That poor tree has been dropping leaves since June and she asked me why it looks sick, so I guess nature doesn't teach self-care after all, has anyone else had to explain basic watering to someone who should just stick to buying fake plants?
I was clearing a big silver maple job in Portland and the brush was wet from morning dew. Should have let it dry out but I was rushing to beat the rain. Got a massive tangle of vines and branches stuck in the feed wheel and it just stopped dead. Took me a solid 45 minutes to unbolt the side panel and pry everything out with a crowbar. Anyone else have a trick for keeping wet material from binding up in a small chipper?
I was at the hardware store in Springfield yesterday and some teenager asked his dad why anyone would use a saw that heavy. Made me think about how we used to run 50cc saws all day without any vibration dampening. Now I see guys my age swapping to battery powered pruners for the light weight. Has anyone else noticed the newer climbers don't even want to touch a gas saw anymore?
Was showing a new guy how to trim a maple near a house in Boise last week when this old landscaper walks up and says I'm cutting too smooth. Said trees heal better with a little bit of rough edge, something about how the bark rolls over a jagged cut faster. Never heard that before in 15 years. Anyone else run into advice like that from non-arborists who actually made a point?
Had a massive dead oak in a tight backyard in Portland last week. The crane operator and I had to do a 60 foot pick over the house. First time I was the main climber on a job this size. We set the sling at the perfect balance point and the piece swung clean over the roof without touching a thing. Felt amazing to see it all come together smooth. Anyone else remember their first tricky crane job?
I figured I'd save some cash and went with a no-name fiberglass pole pruner from a big box store. Lasted maybe 2 weeks before the head twisted off while I was trimming a big oak limb. Ended up spending $250 on a proper Silky pole saw after that, and it's way smoother. Should've just done that from the start. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way with budget gear?
Been doing this 18 years and I had to bite my tongue because experience told me to belly over that limb instead of calculating angles, but maybe I should just listen next time and see if the math works out better than my gut.
I was doing a removal in Oak Park last Tuesday and the neighbor was talking to my client. She said arborists are just guys with chainsaws who charge too much to cut stuff down. I wanted to explain crown reduction and soil aeration but kept my mouth shut. It got me thinking about how few people know we study tree biology and risk assessment. Have any of you run into this kind of disrespect on the job?
For years I would strip every single branch back to the collar, no stubs left at all. Thought I was being precise and clean. Then a buddy of mine in Savannah showed me a removal he did on a live oak where the homeowner had someone do that years ago. The whole branch union was rotting out from the inside because water got in through the stripped cut. I started leaving a 1/2 inch stub on bigger limbs, especially in wet climates, and the trees heal way better now. Saw it myself on a red maple I trimmed three years back, the stubs callused over clean while the collars on my old cuts still looked rough. Anyone else shift from clean cuts to leaving a small stub for better healing?
Standing in a backyard in Austin last Tuesday, I set up my rigging perfectly only to have a gust swing the whole thing sideways and almost take out my F-150, has anyone else had a close call like that where you just stood there thinking about how stupid you were?
I was up in a red oak yesterday in Austin and without thinking did a flush cut right at the branch collar. Caught myself halfway through and felt like an idiot. I see this mistake on like 3 out of every 5 trees I get called out to fix. The wound still hasn't closed right and it's been 8 months - anyone else find themselves slipping into bad habits even when they know better?
I used a mechanical throw line for three years until a tree in Portland required 5 retries to get a line set. My buddy let me borrow his rope wrench and the first throw landed perfect. Anyone else find the extra control worth the learning curve?
Last spring I was on a job in Columbus taking down a big ash with about 60% crown dieback. My partner argued we needed the bucket truck for safety, but I figured the tree was stable enough for spikes and a flip line since the trunk looked solid. Halfway up I hit a patch of soft wood near a old woodpecker hole and my gaff slipped about 6 inches. I caught myself but my heart was pounding the rest of the climb. The tree came down fine and I saved about an hour of setup time. Did I make the right call or should I have listened to my crew and gone mechanical?
Had this big oak leaning over a garage in Portland last month. My usual setup kept binding the rope, and I was stuck for like 20 minutes. An old timer I work with told me to try a running bowline with a half hitch backup, which I always thought was overkill. Gave it a shot and the tree came down smooth, no binding at all. Anyone else got a knot they ignored for years that ended up saving a job?
Back in 2005, a guy named Red who'd been climbing since the 70s told me spikes were lazy for takedowns close to houses. I thought he was just old school, but after I gouged a customer's gutter last spring on a big oak, I realized he was right all along. Anyone else learn a hard way that the old guys knew their stuff?
He told me leaving oaks with heart rot standing is better for the soil than cutting them down for firewood. That got me thinking about how we're always trying to clean up yards when maybe we should let more decay happen naturally. Has anyone else shifted their view on leaving compromised trees after a conversation like that?
I had this client with a huge live oak in their backyard, probably 60 feet tall. I figured it would take me and my crew about 4 hours to clean out the deadwood and thin the canopy. Ended up taking almost 7 hours because every branch I cut revealed three more that needed to go. Has anyone else had a tree job balloon on them like that?
I was at a job last week in Austin where the homeowner insisted on topping their live oak because 'that's what my dad always did.' I mean, maybe I'm off here but doesn't everyone know by now that topping leads to weak regrowth and rot? Has anyone else had to talk a client out of this and actually get through to them?
Bought a cheap off brand head for my extension pole and it snapped on the third limb. The locking collar just gave out while I was reaching up into a birch tree in my neighbor's yard. Anyone else have luck with the name brand replacement parts holding up better?
I had to choose between a Kask Super Plasma and a Petzl Vertex for my climbing helmet, and I picked the Kask because it felt lighter on my head. Did a big removal job in Austin with it and the suspension system was comfy but I kept bumping the chinstrap buckle against my jaw. Anyone else try both and stick with one over the other?
I counted up my jobs from the last 5 years and realized I hit 500 tree removals last month. Not one rigging failure or dropped limb on my watch. That stat hit me hard because I remember my first 50 removals I had like 3 close calls. Anyone else keep a count of their clean runs?
I was always casual about my notch cuts until I had a 30 inch oak pin me against a fence last spring. Getting the angle and depth right made the difference between a clean drop and a total disaster. Anyone else ever get burned by a lazy notch?
I got a call last month from a guy in Austin who had a 30 inch live oak stump he wanted gone. He was dead set on using those drill-and-fill chemicals, said it was easier on his back and cheaper than renting a grinder. I told him I've seen chemical stumps take 2 to 3 years to fully break down, and even then you get soil issues with mushrooms popping up everywhere. On the flip side, I ground a similar sized stump last Tuesday, took maybe 45 minutes with a rental and left clean dirt behind. But I've also had customers complain that grinding leaves a big hole and messes with their lawn grading for months. What's your go to between the two methods? Anyone had luck with one failing and having to switch to the other halfway through?
Honestly, I used to laugh at the guys running around with battery blowers on job sites. Thought they were just for homeowners who didn't want to mess with 2-stroke mix. But after my old Echo finally died last month, I grabbed a Milwaukee 2826 on a whim since I already have their batteries. Man, the power difference isn't as big as I thought. It cleared a 2-inch layer of wet leaves off a 300-foot driveway without even bogging down. Plus not having to deal with carb cleaning and earplugs all day made a huge difference in my shoulders and sanity. Still keeping my gas saw though, not ready to give that up yet. Anyone else made the switch or am I late to the party?