Amongst my many pursuits I am pretty handy with a chainsaw. I come from a farm originally, I suppose more of a homestead in modern parlance, and due to this I am able to turn my hand to many things. I would not say that I am an expert in anything but a keen amateur in a lot.

I have a wood stove and therefore a constant thirst for wood - every time a large storm passes over I become excited at the prospect of some new tree to fell. The unfortunate side to this hobby is that it comes to the fore in the dark and cold months, the days are short and the conditions can be brutal.

It is a rare treat for me to use my saw in warm weather and when the chance arises I will leap into action. So when my friend called me because a tree in her garden had split, and it was a warm sunny weekend, I was loading up my truck as we were speaking on the phone.

She had a massive cherry tree in her front garden and the wind had caused it to split. Half of the tree had cracked down the middle and laid itself on top of the dyke (dry stone wall) that was the boundary for her property. This presented a number of interesting challenges - I had to figure out where the weight balance was, try not to damage the dyke, try not to damage the wall and more importantly cause no harm to myself or others.

I started by clearing away the branches from the far end, piece by piece, noting how the tree moved as each branch was removed. Then I worked my way from the far end back towards the trunk, taking care with each log to ensure there was no dramatic weight shift. Eventually the tree was cut back to the main standing trunk.

A chainsaw has two filler caps, one for the two-stroke fuel and another for chain lubricant. Every time I have to refill I take the opportunity to give the teeth on the chain a couple of rubs with the sharpening file. This serves two purposes, firstly my saw is always in top condition for cutting (which makes it much safer to use) and secondly I secretly get a chance to get my breath back if the job has been arduous. On this occasion it was very much for the second reason!

We looked at the remaining tree trunk and I observed that the bulk of the tree was now imbalanced and leaning towards her house. While the cherry tree was magnificent when it was whole, it looked horribly unstable now and I suggested that perhaps it too should be felled because sooner or later it might fall onto her house, or her child. She agreed and I set to planning how to take it down.

I started by clumbing onto the the natural platform that had been created by removing the split half and put in a neat hinge, bringing the tree down slowly and gently as I could. This worked and I was able to log the fallen part quickly. I then set to logging the standing trunk section by section. My saw seemed to be ripping through the tree in no time and I put this down to my perfectly sharpened saw. I thought this until I noticed that as I cut each log from the top there was a growing hole in the tree. By the time I was at hip height the walls of the tree were only a few centimetres thick with two thick vine like tendrils climbing up the inside.

A classic case of cherry tree core rot. If I had not felled that seemingly healthy tree, there is no doubt in my mind that it would have disastrously fallen fairly soon after I left.

I am now forever cautious around cherry, I work on the assumption that it is hollow and plan my felling of them on that basis. I never assume that just because a tree looks healthy from the outside, that it is healthy on the inside! You will notice however that the dyke is perfect, I managed to drop that large branch without causing any damage, something I am quite proud of.