Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[walhondingMF]

What would be good to keep on the tractor to clean off p.i. if someone happens to get into it while out working? I've been considering carrying some alcohol based hand sanitizer to clean off dirt and act as a disinfectant for things like thorn punctures, but is there a better option?

Just a general purpose spray bottle (I buy the Zep ones at Lowes) with Dawn dish soap and water in it. It goes with me when I go cutting. I spray boots and tools down with it generously after use, and sometimes before just because. I spray again when I get home and rinse well. I will spray the atv or tractor down with that Dawn also.

 

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If you know you're going to come in contact with p.i/p.o, use a skin lotion with a protectant - a lotion like Aveeno's oat lotion which contains dimethicone (undoubtedly other lotions have it too). Firstly, the lotion moisturizes the skin, which is not only good for you but also makes it so that the skin is less of a sponge ready to absorb oils; and then the dimethicone is basically a sealant layer on top which makes it that much tougher for the urushiol (irritant oil in p.i/p.o) to get to the skin. The moisturizing effect is the most important, but the dimethicone makes the moisturizer last longer.

When I first started pulling p.o on my land I made sure I used this stuff a lot, but as I've become less sensitive I don't use it as much (though my skin could use it...)

 

[WinterDeere]

Never heard of anyone get it on the soles of their feet before, that's interesting since the skin is similar to your palms.

Funny story... we live in what was once a very popular vacation getaway during the Railroad age, folks taking the train out of the city to stay in some local lodges and enjoy the clean cooler air in summer, getting away from the foil and stifling hot city ca.1850's - 1960's. All that business is long-since dead, but one of the remnants left behind is a lot of public trails and camping grounds, some just walking distance from my house.

So, I'm out with the kids cycling on one of the trails years ago, when I come across a group of two guys and their girlfriends walking around barefoot in a field of foot-tall poison ivy. I mean, just a total sea of the stuff, so dense nothing else was growing. I heard them commenting that it was amazing no one else had taken that spot, as they were stringing up their hammocks, the guys were shirtless in cutoff jeans shorts and the girls in bikini tops.

My wife or son asked if I was going to warn them, but from what they'd already set up I could see that they'd already been trapsing all over the stuff for quite awhile, and figured there wasn't much point in a warning anymore. They were probably only minutes away from starting to feel their mistake.

There's a tree I'd like to winch down, but it has a big trunk of poison ivy and the neighbor spotted a rattler near it a week or two ago. I'm going to wait until cold weather.

My great-grandfather was killed by a rattler, right here in New Hope PA. He managed to catch and kill the thing, cutting off its rattle, which my grandmother somewhat morbidly kept in the top drawer of a dresser I still own today. I'm not sure what happened to the rattle itself, last I saw it was right before grandma died in the early 1990's.

Point being, most locals would insist we don't have rattlesnakes around here... but we do! This would have been 1930'ish, but my father reported seeing them at one of our neighboring properties as late as 1980, and I see no reason they'd have abandoned since.

 

[Loaderman22]

I would never burn it, but I'm sure in one of the bigger burn piles there was a vine or 2 mixed in. Occasionally I'll get wood dropped off from a tree guy, some of those have vines and I just assume they're from P. I. so I remove it during splitting hoping that its all dried up before my wife touches the logs to bring inside months later.

I keep a bottle of DAWN dish soap in the shower, use that and Lava soap anytime I've been exposed, it's not for me, its really so I don't give it to my wife. I also keep a bottle of wetones hand cleaning wipes in the truck door cup holder, they're not perfect, but I use them before climbing in the truck for similar reasons Jstpssng mentioned. You may clean yourself & clothes but dont overlook things like seatbelts, saw handles, control levers, & steering wheels etc.

I have never seen a rattler near my house, but there is a radio tower about 5 miles away that has the reputation of being placed over a stone wall that was a rattlesnake breeding den. I've only been up there deer hunting so never saw any, but I've heard they don't do any tower checks in the warmer months!

 

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I would never burn it, but I'm sure in one of the bigger burn piles there was a vine or 2 mixed in. Occasionally I'll get wood dropped off from a tree guy, some of those have vines and I just assume they're from P. I. so I remove it during splitting hoping that its all dried up before my wife touches the logs to bring inside months later.

