June 13, 2012

It’s Never Good …

When this happens to your house.

We’ve had quite a few awesome storms around these parts lately. One night The Hubby and I were enjoying a little hockey playoff action on TV when we heard a loud CRACK! and BOOM! {that’s onomatopoeia my friends} I was sure our house had been struck by lightning. But actually our deck had been struck by a huge tree limb big enough to break the teak table I got for Mother’s Day a few years ago.  Sad face.

Ollie and I spent the next day chopping up the limb, commenting on its size and hauling it out to the curb. Then we called the crazy tree guys.

When you live on a lot with lots of sixty foot tall trees, you become friends with the crazy tree guys.  They’re the ones who come to your house and act like monkeys.  You know – monkeys who climb tall trees while wielding chainsaws.

Now you’re curious, right?  Take a peek:

This crazy tree guy pulled himself up forty feet in the air using only a rope and his arms. It was a spectacle. Owlie and I were transfixed. Don’t believe me? Here he is in action:

His arms were incredibly strong.  Or as Owlie put it, “Dat guy gots big muscles!” I may have mentally noted to do pushups more often.

Once he was up in the tree, he spent his time walking the limbs, finding branches that could pose a threat to our house or our neighbor’s house.  Once he found a limb, he’d work a rope around it, talk to the guys on the ground about which way to swing it so as to avoid hitting the deck, fence or house, pull up his chainsaw (attached to his belt) and go to town.

I caught one limb on camera as it fell:

Its fall was completely controlled by three other men who gently lowered it to the ground:

I talked with the owner while his guys were working. He said this job ranks up there with some of the most dangerous in the world.  He also said the guy in my tree had almost cut off his arm with a chainsaw once. At that point I yelled, “You’re doing great! Keep it up! Be safe!”  Then he posed for me:

Owlie thought this was the best day EVER.  I became incredibly grateful for my very safe job of mothering.  I also prayed that my children would never work as tree trimmers.

Hopefully we won’t have anymore giant limbs falling on our house!

What’s the craziest job you’ve ever done?

7 comments:

Apis Melliflora said...

We were in awe of those guys too when they cut down an entire leaning tree in our backyard.

FACT: chainsaws, in and of themselves, are scary.

Thankfully, I've never had a crazy tree-trimmer type job. But my job as mom is crazy, though rarely dangerous.

TooTall said...

I may not have had the craziest job, but I did have the grossiest! How about this- My junior year of college I did an internship at a hospital in Savannah, GA. I was a pre-med/biology student. So where is the most appropriate place to put a student?? In the OB ward. Yes, it was my job to dispose of the placentas. I had to grind them up in a big machine like a garbage disposal and put the contents in biohazrds bags to send to the incerator. Yeah, fun times!

TooTall said...

biohazard. Ugh!
True job! You can't make that stuff up!

The Queen Vee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Queen Vee said...

Oh ugh Kirsten, I did not know this work factoid about you.

Just looking at the picture of that guy up in the tree freaks me out; I don't like heights.

I'm glad that no one was hurt while trimming those crazy big trees. I also hope it didn't give Owlet any tree climbing ideas.

MelancholySmile said...

Those are some big trees you've got there! And chainsaws always make me think of my dad-- when I was a teenager, we lived in tents and operated as horse loggers. Dad would sharpen the chainsaw teeth every night. Good times.

Tobi said...

Love the word onomatopoeia and I loved how you used it! It's my new favorite word. Also the tree guys are certifiable! Think of the moxy it takes to climb a tree with a chain saw strapped to your hip.