How'd it go today?

Four crabapple prunes, the fifth had ground wasps at the base. My guy got hit seven times, my dog got hit once, and I was unscathed.
Then on to some storm damage from yesterday. Nothing exciting just a busted off dead elm log across my buddies road.
 
No idea. I was able to make it do some diagnostics. It eventually started Windows and is working better than it has in a long time. Other than occasionally opening Gmail, I only use it for YouTube.
 
Windows will often do that, - what with multiple background ’updates’, especially if it hasn’t been connected to the Mother Ship in a while. It’s why I use a Mac and/or Linux machine - got tired of all the security updates and bs with Microsoft. Likely why it is running better now; but with MS you gotta pay the dues.
 
Sitting in a prompt care facility. Got what feels like COVID again Started yesterday. Fever of 102 even with ibuprofen and acetaminophen (600mg each) I have the rigors again (convulsions from being cold and can’t get warm- very violent and painful) We’ll see what they say. 2 COVID tests at home came back negative. Maybe flu?
 
Thanks guys. They ran a bunch of tests (blood, urine, chest x ray) and said it was a virus. They just don’t know which virus. The doctor excused me from work for the rest of the week. I still think it’s COVID again.
 
Huh. How common is that? I figured they had viruses pretty nailed down at this point. A few tests, maybe a peak in a microscope, and they'd figure out what it was. Not that I'd know first hand. Last virus I was professionally diagnosed with was either chickenpox or mono, and I'm not sure I was double digits in age.
 
Boss had stuff to do, so I'm home for the time being. Trying to decide whether or not I'm gonna go up and fool with the trees at the office. My right wrist has been weak the last week, so I'm a little hesitant. Everything seems to work when I really need it to, but I can't seem to do stuff like grip the steering wheel in the truck and things like that. I can swing a hammer fine, and I had to make a few cuts with my 2511 a couple days ago, and I one-handed it fine... I got my 36" bar on my 661, sharpened the chain, and cleaned the air filter. Now I'm idling, and deciding whether or not I'm gonna use it.

I have to do some work on one of my locusts. That might be a good alternate plan. Give everything a workout in my front yard and see how it goes instead of hauling everything across the county and ending up with issues.

edit:
Stayed home. I've spent the last ~three hours trying to get a line set in the locust. I have 3 lines stuck, and a rope in the tree, but it isn't girth hitched tight. I'm climbing on it anyway. I'm hoping it'll snug up as I climb. If not, I'm hoping I'll be high enough when it lets go that it either hits the crotch and stops me, or lets me down easy. I'd have just spurred it after getting the lines stuck, but of course my spurs are at work. Got cuts all over my hands from working throwline... I'm so friggin' pissed at the whole thing. I'm || close to falling the tree on the house, pouring gas on the whole mess, and just hitting the road...
 
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Took the day off work to spend with my wife. Today I’m 16 years into my life sentence. We did some errand running together and then she went to get her hair done while I shortened the grass. I made reservations at some fancy restaurant for us tonight.
i also was able to dig those two Chinese four wheelers out of my shed. My cousin wants them and I’m glad to be rid of them. Just getting them out of there is giving me motivation to clean it out. Hoping to keep that rolling and get the garage cleaned out as well. I think that if I get everything cleared up and organized it will help with my mental well being.
 
Congrats on the anniversary!


John leave the locust alone until you got everything you now need all together, if it's got spikes its gonna draw blood even with all the right gear. I feel your pain in wanting to just smash stuff today, I'm doing full penetration open root stainless and it's just pissing me off. I'm getting it, but it seems like I'm fighting it every step of the way and it's absolutely infuriating. Doesn't help i only do it a couple times a year anymore, and I'm in a cheater lens, neuropathy in my hands, can't bend like that anymore, etc. Thank God I'm better at fixing crap than i am doing it right the first time. :lol: Also did a hot tap on a condensate line, which horrifically was a nice change of pace this morning to let the monster ice tea kick in a bit more. 🤣
 
It's super fine intricate slow work, completely against my wham bam thanks hun adhd personality. I used to do a ton of it when i was younger, but I'm out of practice. I eventually get it, but I'm not just knocking them out like i used to, and I'm only struggling with the first (root) pass. You are welding the inside of the pipe from the outside, and it has to be flush to 1/16 inside the pipe and pretty much prefect, and you are looking for puddle characteristics that are hard to see for me anymore. I'm also switching up techniques a bit so there's that on top of it. Just very very frustrating today.
 
Well, I got it done. I'm pretty sure this was the worst experience I've ever had doing anything with climbing or saws. After I got the third line stuck. I remembered having an issue with that crotch before. It's just big enough to allow throwline, but won't let anything else pass. That was plan B. After looking at all the possibilities(None that don't involve spikes), I went back to plan A...

There was a stick sticking out of the side of the tree that's probably been dead for 10 years. The goal was to get a line over that, then finagle a rope around the stem girth hitching it. I had broken that stick in my first attempts and went to plan B. There was still about 1' sticking out, and I had a ~6" shot to get a throwline between it and the stem. I'm on my nasty old weaver line at this point. I did have one bundle of dynaglide in the truck, but I wanted to reserve that for a true emergency. A couple apta shots got it through the gap, and about an hour later after dicking with throwbags getting everything situated, I got a line set. Sort of...

As I mentioned earlier, it didn't snug up. The loop hooked the tiniest of stubs on the back of the stem, so I probably had 12' of free play in the rope, and it was maybe 8' down to the crotch below that would have been the final catch if it all came loose. Ya know, I'm done with the play by play. None of us have time for this shit. Just know, I'm about 50% into the days travail's at the end of the above...

I finished the day untangling 750' of throwline, Got to use some new stuff in this project. I like my new rope(kernmaster special static), but I still need more time on it when I'm not just fighting existence. I'm not at all impressed with the zing-it throwline. It's got a weird waxy coating, and it abrades terribly. Dynaglide is a better deal at twice the price(though it isn't). I'm also not thrilled with the camp turbofoot ascender. I got that free with a wesspur order. I kicked out once, which isn't a big deal, but I found it difficult to set the rope back in. It's the worst of both worlds. I spent too much time screwing with it. Finally, I used my foldable saka which was awesome of course. It's just a saka that folds, so it's the same as the old ones in use. Bright side is I didn't notice any problems with my wrist. It seems to behave itself when real work needs to be done. It only acts up with dumb stuff.
 
Just very very frustrating today.

Well I totally hear ya, and thanks for the deets, it sounds for sure like serious work.

And I get your sentiment in the quote above, but just weighing in here to say maybe it's all in how you look at it, frustration may be one side of the coin and the opposite side could be 'challenge accepted and met, thank you'.

Ya know, same job, same time parameters, just different way of looking at it and the outcome at day's end.

Ya know, did some hard and tricky work today, made solid progress, made my money, all good. ;) ;):rockhard:
 
Here's a pic I took last year. I didn't post cause it didn't work. I tried it again today, and it still didn't work :^D The idea was to give the rope something hard and smooth to ride in to pass through the crotch. It's the sheath to my Mora knife. It has a drain hole in the bottom, and a rope fits inside pretty well.

20211128_112530.jpg
 
I have! I was actually thinking about that and wondering if it would have worked. Maybe not. I feel like the knife sheath should have worked, but it didn't. The crotch was maybe too deep and narrow.
 
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