How'd it go today?

I really like that pulley Jack. I have one and it gets used a lot. That's the same one I had to re-work the cheek plates :/:

Damn Andy, happy nothing horrible came from that incident.

Today was day three on a job I really only got 2 days on due to the mechanic screw up. They are pleased with my performance however, and booked a couple more days of climbing and pruning.
Originally (this is a repeat customer every year) I was told that this wind thrown tree was on the edge of the black berry patch in and on a creek. WRONG! It was IN the damn berry patch. I had brought my tools just in case. SO the last three days have been remove some brush off the tree and hack berries making room to remove more brush off the tree. Repeat as necessary back to the standing root ball to get to the wood. Clean all ground of black berries to cut log and trip root ball to fall back into it's hole in the creek bed. It also pulled more trees from the other side of the creek down with it. This thing had hit the guy wire on the power pole that has the transformer on it right behind the one gals office/barn. They were VERY lucky that pole did not get broke. I used the truck to yard a lot of stuff out of the creek and secure logs as I cut them off. I used snap cuts on the last log as I knew the root ball was going to fall back eventually. Make cut, snap off with truck pulling log and yard it up. Eventually the last log came off and over she went stump back up right. Rocks and berry vines make for shitty footing. All went well, but I bet I have a few more gray hairs from cutting that last log up to trip it upright. All went to plan though ;) So I get to go back and remove the other three trees from the creek in a couple months. Almost all the brush has been yarded out and chipped. Felt good to hear that I was the only guy they felt could do the job safely and they would not let anyone else mess with it :). I was pretty much by myself on that one as Rob cut about 4 acres and Wyatt one acre of grass while I dealt with the wind throw.


Next two days will be a Poison Oak removal and some storm damaged trees. Rob will probably be cutting more weeds while I do the former. Workin 6 days this week. Should be about done it by Sunday.
 
Yesterdays job.

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Contract climbing for a guy that owns a small mill and wanted me to salvage as many sawlogs out of that tree as possible. Got to the top, ran into a big ass squirrel that must have been a half breed flying squirrel, ran out of gas on the top...thank god it was a small top, had a green groundy, (although he is a good dude, just had never used a portawrap before), so I got shook around a little...then fell the last log and hit the sidewalk and put a good sized dent in it :( I wish I could have just fell the last spar from the ground but the homeowner wanted it left about 12-14' high to carve something. I should have just gunned the last log towards the lilac bush....either that or cut and chucked it for firewood. Verdict is still out on if I am gonna have to pay for the effin sidewalk...oh well, my bad!
 
Good job, great attitude. Was your groundie wearing gloves? I've found that the ones who don't wear gloves are the ones that don't let the load run... they don't wanna burn their hands.
 
It's a hard thing to teach a new guy. Get em to keep there arms locked & walk towards the tree as the top goes helps smooth things out. Nice job & if you never break anything your not trying hard enough :lol: :)
 
Thanks guys. I know stuff happens...just was pissed that I went through all the trouble of rigging those logs down and broke the sidewalk anyway. My groundy was wearing gloves...I know he was worried about the sidewalk too...as I told him not to let it run too much and hit hard, so a good part of my rough ride was my fault. The only groundy/working with porty experience I have had is when I am by my self and I have rigged something off and cut it, then come down and lower it, so I have never been in a situation where I have had to "let it run".
 
Negative blocking wood is one of my least favorite things, I'd almost rather deal with vines while climbing. I always did whatever I could to avoid it when I was climbing.
 
Nice vid. Mr. squirrel could only have been, wtf?

Why don't you get or make yourself a small short wedge for flipping those chunks... Short wedge stock seems to be my specialty. :|:
 
I know I should have used wedges more. I would have used my smaller saw on a couple of those cuts too, but I ran out of gas on the top and had to send it down anyhow.
 
