We dropped the two Catalpa trees before they started leafing out. Then it was a matter of trimming limbs and blocking up the trunks; about a day a piece for Kathryn and I. I split the large chunks by hand. I broke up the sessions up with the 2nd tree to reduce the strain on my lower back. It also helped that I used the second stump as a splitting platform. Eric transported the roughly two face cord of wood to the shed. Then we resurrected wood chipper. We had to clean out mouse nest and clear the chutes, but it worked great once we had it going. The branches we chopped into small chips which are destined for the trails across the road.