Tree Stump

Last weekend the weather and my available time actually managed to coincide, and so I had a go at removing one of the tree stumps behind the apartment building. The one I decided to work on is actually a clump of three elm tree stumps growing together. My goal is to dig the stump up (and the one on the other side of the door too), and replace them with peonies.

Before the carnage:

It's rather hard to see here... it's towards the left end of the hollyhocks. The caretaker was upset the other day, because he forgot about it, and ran into it with the lawnmower.

Exposing the stump:


Pruners won't work on that root:


Another shot of the stump:

(I took lots of photos because I took lots of breaks... the top foot of dirt was mixed with gravel and broken bricks, then I hit solid clay. Plus, elms are tough suckers.)

I'm glad my uncle sharpened the axe and hatchet for me:


Stuff destined for the trash bin:

That chunk of stump was rotten, and the easiest to get out.

Ha! Take *that*, root!:


At this point, I called it a night:

My blood sugar was getting low, which isn't a good thing when you're swinging an axe. I got the easier two of the three stumps out, plus that thick root. (Granted, only four inches of that root are gone, but hopefully the rest will start to rot now, and the last stump has one less anchor.)

All tidy:


If the weather cooperates again this weekend (sorry if I just made the weekend weather switch to wet and miserable), perhaps I'll get that last bit out... and maybe even a peony in? Hmmm... that might be expecting a bit much. (With the peonies about to bloom, perhaps I should take both stumps out, and transplant the peonies after they've bloomed?)