I keep a bottle of DAWN dish soap in the shower, use that and Lava soap anytime I've been exposed, it's not for me, its really so I don't give it to my wife. I also keep a bottle of wetones hand cleaning wipes in the truck door cup holder, they're not perfect, but I use them before climbing in the truck for similar reasons Jstpssng mentioned. You may clean yourself & clothes but dont overlook things like seatbelts, saw handles, control levers, & steering wheels etc.

I have never seen a rattler near my house, but there is a radio tower about 5 miles away that has the reputation of being placed over a stone wall that was a rattlesnake breeding den. I've only been up there deer hunting so never saw any, but I've heard they don't do any tower checks in the warmer months!

I remember getting p.o badly in the Santa Cruz mountains in the 70s; my great-aunt had fels naptha soap... unfortunately, it doesn't really work unless you get it before you the rash starts. By the time the rash starts, your skin has absorbed the oil and not much is getting it out except for time. Not saying not to clean up then but, the horse has left the barn.

Lava soap or any exfoliation is likely unnecessary and possibly counterproductive. Irritating other skin that's not already inflamed by the oil can cause the body to attack that region like it's got the irritant too; the rash can "spread" without oil being spread in such a way.

The main thing is to wash the oil away quickly before it's absorbed. When I've gone rolling in p.o (not really, but doing a major pull) I do wash up; lukewarm water, I don't even get my whole body wet at first - watch the hands with dawn, rinse, wash the forearms & hands (again), rinse, upper arms & forearms & hands (again), rinse; then maybe legs (usually I don't bother since I do wear pants when pulling it, but I've occasionally gotten a stick poking through the pants); I'll lean into the shower and get my hair & face wet but try not to have the water run down the rest of my body, then wash - yes with dawn on my hair and beard and face, it's great for the skin!NOT.

Basic idea is when you know you've got it, try to wash it away without getting what you're washing off onto other parts.

Even if you wash well, expect a nice spot of rash if you got scratched by sticks; just try to avoid scratching anywhere else so you don't provoke a histamine reaction elsewhere as your body is primed for the stuff...

 

[shooterdon]

Ran the new processor today for the first firewood order of the year. It will take some time to get used to the controls as they are different than the older model...darn muscle memory will need reprograming.

Having a 20 hp Honda instead of the 13 hp B&S makes a noticeable improvement in cycle time and cutting time. Looks to be about 20% faster.

Here is a link to it:

Super Deluxe Firewood Processor - Vallee Forestry Equipment

Super Deluxe wood processor for 18in diameter logs can cut from 10 to 22 inches. 27-ton splitter, 4-way splitter (6-way as option). 10-foot conveyor

valleeforestryequipment.com

Looking forward to seeing how it does on larger logs the 16" model could not handle.

 

[cholland]

Poison oak- lived in it my whole life. Tecnu is my go to for washing up. Works pretty good for taking grease off after working on the tractor too. I'm pretty much immune to it, but I still get little dot or a dime size patch once in a while. My mom used to put the goats in it and we would drink the milk. I've heard that builds immunity, but who knows. Mom would get PO from handling and milking the goats.

We have acres of it. Low growing, to waist high or over your head. In the far corners of the property where I'm still clearing decades old growth, I will find 2-3 inch vines. I don't hesitate to burn it or feed it through the chipper. The sap will stain your clothes black. Locally there is even an annual Poison Oak festival.

 

[FullMetalBucket]

I used to get pi/po so bad as a kid I’d have to get the shots. I’ve had it everywhere, eyes, ears, throat, you name it.

Still get it. Last year at the new property I got it so bad I had to get antibiotics and steroids. My legs got infected because I was a dummy and walked through the overgrown grass and such in shorts. They swelled and bubbled up, and were hot to the touch. Should have known better because of my history with it and kept a lookout for it. I got what can be mowed taken under control now. I also went back and sprayed where ever I could see the wretched plants.


Hate the stuff.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

As a teenager I hung out with s bunch of crazies! A carload of us were going somewhere when this one guy said he had to go (he didn't want gravy legs ) so we pulled over next to some woods. This guy had maybe an 85 I.Q. (I'm being generous) and he disappears into some weeds. About 15 minutes comes back saying "no toilet paper but there were lots of these leaves" as he holds up poison ivy.
Everyone had a nickname...his was "Fa-ba" (fat bast***)

 

[CalG]

The reaction one gets on exposure to poison ivy is from one's own immune system. Your own body's protective abilities goes off the rails, fighting what is actually a harmless substance.
No one get's a reaction the first exposure. Some people NEVER react.

I get it BAD, sometimes.

go figure.