[marlboro180]

Well, our fairly dry last couple months was recently followed up by a good amount of rain. The trees at the shack just gulped up the water, and got real heavy. One or two maples by the river just snapped under their own weight. And another , a willow, was too heavy for the soil, so down it came too. Not all the waythough, it was just leaning on a big 'ole maple, a real widowmaker.

And another willow was leaning a bit.....

And some decorative flowering tree had leaned over far enough to touch the powerlines ( just the overhead feeder though) . This one was the major concern, as the wind advisories were brewing. So I cabled it up to another tree to support it. I think it will do fine after some more supports are in place.

While doing prep work , the winds picked up and it was too dangerous to go to work on the real bad ones out on the riverbank, so I just let them be and fall what may.

Got lucky, power only went out for a spell last night, the chickens survived, the little jonboat narrowly got missed, the car suffered a scratch or two, unfortunately the monkey bars on Little M's playset are toast.

I guess I'll tune up the saws again and wait for the winds to subside, which they are already starting to do this morning.

 

[marlboro180]

a couple more

 

[Mark / Ohio]

Looks like you did take some wind! Glad to hear no real serious damage was done.

 

[IHcubguy]

We got it pretty hard last night too, mostly wind.. My wife and i were watching a show on the tube, and what sounded like a shotgun let off, i jump up and ran outside thinking one of the trucks got hit, or if there was any damage to the house or shop, no damage...it was a big branch about 30' up off of the biggest tree on the property, about 50' feet from the house. The end of the branch is resting on the ground while the rest of the branch is still attached to the tree. Now i have to figure out how i'm going to cut it the rest of the way down. It's every bit of 30', and i don't have a ladder the reaches that high, and my climbing days are over....

 

[marlboro180]

IHcubguy,

Glad nothing got damaged on your end either. In that pic of me on the Case, I was dragging the treetop away from the rest of the " fort" and in doing so snapped a pretty good branch right off from the pulling. This got me to thinking that perhaps you could lash onto the bough of the branch that fell down and give a pull or two. Maybe it would come down the rest of the way?

On the real bad widowmaker, the winds helped out yesterday. I was out there planning and scheming on a snatch block and a gin line from a nearby swamp oak to swing it past a few small maples that were sure to be crushed otherwise. It was way too windy to be working on it anyways, so I just let it be and went to work. When I got back the wind must have some along in my absence and dropped it the rest of the way while the little maples went unharmed. :fing32: It's on the riverside of the maples, which will make recovery of the wood a bit more challenging , but I'll take it.:thThumbsU

I still climb, but I use harnesses now. And really tall ladders get used only when I have to.

 

[IHcubguy]

Gives me a good reason to get the cub out! Wouldn't hurt to give it a try, not sure if i can put the power to the ground, and not making one or two trenches in the yard. I have a telephone line on one side and a cable (internet) on the other. So if i pull from the side as you did in your pic, when the branch gives it's taking one of them out. So a straight pull is all can do. I could try putting slack in the pull rope, and hammer it, because 1 of 2 things could happen...branch could come crashing down..or i could kiss the steering wheel.. it's worth a shot.

 

[marlboro180]

I used a genuine climbing rope ( well , as out of date one) for the pull., Funny how elastic they are , especially combined with the sringing of the tree....
When I got to the end of the pull where the chained tires were just starting to churn, I'd get off the power and the branch just pulled me back surprisingly gently. Well, this went fine 'till one of 'em gave way, and I had to hit the hooks before nailing the dog run with the machine.

Good luck with those lines.:fing32: