HawTHORN tree + my head = HOSPITAL

[tillerkiller]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have to locust trees with BIG spikes that I bush hog around. One of these days those need to meet Mr. Chainsaw, but I'm afraid when I do, those nice BIG spikes will stand up and introduce themselves to Mr. tires. )</font>

Mr. Tires, meet Mr. Slime. (green tire sealant sold at WalMart, it is cheaper by the gallon at a farm store. Sometimes they even have a similar product that is cheaper yet.)

It works! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[PineRidge]

I was just talking with Junkman on the phone this morning and he told me that you were injured while working in the woods. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

You know Bob if these trips to the hospital continue, the hospital employees as well as the doctors are all going to start calling you by your first name. Then you and Tim the "Toolman" Taylor will both have something in common. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Glad you are OK Bob.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Mike the last 3 times the lovely Mrs_Bob went to visit her family I ended up in the hospital by myself. This time I went into the emergency room 14 hours before she was jumping on the flight to New Mexico. Heck, last time I drove myself in to the emergency room and the nurses came in after hooking me up on the morphine drip and said they couldn't find anyone in the waiting room who claimed to know me. . . I told her I drove in, she didn't believe me! I figure I'm not due for a trip to the hospital for several months (minimum) so I think I can manage to stay in one piece until the family returns. Besides, while she is gone I have to sneak home some new toys /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif The 4 post car lift is due to be installed next week in the new garage/shop . . . think she'll notice??? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But the ONE thing she won't mind me spending money on is the new Stihl forestry helmet that should arrive at my local dealer before the end of this week. I think that will be something she would actually like me to have. . . at least I hope so /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[BoneheadNW]

Bob-

First of all, glad you are OK. If you are anything like me, my head is the most likely place to get injured. My Dad always would say, "Good thing it hit him in the head, it might have hurt him!".

Secondly, as the previous poster stated, next time (and by your own accounts, there will be a next time), call 911 and let the ambulance take you to the ER. I'm not sure how the system works in your area but such a ride would not cost you anything here. Maybe that is why taxes are so high. It is not in anyones best intrest to have someone in need of emergency care to be driving out on the road.

Enough lecturing. You should get some pictures of your wound(s) and post them on the tractor. If nothing else it will remind you to wear your new helmet! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bonehead

 

[Junkman]

Bob........ what Mike didn't tell you is that you need one of these in the garage also. By the way, what brand of 4 post lift did you purchase? I still haven't decided on which brand to purchase and the garage is getting smaller all the time. The picture is my latest acquisition to the stable of cars. I told the wife that all she has to do is drag me down the stairs and stuff me inside and drive to town and drop me at the emergency entrance.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Bob, glad to hear your going to be OK. I bet that sucker is throbbing now, though!

Thought I would comment on your new forestry hard hat. I have one -- not the Stihl -- mine is from Peltor. I love it for running the chainsaw and the chipper. The hearing protectors are great. The shield protects my whole face, not just my eyes. Mine is screen. From the pictures, it looks like the Stihl is a combination of plex and screen, which might offer more protection, but that screen is great in the heat we've been having lately. After your adventure, I think I'll start wearing mine when I take the tractor into the woods, too. I have a bunch of honey locust that I try to steer clear of, but as you learned, it is tough to see the thorn tree in front of you when you're looking at the implement behind you!

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Junkman . . . regarding the 4 post car lift, I honestly don't know the brand! A guy in the industrial park where my business is located races cars, he has several 4 post car lifts, and he has one 'extra' unit that he never installed, it is still crated in the corner of his shop. He showed me the installed lifts, ran me though all the features, it looked to be as good or better than the ones I looked at but I never asked the brand name, he has all the options with it too. It has a 7500# capacity, removable central floor plates, etc. It has been in the crate for about 15 to 18 months. He sold it to me for the price he paid (before the steel increases) and included in the price, his guys will haul it to my garage and install it for me too!


jeffinsgf wrote: <font color="red"> I bet that sucker is throbbing now

Thought I would comment on your new forestry hard hat. I have one -- not the Stihl -- mine is from Peltor. The shield protects my whole face, not just my eyes. Mine is screen. From the pictures, it looks like the Stihl is a combination of plex and screen </font>

Yup, it still hurts, especially when I try to lay my head down on a pillow!

