Tapper Volk takes down the big tree no one can access

Our neighbors at the Starlight Lounge don’t spend a lot of time in the back yard. I think that might have contributed to the fact that they didn’t notice the 80 foot (or so) Hackberry tree that sprouted up right on the retaining wall we share. I’d been watching this huge, fast growing tree for years, but this past winter it started dropping branches as big as most trees. This tree. If the wind blew just the right way, the tree would have gladly taken out the back corner of our building. And you know how when you look up at a tree, it’s always 30% taller than you think it is? Yeah, so there is that. Another fun thing about this tree is that there is no way to get at it! No cranes, no trucks, not even something with a trailer on it.

And then there is the element of ownership. I don’t own the property that tree is on. The owner of the Starlight Lounge rents the building. He looked at me crooked when I talked about taking the tree down. He thought that sounded expensive, which I think expensive for him was somewhere around a hundred bucks. I thought it would cost thousands to get anyone to go back there, but I was wrong. I hadn’t met Tapper Volk. First the name, I trust Tapper Volk to get a tree out of a hard place. When he came by to give the estimate and his truck door was duct taped closed, I knew he was the right guy for the job. The owner of the building that houses the Starlight Lounge and I met, and he agreed that we should get that tree out of there. We agreed to split the bill, and Tapper Volk was his guy.

The morning came for Tapper to come and take down this tree, and he showed up with a crew of a few guys. I was like, how the hell are they gonna do this?

This is how. By climbing the tree, reaching out with a chainsaw one handed, roping the branches (the size of most trees), and letting them fall (swinging down) into the lot. Super easy, right? Right. By the end of the day, he had that tree on the ground. Those guys were not afraid. Tapper Volk climbed up that tree with a chainsaw swinging off his belt like a set of keys. Tapper Volk! What a badass!!

Here are some photos: