Big Satilla Creek runs dark and slow beneath the cypress, tannin-black in the shallows and edged with tupelo where the flatwoods give way to swamp. Reedy Creek Tree Services works this quiet stretch of south Georgia — removing pines and hardwoods that have leaned in over a roof or a farm road, pruning back what has closed in on the house, trimming crowns so light reaches the yard again. Water-side ground is soft ground, and every removal starts with reading how the tree will pull when it goes. Storms track through hard in the warm months; afterward the crew clears the fallen, bucks the trunks and hauls brush until the field road is open and the place looks settled. Mist off the creek at first light, a clean yard, a saw put away — that makes a good day.