Most mornings are crisp and cool. Some are very cold in winter months. We get up early to get started. 4 o’clock in the morning or 5 o’clock in the morning is when we first go out the door. We do this so that we can be ready to start on jobs as soon as the sun lights up the world. When you work in the tree business you have to dress appropriately. It is an outside job, of course. You will need heavier clothes for the cold if it is cold outside, along with a hot cup of coffee in your thermos. On the flip side if it is going to be hot outside you shouldn’t wear shorts because you want to keep your legs protected from scratchy branches when climbing.
Tree trimming is really an art. You must know how to handle your equipment and the monstrous trees that you are working on. You have to respect them and pay attention at all times to what you are doing or you could get hurt very quickly.
It’s some of the most satisfying work. When climbing a tree at 6 in the morning and getting to watch the sun peak over the hills in the distance. There is a feeling that is extremely satisfying about being alone in one of those giants. You can see for miles. It’s the same feeling that mountain climbers work so hard for. They plan for days and battle some of the most extreme conditions for the view of the world from a place up high where it is just you and a sight to behold. It clears your head, and gives you an appreciation for the earth and the beauty that you don’t stop to think about throughout a normal day.
Once the warm sun is bright enough so that you can see, that is when the machines start. Chippers, and Chainsaws start. The cutting begins and as said before your full attention is placed on your next cut.
You have to be able to figure out where to cut, at which angle to cut, and where you want the piece of the tree to fall, so that you can make sure it arrives on the ground in the right spot. The more precise you are the less chance you have of damaging or hurting someone.
While chainsaws are buzzing up high, the crew down below is chipping away at the branches. They drag the limbs as they are being cut to the chipper for a quick grind into mulch.
When you see an efficient crew working the job goes much smoother and faster than you thought possible. It doesn’t just play out that way, that comes from years of experience.
The day zips by in tree service work simply due to the fact that there is little time to look at your watch. There isn’t much down time. Before you know it your exhausted and the day is over.
It is hard work physically and mentally, but for some it’s life and you wouldn’t change it.
