Ozark Wizard
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2014
- Messages
- 6,587
- Reaction score
- 85
Today the crew and I are on an adjacent property doing some post storm maintenance. My job was to hobble about, wave my arms, and suggest aprroaches. General management stuff......
A twenty-something lad was having issues getting up an extension ladder to trim a rather large branch off of an oak that was ready to come down. Ladder bouncing, legs shaking, etc. No amount of reassurances culled his apprehension, and he came down...
"I can't do it," he said. "It's too high up."
12 feet in the air, so not that high, but I understood. Falling is scary stuff. So as the rest of the guys were gathering flotsom that was scattered about, I slung the chainsaw over my shoulder, took a breath, and climbed up the ladder to the branch in question.
Mind you, it took me a while. The legs are still pretty numb, and my balance isn't great, but I had plenty of ladder to hold onto, and I felt OK. I laced my arms about the ladder, got the saw started, and then screwed up by looking around to see where the wood would drop.
I am waaay the Frack up there. Sure enough, that damn ladder started wiggling. Shaking. My legs didn't stop either. Totally out of control.
I leaned out and rested the saw on the branch until it was cut. Just as expected, the side of the tree stood up a little taller, about two rungs worth on the ladder. I shut the saw off, and rested until the tree stopped moving. Threw my lunch up, then by force of will lowered myself down the ladder.....
The kid brought my walker over to me so I could let go of the ladder. "That was crazy man, did you see the tree jump? Crazy!, he said, shaking his head. I nodded and unhooked my harness and sat down on the branch, wishing I had a bit of water or something to rinse my mouth out. After a while, I had the lad help me to my rig and got me in the seat. Cold coffee was what I had to drink, which I did. I watched as he cut up the branch and loaded the truck....
There have maybe been only a couple of dozen times in my life I was that scared, and only a handful of those by my own accord.
Maybe it's too soon to get off the ground for me yet. Either that or I need to schedule a jump and get it out of my system. Maybe next year?
A twenty-something lad was having issues getting up an extension ladder to trim a rather large branch off of an oak that was ready to come down. Ladder bouncing, legs shaking, etc. No amount of reassurances culled his apprehension, and he came down...
"I can't do it," he said. "It's too high up."
12 feet in the air, so not that high, but I understood. Falling is scary stuff. So as the rest of the guys were gathering flotsom that was scattered about, I slung the chainsaw over my shoulder, took a breath, and climbed up the ladder to the branch in question.
Mind you, it took me a while. The legs are still pretty numb, and my balance isn't great, but I had plenty of ladder to hold onto, and I felt OK. I laced my arms about the ladder, got the saw started, and then screwed up by looking around to see where the wood would drop.
I am waaay the Frack up there. Sure enough, that damn ladder started wiggling. Shaking. My legs didn't stop either. Totally out of control.
I leaned out and rested the saw on the branch until it was cut. Just as expected, the side of the tree stood up a little taller, about two rungs worth on the ladder. I shut the saw off, and rested until the tree stopped moving. Threw my lunch up, then by force of will lowered myself down the ladder.....
The kid brought my walker over to me so I could let go of the ladder. "That was crazy man, did you see the tree jump? Crazy!, he said, shaking his head. I nodded and unhooked my harness and sat down on the branch, wishing I had a bit of water or something to rinse my mouth out. After a while, I had the lad help me to my rig and got me in the seat. Cold coffee was what I had to drink, which I did. I watched as he cut up the branch and loaded the truck....
There have maybe been only a couple of dozen times in my life I was that scared, and only a handful of those by my own accord.
Maybe it's too soon to get off the ground for me yet. Either that or I need to schedule a jump and get it out of my system. Maybe next year?