mx842
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2011
- Messages
- 853
- Location
- Richmond Va
- Tractor
- Kubota L3301, PowerKing 2414, John Deere 316, Gravely ZT HD 52
The weather forecast was for 8 to 12 inches of snow followed by very low temps for the next 2 weeks. I was just about out of wood so I needed to get enough cut to last a couple weeks which I could easily do in a few hours. I have a bunch of big oaks that have been laying on the ground for over three years that I have been cutting as I need them. The ones where the logs were right on the ground I cut first and saved the ones that were not in contact with the ground to get to them as needed.
I had two or three big trees that were laying close together that I had been saving for a time like this. I had cleared the brush and briers away from around them so I could get my trailer right in the middle of the three big trees to make it easier to load. I had cut two trailer loads and was working on the third when the lights went out. I always clean out around where I'm cutting and always cut from the top branches back toward the trunk, cutting each limb in stove lengths as I go until the wood gets to where it needs to be split. This way I can throw the small branches in a pile out of the way so when I go to load it I'm not stumbling over all the brush and I have a nice clean area to work in.
There was an old dead pine tree laying on the ground that I had to move so I could get my trailer closer to the wood I had already cut. I cut the old log in pieces about 5 feet long and was picking up the last piece but it had not been cut all the way through so I picked up the saw to cut it the rest of the way and just as I let off the trigger after I made the cut a dead snag that was about 30 feet away from where I was cutting decided to fall on me. I don't remember it actually hitting me. I do remember a pain in the back of my head and the next thing I remember was looking up and seeing my 044 sthil laying across my lap still running, my hand still on the trigger and this dead tree pinning me and the saw under it.
When I first woke up I didn't know what had happened all I knew was my head hurt from being smushed between the falling tree and the pieces of wood I had already cut on the ground. I somehow worked the saw off my lap and got it out from under the log then I was able to cut a couple chunks off to where I could free myself and get out from under the log. After a short cussing spree I cut that tree up and threw it off to the side so I knew where it was so I could make **** sure that it was going to be the first pieces that went in the stove once I got back to the shop.
It was really weird cause there was nothing around this tree and no reason for it to fall like that. There was no wind or nothing, it just decided that it was time to fall and I was a good landing site. It really made me think just how fragile life really is and how we take chances all the time and get away with it and then something like this happens that wouldn't happen in a million years jumps out to greet you.
I've been leaving these snags standing cause the wood peckers like them and I use them in a pinch when I need some dry wood in a hurry but I'm thinking now to heck with the wood peckers let them make it on their own and find some way to sneak up on them and cut them all down before they can do me in for good the next time.:laughing:
I had two or three big trees that were laying close together that I had been saving for a time like this. I had cleared the brush and briers away from around them so I could get my trailer right in the middle of the three big trees to make it easier to load. I had cut two trailer loads and was working on the third when the lights went out. I always clean out around where I'm cutting and always cut from the top branches back toward the trunk, cutting each limb in stove lengths as I go until the wood gets to where it needs to be split. This way I can throw the small branches in a pile out of the way so when I go to load it I'm not stumbling over all the brush and I have a nice clean area to work in.
There was an old dead pine tree laying on the ground that I had to move so I could get my trailer closer to the wood I had already cut. I cut the old log in pieces about 5 feet long and was picking up the last piece but it had not been cut all the way through so I picked up the saw to cut it the rest of the way and just as I let off the trigger after I made the cut a dead snag that was about 30 feet away from where I was cutting decided to fall on me. I don't remember it actually hitting me. I do remember a pain in the back of my head and the next thing I remember was looking up and seeing my 044 sthil laying across my lap still running, my hand still on the trigger and this dead tree pinning me and the saw under it.
When I first woke up I didn't know what had happened all I knew was my head hurt from being smushed between the falling tree and the pieces of wood I had already cut on the ground. I somehow worked the saw off my lap and got it out from under the log then I was able to cut a couple chunks off to where I could free myself and get out from under the log. After a short cussing spree I cut that tree up and threw it off to the side so I knew where it was so I could make **** sure that it was going to be the first pieces that went in the stove once I got back to the shop.
It was really weird cause there was nothing around this tree and no reason for it to fall like that. There was no wind or nothing, it just decided that it was time to fall and I was a good landing site. It really made me think just how fragile life really is and how we take chances all the time and get away with it and then something like this happens that wouldn't happen in a million years jumps out to greet you.
I've been leaving these snags standing cause the wood peckers like them and I use them in a pinch when I need some dry wood in a hurry but I'm thinking now to heck with the wood peckers let them make it on their own and find some way to sneak up on them and cut them all down before they can do me in for good the next time.:laughing: