BulldogsCadillac
Just some guy
Well the boat is in the driveway, luckily I can still walk and stand up straight though! So went out to the brother in laws farm to get the boat, and wouldn't you know it, the wife forgot the pole saw! Last year when we were bringing the boat there for storage we noticed quite a few branches hanging into the entrance lane that ended up hitting the tower. So we kept saying, "have to bring the pole saw out and cut them down" well today we went and forgot it. So I asked him if he had a bow saw/speed saw he said he did, or he had a chain saw. Well I didn't know how I felt about being on a 20ft ladder reaching out with one hand with a chain saw, so figured the bow saw was the best choice. Well the bow saw was probably used last about 25 years ago, no tension adjustment, and rusty as can be, but it worked. I cut a few branches off at about 20'(they hanged down so far it would almost touch the Cadillac on the way in.
No problems. Oh, and the brother in law recently had back surgery and can't bend over and isn't even supposed to drive, so it was all me.
So then I go to cut off this other branch, it's about 12' up and basically the only branch on this one leg of a tree. The tree comes out at about a 45 degree angle from the ground/base of the tree, then makes a sharp horizontal 90 at the road and forks off to about four good size branches with lots of hanging foliage. So I lean the ladder right at the 90, nice and solid, start climbing. As I'm climbing, I can feel the main branch bob a little, but it still feels sturdy, so I start cutting. Well I get almost all the way through (about 4-5" thick) and the branch starts to break off, well as soon as the weight of the branch is relieved from the main trunk, it springs up and throws the ladder off! I land hard with my shin smacking the side of the ladder and my back feeling like it's making a U shape the wrong way! Elbows torn up, bruised and bleeding, and my truck keys that are in my front pocket dig through and cut open my thigh! I get up right away and start trying to walk and manage to, so I just kept walking and walking, breathing and swearing about the pain. Walked in, washed up and put some cold water on me.
So I go back out, just keep walking it off, my shin is already bruised and swollen, but I still had a branch to cut, so I sucked it up and went to do it. Well in the "incident" the extension ladder got bent, so I got his truck backed up and stood on top of the bed rails and did it. Quite a frigging day. I'm just happy, it could have been SO much worse!! Guess I'll see how I feel in the morning! But the boat is in the driveway! I may have to wait a couple days to try to lift the 75lb batteries up and onto the deck though! Funny/not so funny thing is, our 3 year old niece ran and jumped up to the wife and now she can barely move or get into the vehicle because SHE threw out her back!! I said sheesh, which one of us fell off the ladder!!
No problems. Oh, and the brother in law recently had back surgery and can't bend over and isn't even supposed to drive, so it was all me.
So then I go to cut off this other branch, it's about 12' up and basically the only branch on this one leg of a tree. The tree comes out at about a 45 degree angle from the ground/base of the tree, then makes a sharp horizontal 90 at the road and forks off to about four good size branches with lots of hanging foliage. So I lean the ladder right at the 90, nice and solid, start climbing. As I'm climbing, I can feel the main branch bob a little, but it still feels sturdy, so I start cutting. Well I get almost all the way through (about 4-5" thick) and the branch starts to break off, well as soon as the weight of the branch is relieved from the main trunk, it springs up and throws the ladder off! I land hard with my shin smacking the side of the ladder and my back feeling like it's making a U shape the wrong way! Elbows torn up, bruised and bleeding, and my truck keys that are in my front pocket dig through and cut open my thigh! I get up right away and start trying to walk and manage to, so I just kept walking and walking, breathing and swearing about the pain. Walked in, washed up and put some cold water on me.
So I go back out, just keep walking it off, my shin is already bruised and swollen, but I still had a branch to cut, so I sucked it up and went to do it. Well in the "incident" the extension ladder got bent, so I got his truck backed up and stood on top of the bed rails and did it. Quite a frigging day. I'm just happy, it could have been SO much worse!! Guess I'll see how I feel in the morning! But the boat is in the driveway! I may have to wait a couple days to try to lift the 75lb batteries up and onto the deck though! Funny/not so funny thing is, our 3 year old niece ran and jumped up to the wife and now she can barely move or get into the vehicle because SHE threw out her back!! I said sheesh, which one of us fell off the ladder!!
