Yard Work And Cool Machines

[Comanche County]

I've been working on getting the front of the house in a presentable state. Been yanking out old overgrown shrubbery and I shanghaied four high school kids into cutting down a massive pampas grass plant. This thing was huge. It was between the neighbors driveway, overgrown onto both and neither of us could see while pulling out of our driveways.

 

We chainsawed the saw grass down to the roots. I manually dug one of these out before and wasn't about to dig this one out by hand. My neighbor's brother across the street does tree work and has a stump grinder. He pulls it with a 4 cyl YJ. What a cool machine, I officially want a stump grinder now in a bad way. It simply devours everything in its path. I'm a little short on the $20K to buy one though.

 

Also trimmed a lot of branches in the back yard that were growing over the house. Next will be dropping a 150' pine tree in the back yard. Its got a huge weak spot about a third of the way up where it was damaged long ago. Gotta get it down before the next big wind puts it on the house, or the neighbor's house.

 

 

 

These are good kids, every weekend they're out in the neighborhood looking for yard work. But they had no idea what they were getting into. Ah, youthful enthusiasm.

 

At least a ton of material left over. I'm glad our town has a weekly pick up for yard clippings, branches, whatever. They compost it for a year, then the city piles it up in a vacant lot. We can get compost/chips for free.

 

The grinder.

 

 

Also took care of a couple of stumps for the neighbor.

 

 

 

The house before shrub removal...and the MJ earning its keep. Almost ripped the bumper off pulling these out. Had to cut the large corner bushes, Big Red just didn't have the cajones to pull em out.

 

 

 

 

 

[86customanche]

Damn that looks like a lot of work. Taking stumps out is never fun by hand (I know from experience) but that grinder looks sweet. Do you have a pic of the house once all the remains have been removed?

[Guest]

Ah, the joys of landscaping. I remember doing the same when I was working on one of our jobs a while back. Lady wanted her whole property cleared and new sod and bushes, etc. layed and planted. The MJ sure earned its keep that day; took about 900 lbs of rotting sod through 3 towns to my boss's dump site; because I was the only one with a pickup that could "handle it".

 

Rambling aside, that grinder is sweeeeet! :yes: I'd also love seeing some pics of the afterwards. :cheers:

[jimoshel]

Doesn't remove anything. Just paints it to blend in. :yes:

[Pete M]

yanking out bushes and trees is rough going in georgia thanks to that concrete-like soil. broke a chain a few years back at my sister's place yanking a shrub out. :ack:

[Comanche County]

I live about a mile from salt water so I don't have that thick red Georgia clay like much of the rest of the state. Here the top soil is nice and loose until about 2-3 foot down and then its grey gumbo. If the roots are that deep, there's no budging it.