FARMINGTON — Faster than a beaver, less intrusive than an excavator, a stump grinder made fast work of street-side stumps along in-town streets Tuesday.
In less than 10 minutes each, stumps along Perham and Middle streets were ground into small piles of mulched wood and dirt.
Mike Bibeau of Jay moved quickly in 80-plus-degree temperatures to remove 10 stumps along the streets and near Riverside Cemetery for the town of Farmington. He also cleared five stumps in front of the Holman Parish House on Main Street for Old South Congregational Church.
“I love it. It’s a great side job,” he said.
A job he’s done for the past 16 years in addition to running a heating company during the other seasons of the year.
The stump grinder whirls, mulching the wood and dirt to about 6 to 10 inches below the ground level, he said.
It’s an easy, affordable way to take care of the stumps, he said. An excavator would tear up a larger portion of the lawn and destroy paved sidewalks, he said.
There are occasional items that hinder the work and jeopardize the condition of the saw teeth. Things like horseshoes, steel rods used for boundaries and once in a while, someone fails to tell him about underground wires, he said.
Operating the business as Mike’s Stump Grinding, he considers no job too small and it’s environmentally friendly, he said. The work was quick but warm as he ground down the last of his project and admitted the heat Tuesday made the job a little harder. He was ready to head for home, he said.
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