As for the Stihl helmet, they make 3 versions. I bought the same one that Don (shoppingtractors) posted a photo of early in the thread. It is their Euro-style helmet. $49. I didn't even bother to bargain it down. The screen is a DUAL mesh design. Fine mesh in front of the face, coarse mesh at the perimeter. They do offer a helmet with a poly face shield also, I was actually concerned that it would be very hot to use in the summer and might even fog up in use under some conditions? They told me it is a construction helmet.

I honestly hope that I don't use the helmet very often, but I will tell you that when I am working the woods from now on, it will be on my noggin! I actually feel pretty stupid about the whole thing. It never should have happened. But I suppose that is when most accidents DO happen. My hope is that someone else might see this and be a bit more careful too. On a different topic, but still safety related, we often talk about rolling a tractor, but there is now a thread where a guy rolled his Kubota BX sub-CUT. What surprised me is 2 or 3 other guys responded saying they did the same thing. So regardless of what we think we know, what brand/style/size/type of machine we have, or how safe we think we are, "$#!+ happens" when we work on these tractors of ours, and when I am dumb enough to be looking backwards while driving uphill in the woods, I guess I should hope that someone else is smart enough to learn from my mistake. I know I'm not the first to almost get wacked out of the seat by a branch (probably would have been laying on the ground if not for the seatbelt around my lap) but maybe my dumb error will save the next guy's head?

 

[kensfarm]

Bob.. as an alternative to the helmet.. didn't Henro build a cage for his tractor.. I've been looking at building something similiar as well.. I've had a few fat lips myself.. nothing like getting wacked in the face w/ a branch.

I've driven myself to the hospital emergency room too.. kidney stones at 2am.. bit in the face by a German Shepard.. screwdriver through middle finger.

 

[MrJoe]

Bob, glad your OK. that could have been much worse. Just a caution about removing the embeded item. On job sites we are told not to remove the embeded item, get to the hospital, let them take it out. We usually deal w/ nails, wood slivers, chips etc. Removing the object yourself can result in a larger exit hole than necessary as not everything goes in straight or has smooth sides. It is also harder to track the path of entry to see if anything hidden is damaged.
True story. Many years ago my sister worked at an uptown NYC hospital on the ER night shift. Guy walks in, head wrapped in a blood soaked towel. Hammer handle sticking out one side of the towel. Got in a fight w/ the girlfriend. Stuck right in with the straight claw. Discharged two days later /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[rswyan]

Bob,

We have a bunch of hawthorn trees around our house and I've been getting stabbed by them for years. This is just my opinion - nothing to back it up but I think that the thorns may have some kind of a waxy coating on them that I have a reaction to - whenever I get poked or stabbed by one, the area around the wound always swells up and gets very irritated like a bee sting or bug bite. And it doesn't go away real quick - takes a day or so.

Glad to hear you are ok.

 

[tciller]

ooch, I had one of those trees laying on the ground after I took a chainsaw to it. I was done for the day and picking up stuff and walking around the downed tree I slipped and fell. I put my hand out to catch my fall right on one of those thorns. Sucker went into the base of my thumb and broke off the branch. So I have this thorn sticking into my hand and 'bout 1/2 inch out. I tried to pull it out with my other hand and it wouldn't budge. One of the tools I was picking up was a pair of plyers. I grabbed the thorn with those and gave a good yank. Out came the thorn and very little blood. Cleaned the wound up good and kept an eye on it for the next few days and I was fine.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

<font color="red"> Bob.. as an alternative to the helmet.. didn't Henro build a cage for his tractor.. I've been looking at building something similiar as well.. I've had a few fat lips myself.. nothing like getting wacked in the face w/ a branch. </font>

Ken . . . yes it was Henro who made one for his B2910 that sort of makes his tractor look like something from the movie MAD MAX, but I bet it is pretty darn effective! One of the Kioti owners was working on one too. Maybe Red Rocker? I'd really prefer not to have to go to that extent. Most of my land is open with scattered trees. I just happened to be working in the woods, which probably only occupy 25% to 30% of the property.



<font color="green"> Just a caution about removing the embeded item. On job sites we are told not to remove the embeded item, get to the hospital, let them take it out. </font>

Mr Joe . . . I thought about that AFTER we pulled it out. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif



<font color="blue"> I think that the thorns may have some kind of a waxy coating on them that I have a reaction to - whenever I get poked or stabbed by one, the area around the wound always swells up and gets very irritated like a bee sting or bug bite. </font>

Randall . . .yup, I agree, there is something that creates some sort of allergic reaction. When I prune them I end up with scratches and no matter what I do, they get irritated.