I took my chip box off today and played landscraper. Spread some cedar mulch, had a blast. :roll:

Nice vid! Last time I threw a squirrel out of a tree we heard a thump and he somehow landed here! LOL

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No problemo running out of gas with a lil top like that Cody. You could have just nipped it with your hand saw.
Like MB, I won't call for the 044 or 046 until I hit over 18" of wood.
Just my .02, but at 2:56, your life line choked to eh stem, looks like your biner gate is facing down. Might want to keep it facing up to prevent loading the gate with the rope during a descent. ;)
 
Nice video. I love blocking down logs. LOVE IT. The bigger the better. My groundman was never incredible on a port a wrap. I set him up a bit back on the original port a wrap. The old sailors hook. He found his groove with that thing and knows how to slooooowwww the logs down nice and sexy. Anyways, good work bro. Keep the videos coming. Tall tree you whacked.
 
Got PO'd at a couple of potential customers today. One a neighbor from the jobsite wanted to do some really stupid cutting on their tree to avoid getting any mess from it in their pool, it's a largish maple 35-40' from their pool, damn near overhanging it. I told them basically nothing they wanted to hear so they didn't, and insisted on wanting a price on sideswiping it. So they got a price plus the stupid upcharge with a special tax assessment of ignorance and low and behold they didn't like it much.

I then looked at a 'chip' pile for some people that have been hounding me, "I'm the only one they can get ahold of". I drive by and look at it a pile of sod and a pile of rootwadded shrubs. For real? I can't believe it. I told them they need a yard clean up or garbage type contractor, not what I take care of. Yes I could do it, if I was slow maybe I would load it all in the dump trailer and what not but I'm not slow. I don't even have the time for making a special run for something like that I need my equipment on treework everyday turning dollars.

Then I get the guy who's called me twice today and both times leaves me a message of how his tree is realy big you definetly need a bucket truck. Twice tells me this in messages. I told him that really big trees definetly don't require a bucket because a bucket doesn't reach and that when I go and look at his tree(next Tuesday) I'll be deciding how it gets done. I just hate that ya know, obviously if a tree is within reach a bucket is easier but most trees can still be climbed and more often then not lately the bucket seems to be an expensive chip truck.

Then I'm looking at a monster silver maple for a lady that my wife works with. Terrible road, worse driveway not really sure if I could back down it or if I want to try and drive up out of it loaded with chips. Then from the driveway it's down around the side of the house, tight but a mini with smallish grapple fulls will fit through to the backyard which is entirely on a angle with about a '75 silver maple one of the nicest I've seen around here, huge spread up and way over the house surrounded by new concrete patio on one side and new septic/tank lids on the other side. Literal nightmare, no access through any of the neighbors, no way could a crane get anywhere near it, never like 600' from the main road that I may potentially have to park on a lonnnnnng ways for brush to have to move. Only thing going for this job is the tree is really healthy, they are wanting to remove it because it's screwed up their sewer/septic that they just had to redo and they worry it'll mess it up again.

Hah, I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things too! Everyday is an adventure!

Oh yah, the job we did today was a fairly large box-elder on the side/back of the house, the mini had to forward all the way around the back up the other side and then around front to where the chip was. My main man Graham climbed it all out as it overhung the clients roof and the neighbors fence quite a bit so he got way out there to be able to manhandle and toss all the limbs/leads to a decent little landing area we had so that I could just go steady with the mini forwarding. The client was super happy but says to me, "Boy it sure took you guys longer than I thought it would". What do you say to that? We slayed this thing with equipment/skill about as quickly as possible without a crane. I said nothing and collected the cheque. Lol.
 
You need me to come run your shit and you just sit back and smile/ collect the check.

I could use the weather. :drink:
 
No problemo running out of gas with a lil top like that Cody. You could have just nipped it with your hand saw.
Like MB, I won't call for the 044 or 046 until I hit over 18" of wood.
Just my .02, but at 2:56, your life line choked to eh stem, looks like your biner gate is facing down. Might want to keep it facing up to prevent loading the gate with the rope during a descent. ;)

Was not wearing my handsaw...I used to all the time but have been weening myself off of it on removals. I wasn't using a biner, that was a pear link. Thanks for your good comments everyone :)
 
+ 1 :) It is a lot of fun working around guys that are quick to laugh.

Dave

I was not laughing after I splatted that sidewalk...only reason I did not throw a big, cussing, screaming riggin fit is because I was on camera :)
 
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