At one corner of my property there's 4 or 5 small trees (oaks). One
might have a trunk about a foot in diameter, while the others are
effectively just well-established saplings (no more than a few inches
around).

Since I'm not fond of oaks (they turn brown in the fall instead of
pretty colors, and they dump acorns all over) and we have a bigger old
oak that's exactly as much oak as I'd like to have to clean up after,
I was thinking of getting rid of these younger oaks and planting
something nice and colorful (a sugar maple, a cherry blossom tree,
maybe a really large lilac bush, or _something_ along those lines).

I can either saw down and/or hire someone to saw down the existing
trees. But, then, what about the trunks/root systems? Obviously, they
need to be removed, also. Does this involve hiring big (expensive)
bull-dozerish equipment to dig up the stumps? Is there any way
to...ahhh...encourage the wood to break down in a few seasons on its
own?

I don't mind waiting a few years (say...2-4?) to be able to plant a
tree there, but, I'm not sure if there are any economical options that
would be effective and non-damaging to the long-term environment.
Other than digging the stumps out by hand, which would be REAL hard on
my back!

Gwen