a Summer Project----Completed

One of my projects for this summer, was to remove the stump of an olive tree from my front yard. The tree was dying, so, bit by bit last winter and spring, I cut it down. Much of the wood will be used for firewood. Summer found me with a stump. This olive tree did not leave a 'normal' stump, there were two bits of the trunk left on top of the five foot wide base. Removal, by my primitive methods, would require lots of digging and cutting of roots. Dynamite or C4 would have been useful. It was a long, slow, very hot process. I generally worked on it in the mornings, before our high summer temperatures and humidity reached their blazing peak. (average day in July - Sept., about 107+ degrees and 65%+ humidity).

I started to dig around it, digging enough to get to the roots that emerged from the trunk like the arms of an octopus. Several roots were about five inches or so in diameter, requiring much sawing and hacking with the axe. My axe handle shattered in the process. I have a chain saw, but it is currently in pieces and doesn't seem to work for longer than thirty minutes without breaking down. I did find out this about olive trees: They have no taproot. The wood is VERY hard. I was also told that olivewood dulls chainsaw blades very quickly.

It is done. Some of the root parts will be firewood. The remains of the trunk were manhandled into the back of my small truck and hauled to the local landfill. I jokingly asked several neighbors if they were interested in an "unfinished olivewood table top". Noone wanted it, so off to the dump it went.
A successfully completed summer project. Back to School for teachers is in 17 days.

Thanks for reading my blog. As always, your comments are welcome.