oldugly

I always go with the kids. I'd say children's trust, but that is just me. The charities I usually give to are not listed, but then I am in a little bit different area.

Treebogan brings up a good point, and one I think bears repeating. Granted I am not from your area, so governmental incentives would vary according to country, locality, etc. But the point is what could the private sector do to get more women involved in this industry? What type of incentives, or recruitment would we use to attract more females to a predominantly male industry? What would the benefits be to the industry, and r the business involved? Or would that even be a positive move? I have heard customers that have complained to me about other companies that have employed females, that they did not trust their qualifications, (That was the customers' comments not mine, and could be related to the fact the company they referred to is a bunch of hacks). When my wife worked with me...(she never climbed but would help with the groundwork) people remembered us as a family business, attractive to some, but less than professional to others. Any thoughts?

The problem isn't with the abilities of females, or the abilities of males. According to the original post the job entails running some very heavy saws in the trees. I am as male as they get, yet it would tire me out early, and I am not equipped for it anymore. Maybe twenty years ago I could use those monsters in the trees for 8 hours, not anymore. Women being somewhat smaller in general...you are asking them to handle a saw much bigger proportionally to their body weight, than the same size saw given to a large man. That isn't sexist that is just the facts. I have four daughters, and the youngest is starting to learn to climb now. I am encouraging her any way I can. However I would not expect her to be pushing 660"s or the like up in the tops of huge removals. Rather the the pruning saws and tools needed. I feel that is not sexist, rather it is tailoring the job to the worker. If the original poster is involved in constantly doing monster removals...than he needs larger men. If a woman is exceptionally strong, or large for her gender, or both then I don't think there would be a problem. In general women are more intuitive, and more cautious than ment. Making them apt to perform better and safer in some situations than men. Thse same characteristics however will limit their performance in other situations. The jobs need to be tailored to the worker, and the worker to the job in order to obtain efficiency, safety, and production. That's not sexist, its just plain facts.

Willie Nelson use to work for the Great Pumpkin...but I don't know if that qualifies him as a tree person. Heard from someone he wasn't that great of a worker, had trouble showing up on Mondays.

With a name like Squisher...I figured I had to be careful. My tennis shoes are drying out on the line so I figured I couldn't run away too fast. Seriously in this mode of communications sometimes humor, or words in jest are taken the wrong way..I don't want anyone to feel offended by something I say. I'm an uneducated generally open minded old man, with no pretense of predisposition of anyon's character.

Geesh I just got here, and you wanna send me away? I'm hurt... Actually its really cool the level of respect all the arb sites seem to show to eachother. Considering the competitiveness of this business...it shows a higher (pun intended) calling.

Remember business ownership is like marriage. You own the business, but the business owns a big part of you. Partnerships are like inviting the best man to the honeymoon..someone WILL get in the way.

What to do when you're too old to climb...? Prbably die, the time in between is what bothers me.

Got arrested at 15 sent to a detention center that trained delinquents in the woods to run chainsaws, chippers, and thin out forrests. Got out, got a job on a dutch elm crew because of chainsaw experience, later needed a job again and started with a tree service. Lied to get the job, but the owner liked my work, and agreed to teach me how to climb. Tried several other occupations, but always ended up back in the trees. 31 years later..still climbing. Now own my own company...or the company owns me...not exactly sure sometimes which way that works.

High scale, no offense here. My age is a tribute to my survival, and I am proud of it, and ugly is part of a proud family heritage, as far as being lumped in with TreeCo...there sure are worse things. Hang in there.

I'm with Treeco on that one. Cutting and tossing is standard practice in bucket work or climing, and impossible to do with both hands on the saw. Never cross hand, always be mindful of positioning, and watch for follow through, and kickback. Your point about educating the rookies is well taken though.

Actually I am kidding, I have an awful lot of respect for anyone who can live and thrive in a climate worse than ours here. And the crack about the cheese heads...well they sure got a better football team. My apologies for any offense taken.

Treeco might be old and ugly, (although never met him) but oldugly is not Treeco.

In my area canucks are a welcome sight. Its nice to have someone to bash other than cheese heads

Trusting your equipment is generally overcomable however overconfidence is the leading cause of accidents. A little non-trust is probably a good thing. When you think you are too good to have an accident, be extra careful.