You Can't Stump Me!!!

So I hate leaving projects undone.  I mean, it's quite literally a blessing and a curse.  It means that I get stuff done...but it also means that I have to work feverishly to get some stuff done!

Yesterday, we had a very successful day cutting down the large pine tree at one of the rental homes.  The job was 99% complete.  But one of the parts of cutting down a tree is getting rid of that stump!!!  And I knew the project would be hanging over my head until I completed it.  So on a whim, I decided to zip over and complete the project.  I hadn't even planned on doing it today, but I knew I would think that the tree-cutting project wasn't done yet until the stump was gone, EVEN if the tree was long gone.

I know, blessing and curse.

So I loaded up my DR Stump Grinder (one of the best purchases ever) and headed over to the house.  And would you believe that I had that stump ground down in just 24 minutes?!  And I had thought about pushing it off for a week...or three.  But all it took was 24 minutes to be able to say...

THE TREE IS CUT DOWN!!!

The stump as I started today.

My handy lil' DR stump grinder.

24 minutes later!

The tree is now 100% gone!  Ready for grass!

The yard is now ready for grass seed (I brought some and almost put it down for the snow to take it into the ground but decided to wait until spring).

No more tree against the house!  No more pine needles in the gutter!  No more foundation stress!

What a difference.

Grass will explode in this new soil that hasn't seen the sun in 20 years!

Of course, we had temperatures approaching the 50's today, and I had gas to burn out of my stump grinder.  So I figured...I might as well tackle a project that is over a year old at MY house!!!

Dad and I had cleared out an area in my side yard that was as thick as a jungle.  The previous owners let brush and weeds and trees grow up, and it was a mess.  Well, after clearing the area out, I still had tons and tons of "stumps" left over.  Some were actually tree-size, while most were more hardwood brush size.  But the fact remained...I couldn't really mow back there because I would hit stumps!

So I decided to tackle this project that we started in August 2016!  I had more than 20 stumps to grind.  Thankfully, because most had been dead over a year, they ground up (or broke) rather easily.

Finishing a project from 1 1/2 years ago!

Some stumps were big!

Others were medium!

Some were hollow!

Others were small!

Some were funny shapes!

Others were hard to reach!

But ALL were chopped up!!!

This grinder has paid for itself over the years.

Not sure if grass will grow in the shade and ROCKS!  But I can now push a mower back here without hitting stumps!

But I still needed the grinder to do so.  But another success!  I don't think grass is ever going to really grow underneath these trees (tons of shade and needles), but it's possible I might try shade grass this spring.  The grass does ok under the other similar trees close to the roadside...

Two big projects complete!!!