HawTHORN tree + my head = HOSPITAL

PineRidge · Jul 2, 2005

Bob getting payback always makes one feel better, doesn't it? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I really don't see a positive reason to keep a Hawthorn tree anyway.

Bob_Skurka · Jul 2, 2005

That's the guy, you showed that tree!!!LOL. Reminds me of myself. 
Yup John, I'm pretty darn intimidating to trees that can't run and hide from a toothbar, I showed it who was boss! I may even pull out the marshmallows for the celebration fire!


I really don't see a positive reason to keep a Hawthorn tree anyway. 
PineRidge . . . Well then, I guess I have about 999 more to knock down if I want to get rid of all of them!

btolle · Jul 2, 2005

Glad to hear you are OK (sort of).

I suspect that we are all guilty of what you did at times, thinking we will just be doing a little work, no need to suit up.

I keep my tractor key in my hard hat so I don't forget the hard hat. Not sure a hard hat would have helped in your situation but that Stihl helmet would have. I may order one of those myself.

I have discovered that the hard hat has better air circulation than a baseball cap which helps in the Texas heat.

While it is tempting to wear shorts and sandals I know that long pants and boots will give me a lot better protection. It's a little hotter, but a lot safer.

Bill Tolle

hobbyfarm · Jul 2, 2005

( when working in the woods, BE CAREFUL.
)

Bob,
Glad you're OK. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Please take your own advice. You are a valuable contributor to the forum.
I think I'd take the saw to those trees. If a Hawthorn tree is anything like a mesquite tree, you need to prune them several times a year to keep yourself safe. I've seen 4" thorns on my trees and the darn things about jump off the tree to you. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

JayC · Jul 3, 2005

This is the first I seen of this thread. Glad you are ok. Reminds me of when I almost took my eye out a few weeks back cutting grass. I was cutting under the horrid fruit trees. I was using the Cub trying to crouch enough to make it under. On my return pass, I was looking down, when I looked up to see this branch headed straight for my eye. I quickly duck again while pushing it out of the way. You're lucky. You can get revenge by hopping on one of two tractors. For me, it would be too much work to get revenge. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 Yup John, I'm pretty darn intimidating to trees that can't run and hide from a toothbar, I showed it who was boss! 

Reading that makes me think of the wild west... A dual is about to begin (cue wild west dualing music *bwaaah... waaah... waaah...* /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif ). The tree on one side and Bob on the other. The tree stands firm. Bob shifts into low range and adjusts the bucket while giving a death stare to the tree. But the tree is no match for that toothbar! A victorious Bob celebrates the win by roasting marshmellows over the kill. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bob_Skurka · Jul 3, 2005

btolle wrote Glad to hear you are OK (sort of). 

Bill, the doctors who released me from the asylum several years ago gave me a piece of paper saying that I am "OK" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hobbyfarm . . . Hawthorns are VERY brittle and they shed bits of branches, complete with tire popping, shoe puncturing thorns! I prune the hawthorns in the valley area every year!

JayC wrote Reading that makes me think of the wild west... A dual is about to begin 

Well then today is the second act of the wild west drama and we can title today's events as "Revenge of the Hawthorn!" One of those darn things snagged the Kubota and wouldn't let it loose. I was having some problems knocking a branch off a tree on the path I was cutting through the woods. I had a landscape rake on the back was knocking branched down with the FEL and the snagging them with the rake to drag them to a burn pile. One branch gave me a lot of trouble and I backed downhill to the tree, the rake went over the top of the branch but the rake just barely went behind the tree trunk too. As I began to move forward the dirt was soft, there was a bump on the slope and the rake snagged the tree trunk . . . the tractor shifted toward the tree. I tried to back up but the rear wheel and the ROPS prevented that, in fact the ROPS acted like a lever and help move the tractor even closer to the tree. I worked to free myself for a couple minutes and then gave up. Went for a saw! I'll show that darn tree! 2 more limbs were laying on the ground when I was done, the ROPS was now free, I jockied the tractor a bit and I was free.

I could have taken the rake off and driven out, BUT I would not let another Hawthorn get the best of me!

NOW ON A SERIOUS NOTE the Stihl forestry helmet is awesome when working in the woods. I highly recommend one to folks who are cutting paths with their tractors (or with chainsaws).

Dargo · Jul 3, 2005

Gees Bob, I didn't see this thread before and didn't know it was you! Man, I sound like a wuss for complaining that I got a Black Locust thorn in my a** and had to have my wife dig it out with my Swiss Tool army knife. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Heck, I was only string trimming and backed into the darn thing and then hopped up in the air with the pain because of the literal stick in the a**, breaking the thorn off cleanly in my posterior.

Hope all is well for you now. I'll post a pic of my injury if you post a pic of yours. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bob_Skurka · Jul 3, 2005

Brent, given the location of your injury, I guess it wouldn't do you any good to wear a helmet /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

hobbyfarm · Jul 3, 2005

( Hobbyfarm . . . Hawthorns are VERY brittle and they shed bits of branches, complete with tire popping, shoe puncturing thorns! I prune the hawthorns in the valley area every year! )
Those sound very close to the mesquite trees we have down here. Can't ever keep air in the tires. Even with twice the recommended Slime in the tires. Perhaps I should just get them foamed solid.
Mesquite thorn punctures also can become infected as they are mildly poisonous and they make a heck of a sore for a couple of days. As the mesquite grows, once the tree gets its true bark, the thorns usually go away. They are always on the younger growth wood. Plus, every summer/fall we get some type of beetle (smaller than an M&M and camo) that girdles a ring around small, pencil sized branches as they eat. These of course die and are broken off in the breeze. This is the main culprit and the root of the never-ending mesquite-related tire problems. When I see a layer of the branches around the trees, I usually grab a garden rake and reach up and pull all the dead branches out at once. With 20 trees, it takes some time to get ready to mow. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif BTW, they occasionally puncture heavy leather gloves while handling your prunings, etc.
Now, the whole reason for tolerating these trees, it is the best barbarque wood in the world. Shoot, you could just about BBQ a some dog food and it would be tasty. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Bob_Skurka · Jul 3, 2005

Now, the whole reason for tolerating these trees, it is the best barbarque wood in the world. Shoot, you could just about BBQ a some dog food and it would be tasty.


HEY EVERYONE, there is a "TBN BBQ" at HOBBYFARM"S and he is going to cook up a bunch of dog food for us!!! Uh, no thanks, but I think I'll pass on the food and bring my own /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif