August 20, 2005
Got Lumber?
As I've mentioned before, the developers who own the house we're in are clearing out most of the trees around us in order to build 21 new houses. Well, they started this week. In fact, all week long we've had a new alarm clock. No, it wasn't the sound of workmen singing "I'm a Lumberjack and I'm OK." It's been the sound of chainsaws starting just after 7am.
The visual change around the house is drastic. For comparison's sake, here is what the backyard area used to look like:
There were two posts for a volleyball net, and a rotting picnic table in the back section:
From roughly the same vantage point as the last picture, but looking 90 degrees to your left, you can see the back of the house.
And from inside that part of the house (the master bathroom), you could see into some of the backyard.
Those were the "before" pictures. Now for the "after."
First off, I was surprised at how quickly they were able to take down so many trees. As far as I could tell, there were usually only 3 guys here - two running chainsaws (one of whom sometimes was just a spotter), and one running an excavator (backhoe). They made tremendous progress every day, and in fact had most of the trees around here cut down within three days.
Day 1: Looking back from the bathroom area, you can see that things are already looking much thinner.
Day 2: Here's a comparison shot looking towards the house. The stuff in the way is really just small branches and stuff - the big trees have already been moved elsewhere in the field.
And here's another comparison shot looking out from the bathroom. You can't see to the right quite as much, but it's already thinner than it was the previous day.
Day 3: Looking towards where the picnic table is, you can see some of the fallen trees, and how open the area to the right is.
And looking to the side of the house, you can see that what used to be a wall of trees is now very wide open.
Separately, I'll probably post pictures of the flattened area, and more of the construction as it progresses. For now, anyone who's been to our house won't recognize the back yard if they see it again.
Posted by Tom Nugent at August 20, 2005 10:55 PM