple and amazing being an Arborist can be.

Early Jobs: Patty and Debs Maple Removal.

Having to remove a tree is never my favorite thing to have to do. With that said I feel it the responsibility of all arborist and tree workers to do so efficiently and with the up most respect to the tree. Driving by construction sites and seeing trees that have been ripped out of the ground and dragged through the mud by heavy equipment saddens me.

With that said, one of my first jobs was cutting down two Crimson King maples at our neighbors house that had contracted Verticillium Wilt. The smaller of the two, only about 20ft tall and 10in diameter, was totally dead. The bigger maple, 40ft tall and 28in diameter, was still hanging on. It did display classic symptoms Verticillium Wilt ie; large branches dying in a seemingly random pattern. These trees had become hazards, and needed to be removed.

I have put together a slide show to share the experience along with a short movie of me removing the to top of the large maple. Thanks to Patty and Deb for helping us out in our earliest days, before we even had our slick business cards. Also thank you to our Friend Paul for letting us use his truck for hauling brush, as you can see we really worked the old boy.

Who is The Community Arborist?

My name is Tracy Gale Brandt an arborist living and working in Eugene Oregon, and I am The Community Arborist . Tree work has become more then just a job, but a passion, and way of life for myself and the rest of my family. My wife Quincy, who is just cutting her tree climbing teeth. My little girls Iris and Violet, who are my biggest supporters, and motivation.

As The Community Arborist I want to share my passion for tree preservation with my friends and neighbors in and around Eugene. As a small business I will provide the most cost effective tree care possible. Please take the time to look up at your trees, think about the shade, and comfort they have provided, not to mention the beauty they bring to everyday life, and ask yourself; 'When was the last time I did something nice for my trees?'