Men with Chainsaws

I decided this past winter that we needed to do something about the invasive Autumn Olive bushes that are littering our upper meadow. We have a species of bird, the Grasshopper Sparrow, that is on the DEC's Special Concern list and they nest in our grasslands. But our grasslands are being taken over by this invasive shrub and the birds don't like shrubs. I tried to write a grant to help fund removing the bushes, but it didn't come to fruition, so our Board and some devoted Tanglewood members took the project under their wing, so to speak. We made a plan to work on removing these bushes one by one. Mind you, we have hundreds of them. And some of them are big. And to top it off, they are thorny. Maybe they are Russian Olive? I'm not sure. Regardless, they are non-native and taking over. We won't have the Grasshopper Sparrows much longer if we don't get rid of them.

So, one Saturday in April, nine men headed up the hill to tackle these stupid bushes. Nine men and nine chainsaws. I was working that day, so I stayed in the building for the morning (I joined them for the afternoon), but I got reports as to the work being done and the state of being of the men. Suffice it to say, when all was said and done, I'm not sure who fared worse, the bushes or the men. They made great progress up there and I am SO appreciative. But not at no cost to the men. Reports of injury or other such discomforts included: One not-to-be-named former banker that, after about an hour of work was seen laying down in the grass, spent. Another, former Anesthesiologist, whose wife has forbid him to do invasive species removal again because he lost use of his wrist for a time after. Another, somewhat retired lawyer, with various cuts on his head from the spiky buggars. Another, former science teacher with sore arm syndrome. And another, insurance man/NFL ref that mysteriously "disappeared" after lunch...? Let's just say that everyone except my firefighter and myself (dubbed "Herbicide Elaine" for the day), was nearly 60 years old or over. And despite their various maladies, they were the hardest working group of people I have seen in a long time, maybe ever. The next generation should look to them with admiration and awe. I don't think 20-somethings could have handled it any better and I don't think they would have worked from 9 to 4 on a snowy April day with only a lunch break for nothing but a small brown bird that they have never even seen. Thanks guys!