Truetimber Arborists

Apatheia

A Greek word roughly translated to the freedom or release of emotion and excitement.

Now, you may have read that and saw the all too common word in our daily speak, APATHY, which derribes from this word, however having a rather negative connotation to it. When we speak of apathy, it’s typically someone who is just kind of floating through life with no drive and passion. Lazy might be a good synonym for how we tend to speak on it. Not exactly the word I’d choose for arborists though.

As I think about the Greek origin, referencing a release of emotion and excitement, I see that in these pictures. Not individuals who are lazy and not driven, rather, the opposite. Folks who have a deep passion for their craft and the release of emotion and excitement is from a skill we’ve all poured into learning. To be able to execute when the stakes are high. When pressure is rising along with our summer temps. When we have to walk out a limb for one small dead branch. To avoid the garden trinkets below, by choosing to put a rope on what we are removing instead of letting it fall feeely to the ground. That’s where I see this played out every day. A precise and skilled operation (with some hoot and hollers of course), but deciding to do the task correctly and not be flippant about the job.

Thanks for choosing us. For letting us care for your trees. The playground you have for us to have a career in is most appreciated and we will return as many times as you ask, doing so with freedom in our emotion and excitement.

Have a good and safe day out there folks!

This week’s is brought to us by Tree Care Advisor James Luggen!

“This native shrub is the only member of the bittersweet family that is exclusively found in the United States, more specifically the wetlands of East coast. It has a beautiful capsule that is bright red, and splits to reveal its seeds covered in red arils. Deer will eat and spread these seeds in the forest but if consumed by humans they will experience severe diarrhea, sometimes even used intentionally as a laxative. The bark can be turned to powder and used to treat dandruff, and the roots could be made into a tea to aid with UTI’s and other digestive issues. ”

The answer to last week’s ID is the Fastigiate!

Check out this week’s article from Tree Care Advisor Mike Mather!

Do you love your Mimosa tree?

Do you love your Mimosa tree? - Urban Forest Dweller It happens every summer. One or two people will quietly

It’s been an active training year so far for us. For years now we’ve wanted to open up our training to the outside world and 2024 has been off to a great start! I’m so stoked that we are able to give back to the industry in this way, to share and learn. It’s awesome. Apologies about a lack of here the last few weeks as I’ve been focused on providing some of this to not only companies afar, but working with our fine city on some EHAP and Chainsaw training.

I’m humbled and overjoyed that our organization is able to help in this way. Truetimber has been overseas twice this year for this reason, but helped inside the States a lot. I’m excited to see what the rest of the year holds and thanks so much for choosing us to not only care for trees, but to care for this industry as well.

This week’s is brought to us by Tree Care Advisor Mike Mather!

“Do you want to have a tree but you don’t have a lot of space? There are several varieties of trees that grow up more than out. For this weeks Tree ID Tuesday, give the word (that starts with an “F”) for this form of skinny upright trees. ”

The answer to last week’s ID is the Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda)!

Check out this week’s article from Tree Care Advisor Peter Girardi!

"Tree Hollows and Their Importance"

Tree Hollows and Their Importance - Urban Forest Dweller What should you do if you see a hollow spot

This week’s is brought to us by Tree Care Advisor Peter Girardi!

“This week's Tree ID is one we have not done before.

This tree is known to cover cars and puddles in the spring with yellow pollen. Go down the google rabbit hole on all the benefits of this pollen and it might make you appreciate it a little more next spring.

The easiest way to identify this tree is by counting the number of fascicles. Hint: this tree has 3 needles per fascicle.”

The answer to last week’s ID is the Fagus sylvatica ‘asplenifolia’ or Fern Leaf Beech!

Check out this week’s article from Tree Care Advisor Greg Crews!

Stump Mulch and New Plants - Urban Forest Dweller You just had to take down a large

This week’s is brought to us by Tree Care Advisor Greg Crews!

“This extremely unusual plant stuck out in the landscape while walking by and it was quite the specimen. Not pruned or managed in any way and allowed to grow openly to its full size. This is a very unusual cultivar of a tree species that most would not expect. Its cultivar name is a nod to a fern that has very similar leaf appearance which also helps to explain its common name as well.”

Congrats to last week’s winner Karen Kelly for correctly ID’ing Girdling!

Have you considered getting your yard summer storm ready?

"This time of year, I often have conversations with customers about getting their trees “ready for hurricane season.” Summer in Richmond is notorious for random thunderstorms and other intense weather events, so here at Truetimber, we believe that having an arborist inspect your property is paramount-before these storms roll through.

The primary reason for pre-hurricane tree inspections is to assess structural integrity. Trees that appear healthy on the outside may have internal decay or weak spots that compromise their ability to withstand strong winds. Having an arborist assess a tree’s integrity is a great first step in maintaining your property and protecting against sudden, unexpected damage. The last thing any homeowner wants is a failing tree causing damage to person or property. " - Tree Care Advisor Aidan Stewart

Head over to our article to read more on how and why you should prepare for these storms now!

Summer Storm Preparedness - Urban Forest Dweller This time of year, I often have conversations with customers

This week’s is a little different and is brought to us by Tree Care Advisor Aidan Stewart!

“I recently rescued this 3 year old Red Maple tree in a pinch. It had been left untouched since it was planted. Who knows what’s going on here?”

If you can guess the correct responses, you could win a TT prize pack!

Congrats to last week’s winner Joe Hricko for correctly ID’ing the Variegated Kousa Dogwood!

This is probably my favorite regular safety meeting we do. We stretch together. We go around the group and folks chime in with their favorite stretches. Regardless of how many times we do this a year, I always learn new stuff from our folks. Plus, we have the added bonus of limbering up for the day. It always proves to be a time full of jokes, weird noises and proof as to who can balance and who needs some extra work. Thanks Team for the stretches today and Happy Solstice!

This week’s is brought to us by Tree Care Advisor James Luggen!

“This is a distant cousin of my favorite Virginian native tree, this one originating from Eastern Asia. It’s a smaller, ornamental tree that I’ve only seen a few in Richmond, but it’s possible I didn’t look close enough to know what it was. You’ll really notice its beautiful ‘flowers’ this time of year, as its canopy becomes full of white blooms. The tree also bears a fruit that is edible and is sometimes used to make wine.”

If you can guess the correct responses, you could win a TT prize pack!

No winner here this week, but the answer was the Bald Cypress - images A,D and E!

Check out this week’s article from Tree Care Advisor Mike Mather!

The Best Tree That You Probably Do Not Want 🌳

The Best Tree That You Probably Do Not Want - Urban Forest Dweller When I get asked “what is your favorite tree?” I

This week’s is brought to us by Tree Care Advisor Mike Mather!

“In the Richmond area there are two deciduous conifers that you are likely to come across. One of them, Bald Cypress, is a native to swamps in southeastern Virginia (it grows very well in urban Richmond as well.) The other is Dawn Redwood, a fast growing tree from China.

To win tree ID Tuesday, say which of the photos listed (A-E) are Bald Cypress.”

If you can guess the correct responses, you could win a TT prize pack!

Congrats to last week’s winner Amy Bram Sowers for correctly ID’ing the Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)!

Check out this week’s article from Tree Care Advisor Peter Girardi!

Rethinking Mulberry and other tree concerns

Rethinking Mulberry and other tree concerns - Urban Forest Dweller Over the past few weeks I have seen some similar

This week’s is brought to us by Tree Care Advisor Peter Girardi!

“This week’s tree is native to Richmond. I have mostly found this tree along the banks or near the James River. Before I see or notice this tree, this time of year, I will see its seeds that carpet the ground and remind me of snow in the summer. The state champion for this tree is also here in Richmond!”

If you can guess the correct responses, you could win a TT prize pack!

Congrats to last week’s winner Joe Hricko for correctly ID’ing the Common Persimmon!

Check out this week’s article from Tree Care Advisor Greg Crews!

Blink and You’ll Miss the Jumping Oak Gall Wasp

https://www.urbanforestdweller.com/blink-and-youll-miss-the-jumping-oak-gall-wasp-2/

Tree Care Advisors Aidan, Mike and Peter had an incredible time last night with BreakAway RVA on the Richmond Tree ID Ride!

Thank you everyone for joining us!

This brought to you by tracked lift and excitement for new equipment.

As a climber, having more iron always makes me a bit sad. I love this craft and how we are able to be creative with our bodies and brain on how to navigate the complexities of Richmond’s canopy. That being said…lifts have a big part to play in efficiencies as well as risk management. They allow us to help our clients in ways that would be challenging otherwise.

I’m excited that we have this new toy that allows us to care for our community in a different way. That it will give our people more options both as a way to mitigate risky situations, but also for career path. I’m also quite excited that it’s Red. There are many like it, but this one is ours. Big shout out to our Operations Manager Wesley and Equipment Manager Allen for all your hard work and research to bring this new addition to the fleet.

Hope you’re having a stellar Thursday out there. It’s beautiful this morning. A great day to play in a tree.

Have a great and safe day.

✌️

Uh-oh, we missed Tuesday! So this week it’s on a Wednesday! This weeks Tree ID is from Tree Care Advisor Greg Crews!

