As mentioned in some other posts, I have a side work activity doing tree removals. I live in an area where a large portion of land is forested, mostly Pine woods. Most of the removals are around homes in the wooded areas, but sometimes also at a city location, very diverse places really, one of the reasons that I enjoy it. Seeing some areas that I normally wouldn't get the opportunity to visit and often speaking with the residents there, working with some pleasant and highly skilled people, the challenges of the heavy work, all things that add up to a nice sometimes change from being by myself in my workshop. Still working with wood, with a totally different goal, makes for a good contrast from the rather finely detailed aspects of furniture making, and at the end of a work day, the amount of accomplishment is often determined by a pile of logs stacked up, requiring a diversity of physical actions to achieve it, both on the ground and above. A lot of consideration is sometimes involved in the process as well, different situations come up and there are risks that require being confronted. It can make for some very interesting and exciting work.
Most of the tree work is aided by a crane, a great device that often allows a safer and more practical approach to removing trees. The vid here, I made with my helmet camera, and it exemplifies a typical day, part of a job cutting about eighty trees on a property to be sold, and where a recent snow had caused some damage to an adjoining house when a few trees toppled. It gets especially interesting when the wind picks up about 25 minutes into the vid. The wind is a truly powerful force, and something to be very well considered and respected when working with trees.
