Well - it was the first tree I took down, since HRT.
Back in the day - when my wife thought she was married to a guy, I took out several of our hemlocks. Very straightforward, if you know what you're doing... I mostly do.
A dull chain didn't help... The replacement chain was supposed to be the right size... Only, it was too long. So, dull chain had to be used. More wind than I'm used to working with, didn't help either... That said, thing were going okay. I'd done the first cuts. I had a good line anchoring the tree... Started the back cut, and mega-gust of wind... It caught the top of the tree - and started it going down...Only - toward the neighbor's yard - not where I'd planned it to go. *sighs*. I got it balanced - so it wasn't going much further, but the wind was picking up...
I'm not as strong as I used to be... But, even before I'd not have been able to manhandle that Hemlock. (It was eight (8) inches in diameter!) Luckily, my daughter's friends dad showed up... (to take her home) and he was willing to lend a hand. We got another cable about 20 feet up in the tree, and with that leverage, we got the tree vertical again... But, the tree wasn't cut through - so wasn't coming down. The wife came out and helped (Thank you... Not what I intended to do for you on Mother's day. Sorry, dear.) She and the friend kept a hold on the lines - while I back cut just a tad more. Then, I took the cable and the tree started to come down.
It came down - only across the fence in the neighbor's driveway. *sighs* Two hours later, it's all cleaned (okay, all out of the neighbor's yard, logs cut, biggest branches cut... Still have to take care of a LARGE pile of the smaller ones. Tomorrow...).
If I'm stiff later today (or tomorrow), remind me why.
I think I may well be done being a lumberjack... *sighs* I'm really tired now. LOL
Night all.
Ann
Comments
Lumberjack
"I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flowers"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumberjack_song
Topsy
Mostly Harmless
That's what I thought about...
when I started my blog - thus the title. :-)
You forgot...
"I wish I was a girlie, just like my dear papa."
With ten acres, seven or eight of which are wooded, we have lots of opportunity to go 'lumberjacking.' We also have plenty of wild flowers to press. ;-)
My Facebook Status...
was this way - one day...
Someone did ask about the cartwheels, jumping rope and pressing flowers. That friend also suggested I keep the rest quiet. *sighs*...
No, I don't want to be a girlie... My dear papa's not and I AM.
That's quite a bit of lumber opportunities. You also have less constraints on where you drop your trees... Our lot's only 40 feet wide... Luckily the neighbor wasn't home, so I was able to get it cut & cleaned up before he saw a tree across his driveway. *sighs* My wrist is still a tad tender (from where the trunk smashed it against the pipe across the top of the fence... Ouch.
Ann
I Feel Your Pain
Last week I spent 4 days cutting and burning the forest in my daughter's new back yard. My Navy son-in-law got posted to Germany just in time, thus leaving dear old dad to drive 14 hours to help. Fortunately the trees were much smaller than yours, but there were a lot of them!
Does this count as a blow for women's lib, of just an illustration that you can be what you want to be and do what you want to do - subject to Mr. Murphy's laws?