How'd it go today?

[treebilly]

Climbing found me in the nineties. In about two months it'll be 20 years, damn does time fly. It seems that once some one learns a little they think they know it all. I know I did. It was really just enough to get myself in trouble.

 

[squisher]

Need to vent...
Try as I might to bring someone on board and teach what I know as a climber and then gone cause I can do it on my own. 15hr and ask for more no can do for a groundsmen position so he says see ya. Good luck thanks for the consideration.
Now the hussle and shuffle to make things solid with a crew again. Boy it gets old quick. End of rant Thanks

That's tough Joel. I had the same problem. I saw no future where it wouldn't all fall back on me to get done when the next cutter/climber quit. I was stuck at that point of going a lot bigger or just staying self-employed. I had a guy for five years, put the hurt on my business to keep him going steady all year round, even when it was slow. In the end it still wasn't enough to keep him on board. I would still probably be slugging it out though if my hands were up to snuff.

 

[HolmenTree]

Yup hands are key, knock on wood mine are still hanging in there.
I lucked out moving to this working class mining town, most every one will clean up after me which sure saves wear and tear on myself and my equipment. Cottage country at the lake pretty well 100% of my customers will clean up.

 

[August Hunicke]

Took my crew to the big pine job today as scheduled. No way around the fact that I need to be at home with family. Not trying to pat myself on the back at all here they will be understaffed there without me. Postponed job and took them to a bucket Siberian elm tree removal.
Back at home doing dishes now.

 

[High Scale]

I should have taken some pictures today, massive Beech, weight reduction, over a busy Rd, house, posh new summer house, four power lines, (luckily insulated) started it yesterday and lost a hanger that smashed 4 tiles, no traffic control and the clueless on the deck

That's why I very seldom contract climb anymore��

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

I feel your pain, Joel.

I'm going to try an employment agency later this week. 4 hour guarantee, with no fee, if I send them back. They will have me in to interview some candidates. Only use them when I want, for as long as I want. See how it goes. Let them do the legwork for me on recruiting, screening, background checks, payroll, WC.

 

[pantheraba]

Took my crew to the big pine job today as scheduled. No way around the fact that I need to be at home with family. Not trying to pat myself on the back at all here they will be understaffed there without me. Postponed job and took them to a bucket Siberian elm tree removal.
Back at home doing dishes now.

Sounds like a good call and the pine will still be there. Assume the customer was understanding?

 

[Mick!]

It's nice and easy when the weather's fine, machinery is working great and everyone's healthy to be keeping our words to clients about time factors.
Sometimes stuff happens and delays are unavoidable, we're lucky that unlike a hot water boiler or a leaky roof people can usually wait.
As I say "it's waited 100 years it can wait another couple of days"

 

[squisher]

I found a lot of people to not be that understanding though. They want a time and a date and that's when they're expecting it done. Some people are cool, but I found many people would seem quite irritated if needing to re-schedule. Still, what can you do?

 

[Mick!]

True, the only real issue I've ever had is when people have flown out here to their holiday homes to oversee the work.
That brings the dreaded words in my work diary "WITHOUT FAIL"

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

I don't really try to schedule days for tree work. Way too many variables. I tell them about how far out when they call for a bid, about how far out I'm expecting to be at the time of the bid, about how far out when they want to schedule (usually all the same answer, a few weeks). I tell them I'll call when it getting a lot closer, and ask if there are other contractors (like landscaper service), etc, to work around.

If they are directing the work, like snip this a tiny bit here or there (rarely, on filtered view work), they are paying by the hour, so I don't mind. They need to be there, I set a date. Power line drops, I set a date and charge extra.


I also make sure that they know that if they want to be around, its no problem, but they can't interfere with the crew, as they are endangering the crew, and most of all, the climber (basically me).

 

[Fiddler]

Dave, you seemed enthusiastic about playing recently, things have changed quickly.

No Jay, I'm still very enthused...just realistic on the chances of finding the right unit to fit into that I want to play in. Had a couple things pop up, but they never came to fruition.

