How'd it go today?

[flushcut]

That's great news on the lymph system. Sadly a mastectomy is a fairly common surgery these days and should go smoothly.

 

[Raj]

Hope all will be good for your Mother, Stephen.

 

[Bermy]

Prayers for your Mum, glad it has gone well for her so far

 

[Al Smith]

Today was okay,still working on my retirements which is a pain in my behind . Four separate retirements plus social security and 4 401 K's .I went from a journeyman electrician to an apprentice office assistant. Paper work galore ,drives me nuts .
I did however manage to cut down to size and split a half a cord of oak .Not bad for an old fart .

 

[Stumpshot]

Workin' in the Rain

Wet, wet this morning. We still had the lift from yesterday for ~2 hours this morning, so we hustled to finish house #5 pruning for a property owner's rental properties. This one was lower deadwood & roof line clearance on 2 pin oaks out front, the back was a hackberry that we had to climb -- broken limb and roofline clearance. The first oak went like clockwork, 1/2 hour tops. Then the spider lift's outriggers started giving us fits -- would not autolevel for the setup on the 2nd tree, no matter how we positioned. Hitch up to the pickup, move it, unhitch, attempt to level the outriggers. In the end, we wound up wasting an hour in the rain, trying what the rental co.'s tech was having us do. About ready to give up & just climb the oak, we discovered that the one outrigger's pressure sensor wiring had gotten pinched & severed, so we scabbed it together for a temporary fix and finished up the front so as to get the lift back ASAP. Due to the trouble, they didn't charge for bringing it back late.

After lunch, the rain broke and it started to clear up. So new work clothes, a cuppa and we were ready for round 2. Our first time working for the City! They're re-doing a stretch of road just 1/2 mile from my house, past downtown -- sewers/storm drains. They needed 10 trees drop-n-chipped, and we were happy to oblige! Pretty nice gig, rolling down the (not busy due to road closure) street, dropping small trees (20-25' max) -- chestnut, Bradford pear, red buds, hawthorns, blue spruces. Filled the chip truck to the brim, 30 full cubic yards. Then off to dump at a farm 5 miles north of town -- and he's wanting as many loads as we can bring. Lovin' it!

So guess what I'm doing tomorrow? 10 stumps, 12" deep. Will be best to walk the stump grinder between stumps, rather than load it up and drive it 50 ft. Gonna be a full, full day!

 

[treebilly]

Last day of boredom week. All the policies were gone over. All inventory done. Everyone is up to date on first aid and cpr. The new drug policy was announced and its zero tolerance. A failed or inconclusive test has very strict guidelines and if they are not met perfectly = immediate dismissal. Luckily we have a decent sized window for some employees to decide if they want to keep their jobs. I myself do not partake, but about 30% of the company does. I don?t completely agree with this but it?s a stipulation that the company is being forced into because of our largest contract. Guess we?re gonna separate the men from the boys. Tomorrow I get to actually do something. My crew will be at the bosses house removing an easy pin oak. This was supposed to be an all day demonstration tree but ?big contract? has called and we have four crews going to deal with that. I?m still going to use the tree for training purposes but mostly to prove a point to the boss. I?m going to tape off the only existing drop zone and we?re going to speed line to another drop zone. Still less than 4 hours. I hope my crew is up to the challenge. My designated drop zone is 30 feet away. After that I?m off to talk with someone about doing one day a month of training for the entire company. Basically something different every month. No certifications involved. Just real tree life stuff. I know I?ve had my issues with this company but it seems they?re trying. I let it be known to them that this was it for me. By April of 2019, either I was going to see changes for the better or I was leaving. I guess (as it seems right now) they are taking me seriously. Time will tell.
Or maybe I?m fired tomorrow?

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm still a boy, it seems!

 

[pantheraba]

hahaha...good report, Rich. Hope you still have a job next week.

But it sounds like stuff they need to hear...your push to keep training active is good...a confidence builder and should help keep folks safe, too.

 

[treebilly]

Not quite my point on that boss. Point was they need to decide to either quit the herb, which by my state and federal law is illegal ( not my personal belief) or be prepared to find another place to provide income for them and their families. I drink. And for those that have been here since I joined know that I have had some issues with that. If all of the sudden, I was told quit alcohol or lose my job, I’d stop drinking. I know That I can find gainful and meaningful employment within minutes if I chose to keep drinking but I would choose to keep my job. In my situation there is much more to think about than just me.

 

[pantheraba]

My Dive Team bud and I have scored another "commercial diving" job. Disney is doing some local filming and need water safety for a sword fight that takes place at a small waterfall. We scouted the two sites last Sunday with the local Ranger...then accompanied the stunt coordinators and crew (about 10 of us) on Wednesday to nail down the shoot site. We helped them with the safety for the poor chap who has to fall backward into the current and thrash/roll down thru the falls. He probably took the fall at least 10 times...small pool to fall into...much respect for what he did. The picture is him getting ready for another fall...I was tucked into a corner of rock that let me be right by the flow but not get washed away.