<font color="purple"> . . . So I have this thorn sticking into my hand and 'bout 1/2 inch out. I tried to pull it out with my other hand and it wouldn't budge. One of the tools I was picking up was a pair of plyers. I grabbed the thorn with those and gave a good yank. . . </font>

tciller . . . I was amazed at how hard it was to get out of my head. I've had small pieces stuck in my hands before, they seem to break off very easily and fester if you don't get it all out quickly. I stopped using my chipper because it would pull the thorny branches into the chute and tear my gloves. Now when I cut them down or prune them, I just haul them to the burn pile.




By the way, my new helmet arrived. I picked it up about an hour ago at the dealer. I should be back in the woods this weekend /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[fig]

Bob,

I am like Eddie; I know it's not funny, but I did laugh when I read it. My family would / has done the same thing.

When we would bush hog new trails and maintain existing trails at our hunting camp; I would use a full face helmet (motorcycle helmet) while mowing. This would keep limbs and such out of your face and would save your nugget from getting pelted.

Fig

 

[Moon]

Hey Bob,
Glad to hear your okay after that mishap. Here's to a speedy recovery!
I'm sure your next trip into the woods will go better with the stihl helment .
I'd guess you'll be cutting off the offending branch on that next trip in the woods. We have lots of the locust trees with long sharp thorns on them. Their're nasty just looking at them. I'm slowly cutting down on that population. Slow but sure.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

<font color="red"> I know it's not funny, but I did laugh when I read it. </font>


Fig, I hate to call you a liar, but that is exactly what you are! You know & I know that it is funny as all heck . . . as long as it is someone else's head /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I think I found a lot more humor in the evening than anyone else in my family, afterall, I got to see their faces when they were screaming and jumping out of the way of the spurting blood!


As an interesting side note, I have Hawthorns and Locust trees that were PURPOSELY planted around the perimeter of my offices next to the building. They shade the windows from the summer sun, and no criminal in his right mind would try to climb up the tree to break into the offices through the roof!

 

[RedRocker]

Yep, I built one and it's already come in handy.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

One of my relatives sent me this little history of the Hawthorn Tree.


HAWTHORN: Generall seen as a tree which brings good luck to the owner and prosperity to the land where it stands.

The "Glastonbury Thorn" is a Hawthorn found in England and some parts of *********. The tree is said to have been brought by Joseph Arimathea on a visit to England. Wherever Joseph traveled spreading the word of God, he carried a staff, which he acquired in *********. Legend tells that he visited the Isle of Avalon, Somerset which at one time was surrounded by water. Tired from traveling he sought rest and sat down upon "Weary-all Hill" now called Worral Hill. Joseph stuck the staff into the ground, and legend says that it took root and a tree grew. A churh was erected on the spot, now the site of Glastonbury Abbey. The tree was seen as sacred and was reputed to only blossom on Christmas Day. The flowers were highly prized and at one time exported around the world. It is believed that the Hawthorn had 2 trunks, but one was cut down. The perpetrator was revenged according to legend having one of his eyes taken out by the thorns."


Now perhaps Mith, or one of the other TBN members from England can shed a little more light on if the above story is based on an historical fact. But I found it interesting that I was knocking down a Hawthorn and the branch that smacked me (and yes, it is still sore to the touch) hit me just a few inches above the right eye!

 

[TonyV]

I'm glad your ok Bob, but I have to admit, I laughed my butt off when I read your initial post....good to see that you're able to laugh it off as well. Your right though about things happening when you least expect it, all we can do is be as careful as we can, and buy protective equipment after the fact. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

...Tony

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I went back into the woods on the tractor today.

This time wearing my new Stihl safety helmet!

I took out that tree that smacked me in the head. The tootbar did a nice job snagging it and pushing it over, the ground was soft enough to expose some roots and that made it easy to yank it right out of the woods. It won't get me again. Spite? Yup! That tree was not in the way of my new path, but now it is in the burn pile in the valley /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


For those folks who care about being color coordinated, Stihl orange does not match Kubota orange. I suggest that you wear a brightly colored hawaiin shirt to distract onlookers so they don't notice the clashing shades of orange.

 

[johnday]

That's the guy, you showed that tree!!!LOL. Reminds me of myself. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif