Unregistered, whatcha workin on right now?

Apocalypsse

Thinking about it, the male was a real stud muffin, 3 families in 1 nest... The inside of the nest was about the same size as a Stihl 46 powerhead. All of them crammed in there. Should have seen them jump from one tree to another with the babies on their backs, they were right off their nuts. Then the tower was like half a metre too short to reach the ones that jumped into the next tree.

treevet

neat story, nice to see the ugly animals get a little saving consideration. Ever see anyone save any rats lol. Good job Apocalypsse.

Bruce Hopf

Sorry, I thought that was a private outfit, like yourself. Wouldn't it have been cheaper, for the Council to just hire the jobs like that out?
But then again, Council has to find ways to blow money, unnecessarily. Bruce.

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Apocalypsse

Cheaper to keep it inhouse, thats why a lot of councils are starting their own crews now to save money.

askmeall

WARNING THIS POST IS EXTREEMLY LONG AND BORING . Have come across many animals doing trees as I am sure all of you have , When I was young I used to rescue animals before it became regulated [ licencing , handling permits, storage facilities ect....] But here's some of the critters I remember over the years... 5 racoons , taking a ride on the crane , 3 opossoms [scare them or gently poke them and they can be picked up like a kitten], numerous "Tree Rats " [squirrels] , some in houses [welding gloves even the odds... a bit], and no telling how many jumped from a crane pick, onto the ground with a thud [trying to be like thier "flying" cousin]. Also, 2 Rat snakes [doin their thing ] in a pecan tree for a regular customer who was terrified of snakes [ snakes are my favorite critter]. Several cats, one during a severe storm that an elderly couple called me on that I had just worked for . Lightning, high winds, heavy rain , and I still got my gear on and got my bucket set up and went for it . Grabbed the cat, [ welding gloves ] it freaked, I freaked, the lady freaked and the man was laughing the whole time and yelling " why were we messing with that damn worthless cat !" I boomed down to the ground and proceeded to hand her the still struggling cat and she refused to take it . "It wasn't her cat" she said ! I let go of the cat and it ran up a smaller tree . Pissed me off something fierce,... It showed in thier bill, the man quit laughing . Also bats [very gentle creatures] , flying squirrels [protected here], 83 woodduck eggs [hollow tree we were removing], a 3 foot Iguana lizard [I guess it's a lizard], with very sharp claws, had to outsmart that one just to get close to him / her , whatever . Numerous Bee hives [we plug the access holes the previous night and hope for the best the next day] which sometimes makes for an interesting day. One critter sticks out above all the rest though , the "Super Chicken" [I am not originally from Tulsa , I am a bit more country] . Early in my career I was driving down Riverside drive here in Tulsa , out of work and ready to give up , and I saw a peculiar site . A fireman with a long pole that had a big birdcage on the end of it was in the basket of a 100 foot Tulsa Fire Department ladder truck . A few feet away, in a 100 foot cottonwood , roosting on a limb, was a "Super Chicken". They got close to the "Chicken" with the cage , but it flew into the 100 foot cottonwood that was next to it . A small group of people had gathered so I went up to a lady and asked what was going on . She said that the bird belonged to that old lady walking over to the tree that the bird was now in , and that the bird was over 40 years old , and she was heartbroken because SHE HAD LEFT THE DOOR OPEN for the very first time and the bird had flown away but was still flying around the neighborhood . I walked up to the old lady, as the fire crew was foldind up and calling it quits , and told her that the bird looked like it was approachable, but expecting it to get in a cage under those circumstances sure was asking for alot out of the bird. I told her that her bird looked like a "Super Chicken" and she laughed . I told her I was a tree climber and that I would like to try to get her bird out of the tree but would need her help . I then asked her to let me hear how she talked to the bird , and she replied... "Pretty bird , pretty baby" , but she spoke it and with a heavy heart . I asked her to do it again, only this time , do it as if you are talking to your bird at home . With an embarrased look on her face she began to sing "Pretty bird pretty baby" in a sweet, high pitched voice and the bird immediatly responded. I quickly sang "Pretty bird pretty baby" and the bird responded again . So I grabbed my belt, spurs, and the longest rope in my arsonal... 90 feet. No ladder,[didn't own one yet], no thro ball [didn't know they existed] , Just freeclimbing [was young and indestructable at that point of my career], Figured throwing my rope up in the tree would only scare the bird off ,I started up the side of the trunk singing "Pretty bird pretty baby" till I got to the swell of the first limbs. At the swell if your freeclimbing, there comes a point of commitment , but also a point of no return , anyone that has done this incredibly stupid and risky type of manuever knows about the rush it provides and the punishment it offers . And it should never be practiced by tree climbers , or allowed by the owners of tree climbers , or the owners of the owners , blah blah blah blah blah blah blah... but I did it regularly . Knew better, but did it anyway. Very stupid. But I WAS stupid, So I committed and lunged for that grabhold that I hoped would be there ... and it was, it always was . I dont know how but it was always there . After I composed myself [stopped shaking from the rush], I began singing to the bird and he to me , kinda. I climbed very slowly, then stopped, climbed then stopped for 15 min , singing the "Pretty" song , and soon [too soon for me], I was tied in and we were both roosting on the same limb just two feet from each other 70 feet or so off the ground. Just one problem ...This "Super Chicken" was big... big body ,big talons, big wings, but worst of all , in its arsonal ,was its beak that reminded me of steel cable cutters At that point I realized that climbing the "swell" was not the only comittment I was going to make in that tree . From my perspective the only way I was going to get ahold of that bird was to outsmart him, but even if I get ahold of him, how hard can I squeeze until it breaks ? What if it DOES break ?!, If I get a finger near its cutterhead, will it lop it off ?[totaly unintended tree humor] And what about those talons? All of these things and a few more were going through my mind. For the first time since I started my adventure I looked down and saw that there were now lots of people watching from the ground , across the street from thier apartment windows and the walking path near the river. I thought , Thats just great ! Try to do a good deed and now success relies on the complete unknown , and failure will be brutal to the one lady praying for success . One thing is for sure, all these people will see something . So , [While still singing] I reached out in front of me , and slightly away from "CHICKENZILLA" with my left arm while wiggling my fingers , I slowly reached around behind the pure white bird with my right arm and grabbed him ... and he grabbed me , with everything God so equipped him with. A loud screeching was heard by all. The bird went limp. Wasn't long before the people on the ground started to notice that the bird wasn't struggling anymore , I knew why . I started my way down the tree , retied once to get the length I needed to reach the ground , had to do it onehanded and when I did someone saw the blood soaked bird I had tucked in my other arm and yelled out ,"he killed the bird !" I quickly came to the ground an asked the lady if she could get her bird to let go of my hand as it was my blood that was all over the bird . He had bitten me on the webbing of skin between the thumb and finger. his talons had a firm grip on my forearms . He didn't need to move any , he had me in a dominent position and he knew it . The bird immediatly responded to her and let go of me . She handed me $ 500 , I refused , she insisted , I accepted but reluctantly. Told her I had never seen a Cockatoo and that they sure are mean , she said that the bird doesn't like men and would bite only when a man tried to hold "her", everyone laughed but me. A man walked up afterwards and said when he heard the bird scream in pain he thought I had fataly wounded it . I told him the scream he had heard was from me .

Word of mouth in the right circumstances can be a very powerful builder of business . My phone rang more than it ever had , tree work flowed in, as did the comments about the bird rescue . An interview by a live radio show host over the phone , while I was working in my garage , opened many doors for me , Great advertising, even a new career opportunity . All total , there's no telling how many tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of work that resulted from that old lady who left her door open , just in time for me to walk through . Aparently that old lady knew a lot of people , True story. w.k.b. Tulsa

Therrin

Long yes... not boring though. After fixing your syntax error on the quote I continued to read the whole thing. Had me laughing my ass off. Good stuff!

Bruce Hopf

Good work indeed. Going that extra mile sometimes really pays off, but some times it back fires on you as well. Glad that it worked out great for you. Bruce.

__________________
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Stihl chain saws
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Agentorange

Therrin! Im getting into the Defensible Space Market! couldn't tell ya if its busy or slow im just starting my business as im writing this! haha, I would imagine it will take off i plan to beat out contractors running large crews by doing the work myself and for cash there for i should be able to blow the doors off the competition! im taking a shot in the dark, but im sure i come close to hitting something!

banner

Wow.................... Dude.......you blew me away with that short story.....lol. You should consider writing short stories wildman.. Well done, and well written. Reminded me a little bit of the Movie "Big Fish"

askmeall

I've been told my writing is like sitting down and listening to me talk in person . Without actually living the experience with that which I am writing about, it wont come out that way . also it helps to see humor in the simplist of things . [Did that make any sense at all ? Still trylng to figure it through ]

banner

YUP.....keep writing.

Therrin

Agentorange, that's sounds soooo cool!