“This small to medium sized broadleaf tree is native to the East Coast and its Latin species name is “virginiana” as it was first identified and catalogued in Virginia. Some call it White Ebony as it is a very slow growing and thus has dense wood. It is also in the Ebony Family so it is a on point common name. The photos show extremely juvenile fruit that will develop into an orange fruit that most people find to be quite unpalatable.”

If you can guess the correct responses, you could win a TT prize pack!

Congrats to last week’s winner Jeffrey Cartwright for correctly ID’ing the Smoketree!

Check out this week’s article from Tree Care Advisor Aidan Stewart!

Can you ID this for me? - Urban Forest Dweller When people hear that I’m an arborist, occasionally they’ll follow

Last Friday we had our spring training day. It’s one of my favorite times of our year where we take a day off of getting after it to spend some quality time learning, trying new things and of course…hanging out.

This year we were blessed to have some help from our good buddy with his crane and do some practice on how to be better at this special skill set. He and Skye did a phenomenal job teaching some fundamentals and spread out from there.

We also had a micro rigging lab set up for some learning play time to test out different scenarios and talk through concepts. Thanks to Nathan for running that station and facilitating the fun!

Our Special Projects Teams did some crucial cross training to get more time operating our equipment as well as learning a bit more about crane work. Big shout out to Torry for running point and keeping our folks stoked!

One of the other cool things we do that’s geared towards our newer climbers is having some dedicated time to just play. To practice limb walks and swings low to the ground and then go aloft to put some of those skills to use. We spend time going over gear and stress the importance of a strong foundational skill level. We’re building skyscrapers with this knowledge…we have to have a strong foundation! Big ole Attakid to Jacque for helping me run this station.

It’s super rewarding to watch lightbulbs go off for our folks. I love being at a place that prioritizes our people this way. It’s truly special and unique and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Cheers and have a good and safe day!

This week’s is brought to us by Tree Care Advisor Aidan Stewart!

“It’s hard to pick a favorite tree, but this one is consistently at the top of my list. This particular tree is always a treat to stop by, and I get to see it multiple times a day. As you can see in the last slide, it makes for a unique Mother’s Day “bouquet” as well!”

If you can guess the correct responses, you could win a TT prize pack!

Congrats to last week’s winner Meghan Clark for correctly ID’ing the Poison Ivy!

Check out this week’s article from Tree Care Advisor James Luggen!

The cicadas are coming!

https://www.urbanforestdweller.com/attack-of-the-cicadas/

Attack of the Cicadas!!! - Urban Forest Dweller There’s been a lot of excitement around the cicadas emerging

Uh-oh, we missed Tuesday! So this week it’s on a Wednesday! This weeks Tree ID is from Team Leader Caroline!

“With small white flowers in the spring and showy red fall color, this ID we’re showcasing everyone’s favorite backyard plant. Found in 48 of the 50 U.S. states, this plant is happy to grow in almost any condition and provides food and cover for a variety of wildlife. Oh, did we mention it’s also responsible for 9 million doctor’s office visits and 1.6 million hospital outpatient visits in the U.S. every year? Leaves of three..do YOU know me?”

If you can guess the correct responses, you could win a TT prize pack!

Congrats to last week’s winner Gloria Guilford for correctly ID’ing the Chinaberry!

Happy ! This weeks Tree ID is from Tree Care Advisor Mike Mather!

"The first time I saw one of these trees in the winter, I thought “poison ivy tree?!?” The white fruit looks like poison ivy berries. The bark of the tree reminds me of black locust.

This asian tree was brought in to the US as an ornamental tree in the 1700’s. It has become invasive in the southeast, although in Richmond area, it is not one of our worst culprits."

If you can guess the correct responses, you could win a TT prize pack!

Congrats to last week’s winner Chris Diffley for correctly ID’ing the Chionanthus Virginicus/White fringe-tree!

It’s again! This weeks Tree ID is from Tree Care Advisor Peter Girardi

“This weeks Tree ID is blooming right now so go outside and see if you can find it. The flower petals are white and blooms from April to June. This tree is in the same family as the ash tree, but usually doesn’t get any taller than 15-feet tall. It is very common to find this tree as a multi-stem specimen that might look more like a shrub when it is young.

There are a few spots where you can find this tree in the woods here in Richmond, so I am looking for the common name and Latin name for this native species. There is another species in the same Genera you might find in yards and even as a street tree.”

If you can guess the correct responses, you could win a TT prize pack!

Congrats to last week’s winner for correctly ID’ing the Solitary Ground Nesting Bees!