Butch, I've learned more music in the past 5 years than I did in the 30 preceding that. No, not giving up...maybe just picky about what/who I want to be associated with.

 

[pete mctree]

I had to do some bollocks tree assessment certs today,for me to stay legal & work on certain sites. When you start out, fair enough, the insurance companies need proof of minimal competence, but I needed to gain a cert in felling trees over 2ft diameter. This brave new world of insurance & litigation led bullshit is a gift that the UK never needed or wanted. It has enough crap from it's European Union membership.
I'm poorer & non the wiser - rant over !

 

[cory]

Pita!!

 

[woodworkingboy]

Paper pusher concepts.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Went down to a new account today. Nice Walnut prune and crown raise, Locust reduction and crown raise over a roof, and an ivy covered cypress. Ivy covered cypress too Rob and I 5 hours to strip. There were 3" vines all the way up in the tips of the crown. I did finally find a tree under all that. Dave and Mike worked on the Walnut together aloft with one ground man. One more guy on the chipper. Trailer came home quite heavy. Taking it to the dump tomorrow. I don't want any of that ivy crap on my place. Hateful.
Crew, with Rob being the exception, never saw me to the later part of the day. I was immersed.
Wish I had gotten before and after pictures. Yup, there was a tree in there. HO happy and having us back for mistletoe removal tomorrow.
Place is about an hour away. Down in cattle country. Little old mining town called Hornitos.
Was a decent break from doing dead pines.

 

[Bixler]

Happy HO happy life!

I had bids all day, boring.

 

[Cobleskill]

Looks good Peter.

Jim I deal only in small squares and it's by the bale so take from it what you will. This time of year prices go right up to $12/bale, even a bit more in recent years. I paid considerably less through a friend who asked me not To let out what I paid. So I'll leave it at that. It was second cut too.

Usually I'm in the selling end of things but I had poor yields last year. I only do about 7acres of mainly grass hay with a squirt of alfalfa here and there. The rest of my huge 11acre farm is used up living. I know I know, that's probably smaller than your front yard.

It is amazing how much prices vary from region to region. We get $3-4 for first cutting and $4-5 for second. Our yields are pretty good though.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Alfalfa here right now runs 18.00 per bale local.

 

[Dave Shepard]

Wow! I wouldn't FedEx it to a horse.

 

[Dave Shepard]

Dang auto correct. I wouldn't feed it, or FedEx it to a horse.

 

[Cobleskill]

I used to sell alfalfa to a woman who fed a large amount of it to 20 some horses she owned and boarded at her barn. She said she just fed less of it. Seemed to know what she was doing and had kept horsed for 30+ years. Most people shy away from it. I quit seeding much alfalfa.

 

[squisher]

I don't think I'd feed straight alfalfa, but I know people that do. I'm really happy with the bales I picked up, quality feed for certain. Also was only about 10min from my place which was convenient.

I'm off to do more firewooding today. Gotta get my winters worth cut split and stacked so it can cure in our okanagan summer.

 

[Mick!]

Had a client today that I would have laid money was going to cause trouble.
2 biggish oaks to smash down, burn the tops, stack the wood and grind.
Guy in a wheelchair, ex French army, injured in the Algerian war.
He was confrontational in the pricing phase, then when he asked about the stumps on the phone, was aghast about me charging extra for it. You know the sort of thing, he keeps saying "do the stumps for free and you can have the job" I gave him pretty short shrift and he begrudgingly agreed (August's story about being done over on an extra still fresh in my mind)
So we get to it and his main bone of contention is that we are burning wood large enough for his wood burner, notwithstanding there is enough in the rest of the trees to keep him warm for the rest of his life.
Luckily I'm up the tree so get a cool off before coming down, I say to they lads "let's just do as he says and get out of here"
So the day progresses and the tractor starts moving the wood, the grinder does its magic and by the end he's all sweetness and light. Pays up on the spot and waves us down the drive.
Goes to show you never can tell.

 

[Raj]

Opened up a norway maple canopy, HO wants more sun for a vegtable garden, have a walnut to take out over a garage, fence, sheds and pool. Gonna need to zip line it down.