rbtree

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wqOe7oxCRJI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [ame] [/ame] [/img]

Some great footage and still images of a growing flickr family: Check back, I hope to capture more up until they fledge, which should be a few days yet

Here's some male and female hooded mergansers Those two are from this bird album, about 150 images Same set, as a slide show show?rb=1 Hmmm, trying to post images from flickr, just as I've done in the past, as they won't load........

Just catching up after not visiting the forum for quite some time. Some great new bird shots and stories. Here's a 3.5 min video shot yesterday at a local great blue heron rookery. Just 3 clips and a lot of still images. [ame] [/ame]

These two pines took up most of my Friday. I'd not be surprised if, between my Okatsune hand pruners, Corona loppers, Silky Zubat hand saw and pole saw, and Marvin pole pruner, I made over 1000 cuts---per tree...what a job! But they now look great! Pine Tree Fine Pruning I've pruned these twice before, but not thoroughly, as the tenants like them full to provide privacy. But the trees were really a mess, incredibly dense, lad... YOUTUBE.COM [MEDIA=youtube]hXEMACqp6Jg[/MEDIA]

How's the practice coming? Elbow tendinitis setting in?

I also saw you're headed across the pond for a visit..and to TCIA later. Cheers anyhow!!

By the way, when are you coming down? Any plans to have it just be you, and climb with us, and maybe August? Remember, $ talks..... If you do that, I'd have to go to film...and we could surely get Bix to come.

Id have said 85ft, but what do I know. True, these pop's weren't that tall, but, as you know, it doesn't take much for a poplar to reach quite the height. I once did one not 30 years old, and it was pushing 125, iirc. I'm quite sure these were at least 100'. Will soon be removing an open grown coast redwood that is danged near as wide as it is tall. The brush will be a bit of a challenge. We'll need to open a hole in the upper canopy in order to lift and swing some of the low limbs with the GRCS. The wood will be easy, as ACDeucy Crane can easily get it, at a 35-40 foot radius, and will load it directly onto urbanhardwoods.com truck. It's 34 years old, and is about 44" dbh. The butt cut will be close to 60"!

Good eye, Reg. See the TH thread. I commented on the fack up: That final top which Pat flipped was a ballsy move. Fence and deck each within 5-10 feet of the butt. However, check starting at about 4:50, where I note that the section is tied a couple feet above the block and that it would be OK. Well, it surely wasn't,as the piece broke and fell, landing in the neighbor's garden, but doing no damage, luckily. Clearly, it should have been marled, meaning the line should have been tied off over about 8-10 feet of the lead, to get it into bigger wood. And marls would have held the broken lead together. Yep, was aware of the side loading issues. More controlled, however, as compared to a free run speed line.......had I been concerned more, I'd have set a back guy--but that would have gotten in the way of the swing rigging of the leads of the back tree.

There's no video of me doing the initial rigging, which went super fast. After getting a few low easy limbs free dropped, i set a high block and tip tied all the lower leads of the front tree, and a couple on the back tree. Coupled with the chipper winch yarding them right to the chipper, it went super fast and smooth. I'd set a redirect block on a small cedar right next to the chipper, in order to get the winch line oriented perfectly, right between the houses. Tip tying lombardy leads is the best way to move fast, when there's no room for free drops. The main climber is Patrick of Westside Tree Care. He worked for me for a few years before starting his own biz. As he has no chipper or dump truck, we do a fair bit of trading these days. A sweet arrangement! He's younger and stronger than me, but still needs to be around the old guy. I've got lots of tricks and tips that he can still learn! There's a clip of Trevor, who has little climb experience, but is a great crew hand, having a bit of trouble cutting through a small chunk. Wish he was full time..married, non smoker, firefighter experience, and now works part time at a hospital as an EMT.

These two Lombardy poplars were ~100-110 feet tall, and ~3 feet in diameter, so not overly huge,. But they were in a small back yard and over three other yards, so rigging was required. We were able to tip tie and lower the larger lower limbs and leads,, which is much easier than butt lowering lower limbs. The upper limbs and leads were butt hitched. However, it was being able to send the chipper winch line up and attach to the limbs that made it possible for us to do the job in one day. It would have been very tedious if we weren't able to yard the limbs out with the winch. Please excuse the one sideways clip and all the chipper noise..and the length. Watch in HD

Hah! My fully woods ported 346 NE had its crank break....( a first in 39 years as a sawyer...) mweba (Arb Site and sawhogz.com) is fixing it for $150 (he had a spare crank lying around). He's also wood porting a brand new 550 that my dealer bud sold me and sent directly to mweba. Can't wait to get them both back. I don't expect the 550 to be any faster than the 346, as the gains that the 346 had are exceptional (54% faster than stock) but it will be my first strato saw! I'm pleased with the 338 NE's as well. With just a muffler mod, they are faster than a 200T, so it will be a while before I get a 540...that said, as I have a woods ported 357 that is wicked fast, I'm still lusting after a ported 560 or 562...and would get the Jonsy equivalent 2260, sa it's prettier in red and black!

Hate on my Wraptor, will ya? I might have to come down to fire country and slap ya silly....