The tree trimmers are here

What, pray tell is going on in the back yard? It looks like a mountain-climbing team is suiting up.

Or maybe it's a new movie - mountain-climbing chainsaw massacre.

No, today is when the old apple tree and the pear tree get serious haircuts. Arborists Northwest are the guys we hired. I prefer them because they are serious about their safety stuff. They wear hard-hats and ear-protectors, and full climbing gear. They work in practiced teams, and watch out for one another. Our neighbor hired a guy who had no safety harness, fell out of the tree, broke the neighbor's chainsaw (didn't have his own) and wound up taking the neighbor to court over the medical costs of the accident. You get what you pay for!

The apple tree drops apples onto the porch roof for several months. The nice neighbor on the other side is a war vet, and the repeated percussions really interrupt his sleep at night. And the apples aren't all that tasty.
But the clean-up team is.

The boss is dragging the branches around to the front where the chipper makes mulch of them. Some of the limbs are big enough to be firewood.
The blonde guy in the sleeveless T is in charge of hauling out the firewood.

Applewood fires on a frosty winter night. Mmmmm.