pigwot
M's, Juniper's, Lowen’s, and Inge’s Grandpa
This thread got me thinking a few thoughts:
Safety vs. risk is an interesting thing. We all take calculated risks, whether we acknowledge that or not. We 'choose' the level of risk we are comfortable with, but we can't really 'choose' to be safe; there is no guarantee of that goal, as it is a moving target.
Through shared knowledge and learning, sometimes tempered by a range of other input data (experience, caution, testosterone, bravado, laziness, obsessive compulsions) we each have developed patterns of behavior (a personal 'understanding' of the risks in tree work) that sometimes reduces and sometimes increases the likelihood of our exposure to risk. The majority of us consciously and unconsciously work to minimize risk to the best of our understanding. Safety is a state of mind perhaps, but risk is the world we live in on a daily basis.
I worked in trees intensely for a few years, and then again every few years, off and on for 31 years now.
My lifetime exposure to risk, and thus, one might assume a seemingly arbitrary 'risk-quotient' is much lower than any of you who have been at it for five (or six) days a week, 50 weeks a year, for years. That is solely due to my having less of a total exposure to the inherent risks. I was off the spars for a few years at a time; less exposure = less risk.
I took time off to go to school (well, I worked trees on the side to pay for nursing school), and worked as a nurse in a trauma unit, and as a hospice nurse (look up nosocomial infections - talk about exposure to things that can kill you!). All-in-all I likely have only 15 to 18 years total experience in those 31 years.
And, most of the highest-risk, craziest things I've done were before Go-Pro and phone cameras (luckily).
What I realize every time I start up a tree, or climb on a motorcycle for that matter, is that I inherently am accepting the risks involved.
Certain things to me are basic for my risk-reduction (perhaps I could also phrase it: 'a tendency toward safety'). I will not judge another for their choices; I make mine all the time. I will wear a helmet, as even a seemingly minor pop on the noggin can be life-altering. I have had way too many Closed Head Injury patients to not put on a lid. I can 'see' myself incapacitated, and so I choose to minimize that outcome.
And, back in the day we used manila, natural crotched, and our 'Port-a-Wrap' was the trunk of the tree...
Safety vs. risk is an interesting thing. We all take calculated risks, whether we acknowledge that or not. We 'choose' the level of risk we are comfortable with, but we can't really 'choose' to be safe; there is no guarantee of that goal, as it is a moving target.
Through shared knowledge and learning, sometimes tempered by a range of other input data (experience, caution, testosterone, bravado, laziness, obsessive compulsions) we each have developed patterns of behavior (a personal 'understanding' of the risks in tree work) that sometimes reduces and sometimes increases the likelihood of our exposure to risk. The majority of us consciously and unconsciously work to minimize risk to the best of our understanding. Safety is a state of mind perhaps, but risk is the world we live in on a daily basis.
I worked in trees intensely for a few years, and then again every few years, off and on for 31 years now.
My lifetime exposure to risk, and thus, one might assume a seemingly arbitrary 'risk-quotient' is much lower than any of you who have been at it for five (or six) days a week, 50 weeks a year, for years. That is solely due to my having less of a total exposure to the inherent risks. I was off the spars for a few years at a time; less exposure = less risk.
I took time off to go to school (well, I worked trees on the side to pay for nursing school), and worked as a nurse in a trauma unit, and as a hospice nurse (look up nosocomial infections - talk about exposure to things that can kill you!). All-in-all I likely have only 15 to 18 years total experience in those 31 years.
And, most of the highest-risk, craziest things I've done were before Go-Pro and phone cameras (luckily).
What I realize every time I start up a tree, or climb on a motorcycle for that matter, is that I inherently am accepting the risks involved.
Certain things to me are basic for my risk-reduction (perhaps I could also phrase it: 'a tendency toward safety'). I will not judge another for their choices; I make mine all the time. I will wear a helmet, as even a seemingly minor pop on the noggin can be life-altering. I have had way too many Closed Head Injury patients to not put on a lid. I can 'see' myself incapacitated, and so I choose to minimize that outcome.
And, back in the day we used manila, natural crotched, and our 'Port-a-Wrap' was the trunk of the tree...
