Lopping the tree

 For years, the Cypressus tree in front of our house has been growing.  It was at the point where it banged on the window in high winds, so it had to be lopped.  I had taken the top off, about 14 years ago to the bottom of the upstairs window, but these trees grow quite quickly.

This was a hand saw job, one branch at a time.  In the heat of the summer sun and in respect of the disposal of the offcuts, this work took 3 days - don't want to overdo the exercise thing......
There were 2 old nests in the tree - one was a blackbird nest that had probably not been used this year and the other was a blue tit nest that had been used and abandoned.
This tree may eventually go, but for the present it is a good wind break to the side garden and the birds use it as a perching tree.  The small stems and leaves will go as organic recycling and the long branches will be used in the garden for edging, bean poles and the like.  I would not recommend Leylandii type trees in a small or medium sized garden.  They can be hard work to maintain.