How'd it go today?

Cool you helped someone.

What do you mean fear of bucket work?
 
It's kinda funny cause this time last year the daily joke was my climb line only needed to be 30 foot long cause I couldn't get high enough to use more. Now I'm working out over houses and doing crane jobs. Thanks to all of the guys in the tree house posting pics and explaining how things should be done, and Davey being extremely patient and even finishing a lot of my trees lol.
 
My day was... um.... long.
It starts with a sordid tale of a blue oak gone bad. It was healthy enough. Just always being picked on by the utility clearance guys.
Years ago, I was asked by the HO if I could do something with it. Of course, loving trees as I do, I said yes. Prune it of dead wood and give it a bit of a shaping. Tad of reduction. Lots of layers there. Ugly bugger it was. But, it was an older blue.
Years go by, never any money to do the deed, we only discuss it in passing when I see her at her work.
All of a sudden, one day, I see her house being demo'd . I was in shock. Place was pretty run down. I was a tad worried about her. I caught up with her at the harware store she works at and found out she came into money. Instead of fixing the run down place up... dozer it and new house. Wow I thought! How cool is that.
Then she brings up the tree again. Asking about if I would still work on it once the house is in. I tell her yes.
One day I see the house is all up, pre fab. They butchered the poor thing getting the pieces in. Next I see the HO, I ask what exactly she wants done with the tree. It really looks in poorer shape now. She hates it. She wants it gone. It leans toward her first new home. Please remove it.
I make the date... we get on it.
So.. Mike goes up the tree and starts butchering it out. Big chipper just mincing it up nicely. Firewood up for grabs. Dump site around the corner for 5 yards all told. Easy peasy. I send mike up to the next account and Robert and I set up to handle the wood and the spar.
Lady is allllllll smiles the whole time. Loving it.
Ground all clear. I make the face cut. Matched perfect.
I start the back cut.. all clear... make sure everyone is in a safe place. Set a wedge. Continue...
I have no idea what is going on in the safe place. the tree leans a tad more with each whack of the axe against the hard head.
A bit more back cut... a couple more taps.. pull the saw and stand back.. THUD.
Perfect landing.
I look over and see the lady leaning into Rob, tears flowing. Body shaking. Rob trying to comfort her.. I run over and ask ... "are you ok? WHat is wrong? " ROb says, "we scared her!"
I ask, Afraid of the tree falling??
She says "YES, on the house. My brand new house! I thought it was going to hit it. I thought you were going to fall it a different way."
I wrapped my arms around her.. I mean the woman was dehydrating with the amount of water flowing here.
I put on my best comforting voice. I felt like I had my daughter on one of her helpless sensitive moments. This woman is pushing 70s.
I reassure her there was no way I was going to hit her house. We show her how we measure the tree and space. Why I felled it where I did.
You know the drill boys and girls.
She calms down.. Smiles are back again.. this took about 1/2 hour ....
Now all is good. She will be going back to work singing our praises. Laughing about how she over reacted to a tree falling towards her house. It was all under control ;)
Recently, I had a widow break down over losing trees. Second woman to cry on my shoulder in a month. :lol:
Pictures.
 

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Stephen: Good story/hinge.

Stig: More pics from Denmark.... come on, it's been years man.

Timber tramp: You're the man. Keep it up, and you'll be tearing it up in about a year.
 
Pretty straightforward pine removals but I got my climbing line through three of the five that had to be climbed, all within about 20' of each other and worked them all without touching the ground. Limb, top, chunk a few blocks and swing to the next one. Kinda fun too.
 
Finished another county ditch/ creek project this morning. Hauled logs out and moved equipment to a bridge project to start tomorrow. Then went to assist another crew on a residential job. 12 large trims and a big ass silver maple to remove. Boss says the tree can be dropped. Even if we could've pulled it against the lean and out of the pines it was tangled in it still wouldn't of fit. So I started rigging it out. Got in a hurry and rigged up a way to big piece. Forgot to set another redirect to absorb some of the load. Snapped my rigging point out. Luckily it held long enough that it swung away from the house and lines. I said clean up we are done for the day, I must be to tired to think right. No one argued. I think they were in shock.
 
Dang! Don't sweat it Rich... we've all done it.

More of that rooftop buckin' today... unnamed-86.jpg unnamed-87.jpg unnamed-88.jpg unnamed-89.jpg Look at the Red Cedar growing in this guy's chimney.
 

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Yeah, we did $7,200.00 with three guys today... not quite fair, but... our sales guys smell out the insurance money, and just pounce.
 
Had my arm trapped under a sleeping, slightly sick 3.5 y.o. for 4 hours and ticking. I got to nap too, for most of it. I'm starting to think I could have used a nap time diaper, too!

Too dark to take a priceless picture.

I can hold the tablet in the trapped arm's hand, and trace-type with my other.

Sleeping soundly!!
 
Yeah, that's about like your last avatar Sean. These days with our kids sure fly fast. Every long-day-storm-work-time, by the time it's over, I feel like my kids have aged an entire year.
 
Visited a local luthier today and had my recently aquired fiddle set up...Wow, can hardly believe the improvement...told him my basic needs and happened to mention a few things on my wish list for the future...in under an hour he made improvements in the tone and playability that set me right back in my chair!

It's so great to run into a true craftsman in a trade...I feel a bit guilty that he only charged me $40 for his work for the astounding improvement he coaxed from this instrument. I'm impressed enough that I will be bringing my Bass in to have his partner do a set-up on that.

I'm going go go smile, chuckle, and play some more fiddle now....:D
 
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