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BigV · 10-25-2011, 06:00 PM

What I'm happy about:

I didn't die.

Ok, I know that's very melodramatic. But it could've happened. I have some very abundant lilacs out front and one large branch is/was hanging over and onto some utility lines from the street. Very not good. It was a large branch, as big around as my calf. But the spot where I wanted to cut was aaaaaallllmosst out of my reach. To be fair, it was well out of my safe reach. The thing is, I don't have a step ladder, only an extension ladder and there wasn't an easy place to lean the ladder. To make things more dangerous, the branch, the place where I had to stand was just about two feet from my driveway, which is leads to the garage, duh, ... under the house. That means I was cutting this branch overhead and it would fall (past me, I hoped) into the driveway about five feet below my feet. Five feet I could easily fall, with a snarling chainsaw. Hooooboy.

Out of my reach? Yeah. I wanted to cut it outward from the spot where the utility line was touching so that when it did fall it would just fall, not get hung up on the line. Then I'd planned to cut the remaining stub short of the utility line. This is what happened. But it was touch and go.

I reached up with one hand holding the running chainsaw, like this, but without the helper,

Name: Conan.jpg
Views: 308
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Name: Conan.jpg
Views: 308
Size: 79.0 KB

and with my free hand I reached up and pulled the branch downward, allowing me to reach the branch with the tip of the chainsaw. I pushed through as far as I could but it wasn't enough to cut through the branch. I switched sides, careful to avoid stepping onto thin air over the driveway, avoiding getting entangled in the rose bushes, avoiding getting ensnarled by the power cord for the chainsaw. I cut again from this second side and cut through a lot more of the branch, but still not through the branch. Back to the first side and I could see a LOT of daylight, giving me a good idea of where to apply my next cut. It came down, not on me, not on the roses, but in the driveway. YAY! I didn't die!

Cutting the remaining stump was anticlimactic, though the chunk that fell straight down and missed my feet. Yep, I'm happy.

10-25-2011, 06:00 PM	#7546
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	What I'm happy about: I didn't die. Ok, I know that's very melodramatic. But it could've happened. I have some very abundant lilacs out front and one large branch is/was hanging over and onto some utility lines from the street. Very not good. It was a large branch, as big around as my calf. But the spot where I wanted to cut was aaaaaallllmosst out of my reach. To be fair, it was well out of my safe reach. The thing is, I don't have a step ladder, only an extension ladder and there wasn't an easy place to lean the ladder. To make things more dangerous, the branch, the place where I had to stand was just about two feet from my driveway, which is leads to the garage, duh, ... under the house. That means I was cutting this branch overhead and it would fall (past me, I hoped) into the driveway about five feet below my feet. Five feet I could easily fall, with a snarling chainsaw. Hooooboy. Out of my reach? Yeah. I wanted to cut it outward from the spot where the utility line was touching so that when it did fall it would just fall, not get hung up on the line. Then I'd planned to cut the remaining stub short of the utility line. This is what happened. But it was touch and go. I reached up with one hand holding the running chainsaw, like this, but without the helper, and with my free hand I reached up and pulled the branch downward, allowing me to reach the branch with the tip of the chainsaw. I pushed through as far as I could but it wasn't enough to cut through the branch. I switched sides, careful to avoid stepping onto thin air over the driveway, avoiding getting entangled in the rose bushes, avoiding getting ensnarled by the power cord for the chainsaw. I cut again from this second side and cut through a lot more of the branch, but still not through the branch. Back to the first side and I could see a LOT of daylight, giving me a good idea of where to apply my next cut. It came down, not on me, not on the roses, but in the driveway. YAY! I didn't die! Cutting the remaining stump was anticlimactic, though the chunk that fell straight down and missed my feet. Yep, I'm happy. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.