Luckily not heavy water right now...in flood stage in 2009 the water was 12 feet higher.

Here is a shot from Tuesday...got some video but can't show it now...hope to get some picts tomorrow...the official shoot is then...big drone/camera and also folks out in the water with high dollar cameras. Oughta be pretty interesting.

 

[treebilly]

hopefully the film goes well and we get to see an error in editing that shows your hand saving the poor fellow from being swept downstream.

 

[pantheraba]

And here's part of what it looks like getting ready for this kind of gig...we are taking lots of rope in case we have to string lines across the creek for far shore access. Redirects, pullies, etc. depending on what we need to set up...kinda like treework.







We spent several hours in the water Wednesday figuring out "stuff"...like this....then clean and dry gear and re-pack for the big day tomorrow.



Dang...this is starting to look like fun!

 

[pantheraba]

Ha! Rich....Hoping for all simple...just walking anywhere in the river can be treacherous...slippery, even on the dry rocks. If your feet are wet it turns the dried mud river silt on a rock to a snot slippery mess. We are using bamboo staffs for stability moving around in the water and on the rocks. It will be an interesting day I am sure.

 

[pantheraba]

Here's how it looked hiking in with the stunt folks:

 

[Mick!]

Looks interesting Gary.

I wonder if there was much of that in The Naked Spur, one of my favourite westerns.

 

[SeanKroll]

I just got fitted for better orthotics. Over-pronation is bothering my ankle, and bunions.

I advise anyone who had never been to the podiatrist to schedule an exam.

Don't wait for the sound of low oil in a machine to check the oil. Replacement parts are so much harder to come by for a 45 year old 'machine', than a 43 year old chipper.

 

[vharrison]

Gary, that looks like a blast!

 

[Stumpshot]

The Daily Grind

Yesterday we did 11 trees for the City -- drop-n-chip. So today was stump grinding day -- 5 city blocks of stumps. Let's see, here's one, on to the next one, and the next... wait a minute -- how did I wind up with 13 stumps? Buy 11 tree removals, get 2 free! Pretty sure the extras were rotten, ant infested red buds, so shouldn't be too big of an issue. And somehow we had 2 blue spruces on the list of removals, and we chipped 3 yesterday... Obviously the heavy equipment was used to yank 2 of them up by the roots, so we only had to drop one. But that means one of the three wasn't on the original list to be removed. Hope no one gets upset, but we can always lay the blame at the construction contractors doorstep...
Just call us Foible Keepers.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Sounds like a nice gig!

 

[Stumpshot]

Not quite my point on that boss. Point was they need to decide to either quit the herb, which by my state and federal law is illegal ( not my personal belief) or be prepared to find another place to provide income for them and their families. I drink. And for those that have been here since I joined know that I have had some issues with that. If all of the sudden, I was told quit alcohol or lose my job, I?d stop drinking. I know That I can find gainful and meaningful employment within minutes if I chose to keep drinking but I would choose to keep my job. In my situation there is much more to think about than just me.

We're 100% straight edge here, Rich. No alcohol, no other substances -- this is our policy (and personal preferences anyway), but not enforced by mandatory testing. But with 3 of us with CDLs and DOT regulations requiring us to pee in a cup at intervals, we're getting tested regardless.

 

[squisher]

That's as silly as it sounds. So no pot or alcohol but alcoholics can test negative in like 18hrs? But potheads for like up to three months yet may never have ever been high at work. Sound policy.

For the record I don't smoke weed anymore. But I'll probably get drunk as a skunk this long weekend and would have no problem testing negative for anything come Tuesday (long weekend up here). Yet if I were to smoke a joint or two tonight and abstained for the rest of the weekend, except for booze I could drink my face off for another couple of days and then stop. Odds are I'd test positive for pot. Goofy shit for certain. Just saying. It's pretty stoopid.

Super cool 'work' Gary. Thanks for sharing the pics and descriptions. I bet you didn't get drug tested.....or did you?

 

[squisher]

I'm gonna have a few extra drinks tonight. Pretty hot this afternoon as I've had some problems with my motorcycle license and couldn't get them straightened out before our trip south here. So I'm not going, wouldn't be insured properly due to licensing. Came pretty close to probably getting myself in trouble at the government agent building this afternoon after racing there after work to square things away and being turned away due to volume. Hard to take when you see a waiting room full of shorts and drug addicts. But I've got to let it go for my own well being now. Did I mention I'm pretty fired up. I nearly plowed over a pretty big burly dude on my way out the door, pretty rude for a Canadian. He took one look in my eyes and cleared the path for my passing and made no exception to my behaviour.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Have a drink on me, brother!

 

[squisher]

To clarify I went there yesterday to deal with it and was told to come back before four o clock today. Ten to four I was turned away.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Sorry, but you went too late.

2:45 tomorrow - FTW!