So, a couple of weeks ago, I was up on the roof clearing the gutters and getting rid of all the tree debris that had fallen on our roof. There are benefits from living amongst so many trees such as having a house that stays nice and cool in the summer heat... but it does mean that I need to stay on top of cleaning on the top of the house!

So, there was one corner of the house where there were overhanging branches from which I had cut the tip ends that I could reach from the roof. But the job needed to be finished at ground level... and you can see on the picture above, there was this last extended section that needed to be cut down properly. The one in the foreground, not the huge tree in the background!

So, my trusty curved saw was going to have to do the trick... the base of the branch wasn't crazily thick... but I have underestimated how heavy these things were in the past... so, I got my wife to help with a rope to divert the fall so that it would definitely miss the roof!

No photos of the job in action... partly because I was sort of busy, and sort of because my wife was getting really worried about it all! In the end, it fell easily and mostly cleanly. In hindsight, I should have used the mini-chainsaw instead... it would have been easier and quicker to cut the branch.

... and it was pretty heavy for such a thin looking branch! I had to take it apart in pieces before feeding it to the shredder for more mulch.

I did also notice that one of the previously cut stumps were starting to sprout again... actually, there are quite a few of the smaller trees that we had cut down when we cleared out the thicket mess when we moved in... they are starting to sprout again. I think I will need to make sure that they are completely done by using some Epsom Salts... either that or let them grow but keep them in check.

There were some weird large black butterflies hanging around as well... interesting things, they were just flitting around chasing each other! I tried to get a photo of them, but I really need a better phone camera!

... and while I was cutting and shredding... the #$@%WT cockatoos struck again... this time they ripped up an entire length of gutter guards. Sigh, I wonder if I should just replace all of these with the more expensive brush type ones that would be harder for them to take out... Thankfully, it doesn't take long to fix them back in... but it is annoying!

... and finally, the spitfires are back. This year, I'm planning on staying on top of this infestation. I've started spraying the target plants with white oil and killing as many of the little critters as possible. They aren't shredding out plants this year! I've enlisted the help of my girls... the little one is especially keen to get started on killing as many of these invaders as possible!

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