Wind damage.
I'd already pieced the fourth leader out of the adjacent maples a year ago, and we had wind over the weekend.
Oops. Pushing onto a Doug fir. Yesterday, it seemed to be in two Doug firs. The one today was veritical once again, two hours later. Minimal cleanup.
The smallest trunk was cracked, but slightly attached, and with intertangled branches. Cedar aka Velcro tree. Topmost trunk.
A well-placed, tight first throw in front of the customer, so I told him, I didn't figure that today was a day to mess around with bad throws.
Pulled in a rope, anchoring the end to a tree, other end on the mini, like a 2:1 parbuckle around the trunk, pulling it down and free.
Couldn't imagine doing the work today with a rigid grapple like a Vermeer. The dangle is very self adjusting. I did have to do the swing move, where the grapple is outstretched, boom uncurled forward, high throttle, quick back and forward on the tracks, with a well- timed grapple squeeze allowed me to grab the mostly vertical trunk (Vermeer would have easily grabbed it). The self-adjusting dangle grapple let me manuever the top in ways I Speculate would have torqued and tortured a rigid grapple. 12" diameter top, I'd guess.
The lower two trunks were solidly attached to one another, hanging on about 4-6" of bottom-strap to the trunk, about 20' up. Cedar limbs top-cut at/ into the collar will my hang themselves down to vertical, not brittle wood. Surprising that it didn't rip down/ off the butt.
Faced up 36" cut, opposite the lean
Back cut on far side about 10" wide, came around and finished from the protected side with a clear exit.
The two trunks were solidly attached, with the upper trunk's forked top strattling the fir.
Cut the lower trunk free.
Cut the upper trunk free from base. The top crashed down, splitting the fork, getting it all on the ground.
Gouge through the fir bark, near the base.