And... I don't have a f'ing clue what exactly that means either! But it still sounds pretty niffty. Good stuff! Hope it works out for you!

Eric Frei

LOL, great story, bastid chicken!

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Q.Q.

Well I got back and got some good pics of other work done,

Will post in time for you to see.

I did my first "Dust Tree" today, Hitthegroundus anddustuseverywhere for the tecnical name.

Any body elese in Queensland done one of these today?

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Q,Q's Tree & Garden Maintenance

FAMILARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT

Therrin

Can someone clue me into this whole Defensible Space Market thing? It sounds relatively enticing but at the sametime fairly ..ah... aloof? no; more like vague. Yes, vague.

Is it like a outter-space defense project, or is it a defensible "space" (location, area, etc) where you work?

Or is it a market which sells defensible spaces; akin to vault or safe-rooms.

Or is it a place that sells boxes, and employs security guards?


Help me out here, I could prolly keep going with this one. And you guys DONT want that.

Apocalypsse

Makes me think of martial arts training. Or maybe theres some crazy ass trees out there that are attacking people.

Garry Brockley

hahahaha yup five dirtyus cocus dustyus palmus ive never coughed so much in my life.

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treevet

Sounds like the Sycamore. Cough til blood comes outta yer guts.

Spoke to Newguy (Bill Howe) on the cellaphone short time ago and he is in Orlando Fla. working for "Valley Crest Tree Services" , no access to a puter for a while. Just thought I'd pass that on.....

tcs

Hey Therrin, busy here working 6 1/2 days a week, started slow this year,first time Ive been that slow in 25 yrs.Getting ready to start clearing for a golf course here on the E.coast, that will keep me busy for 10 months -depends on -weather -workers-equipment- maybe in that order.This contract has been in the works for a few years so its good to get potential go ahead now . I do like your W.coast weather (worked there for 2 yrs back in late 80's) .Seems since then you guys have had major probs with landslides & big forrest/wild fires.You have relatives in AZ? thought Id seen in previous posts .
Safe climbing. TCS. Mark.

Done it

No, but I did find a new species, Dustus Melaluca.

treevet

Been raining for 3 days here. But just nailed a huge job for mid Oct. Very attractive and nice client too. Yin and yang of tree work.

pcarborist

Therrin, in areas of WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) defensible space is an area of reduced fuels between your home and untouched wildland. Where I live (Park City), not only is it common sense but it's also the building code. I've been hired on several projects to write up a Defensible Space document that is required by the City and Co Fire Departments. BTY, CA has some of the strictest Defensible Space requirements in the States. When I was working around Lake Tahoe in the mid-80's for the USFS, a large part of my workload was conducting LE-50s for private landowners whose backyard abutted the National Forest.

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parkcityarborist

Therrin

Ahhh yes we have those. I hadnt hear the term though, possibly they go by a different name on the "homeowner" level.

They like to have all burnable materials cut back to so many feet from each side of the house. I wanna say like 100 ft at least or something. And only so many trees every so many feet inside of that. Weeds even trimmed down.

They get to a house that's all overgrown they dont even hardly waste their time.

Cool cool, thx for explaining it for me =)

Therrin

TCS!!

I had a grandpa in Az, took care of him while living out there till he passed on. Now I have an ex-g/f (who I get along really good with still), and the woman who was my grandpa's g/f still lives out there and she and I treat eachother like family.

Was hoping to come out and work palms during monsoon season but couldnt find anyone to work with.

tcs

Therrin,
I was out in Az this past year, Prescott & Grand Canyon area.
Great weather compared to NY for February anyway.

Apocalypsse

Bought me some Buckingham Titanium spurs yesterday with short gaffs & a red hitch climber, 25% discount voucher saved me soooooo much money. I heard the hitch climber retails @ Sherril for $135ish AU and you cant get discounts with them, the place I got it from retails for $99 and with the discount it was $67, less than half the price so im pretty happy with that.

Eric Frei

25% discount voucher from where?

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treevet

what's a hitch climber?

Those titaniums in Geckos are well over 500 clams over here. But I bet they feel real light.

Apocalypsse

Got it from TAFE, this was the last weekend to use it. Was for Cannings/ATRAES.

This is the hitch climber

sbunnell07

Well works been really slow this year....the economy, and all these guys with trucks and trailers that are brushloading and dropping debris on the street calling themselves a tree service that are cutting my throat....i cant compete with guys that are bidding jobs at 2 or 3 hundred percent less than me. that's how its going.