Tree Work

The recent storms in the area have caused a flood of emergency calls over the last few weeks. One of the emergency tree jobs is the removal of an enormous willow that was damaged. One of the broken boughs had a bee hive inside. The bees were not happy, especially as I banged around their hive removing the large broken boughs, including the upper half of their hive. The weather has been very hot as well.

None of the local beekeepers wanted the hive. So, after roping it to the ground I dragged it by means of a rope into the wooded area where they would be of no harm to the people in the area. Amazingly I was not stung even once. I was very careful, but that does not explain that with a cloud of bees swarming about that I was not stung, not even once. Only one explanation fits. Thank you, Lord!

To access the tree I am entering the property through the fence, removing the one panel each day. An alley from the street to the fence measures approximately 90 yards. Thus, I am dragging branches and hauling logs about 100 yards each trip. I’ve been traversing that distance 20 or more times each day, meaning that I am dragging and hauling the debris and equipment and my body over a mile.

Yesterday I needed to climb to a crotch about 60 feet above the ground to rope and fell the double top pieces of about 20 feet. It was a hard climb, since I was not able to position my climbing line sufficiently high to accommodate the last three or four feet. That last three to four feet of bare trunk is amazingly hard without the benefit of the climbing line. Atop this narrowing stick, I roped and cut the top boughs. The second bough caused the top to sway about three feet, then allowing the top to snap back very hard, hitting my forearm with great force. About 15 minutes later, when I was back on the ground, I was able to apply a chunk of the ice from my water jug to help reduce the swelling.

Such is the routine of an arborist.

This, too, is a reminder of how God cares for us continually. The Lord kept me from more serious harm. The area of the top where it snapped back and struck me was sharp and jagged. It easily could have cut me. It could have broken my arm. But it did not. It merely bruised me deeply, leaving me hurting this morning.

How many times in a day is a person protected from harm? Is it even possible to know? Do we even attempt to account for the many ways that the Lord cares for us each day? Even the fact that the cells in our bodies continue to function properly is a miracle. The number of times that the Lord protects us from deleterious cellular mutations and invading organisms is incalculable.

Luther’s evening prayer serves as a wonderful summary and thanksgiving in this regard:

I thank Thee, my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy dear Son, that Thou hast graciously kept me this day, and I pray Thee to forgive me all my sins, where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Thy hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Thy holy angel be with me, that the Wicked Foe may have no power over me. Amen.

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Brush Bandit Chipper

This video demonstrates the model of chipper that I use in my tree business, Model 250. The chippers in this video are newer and have larger engines than mine, but operate the same and with the same capacity, up to 12 inch diameter logs.


As can be seen in this video, these machines are designed for safety, but are nevertheless very dangerous. A twisted log, like the one in this video can sometimes move from one side to the other very rapidly. If standing in that area, it packs an horrendous wallop. On a few occasions I have been knocked across a sidewalk on the one side and part way across a street on the other side. The new models are easier to feed from the sides where this is less likely to happen.

For what it is worth, I thought that I would share this video, showing one piece of equipment commonly used by arborists.

Fire Bulbs

Last night as I was working at my desk my olfactory senses detected an alarming smell. It was the smell of electrical smouldering.

This is not something to be ignored. I began sniffing throughout the house and looking for any signs of smoke.

I spent an hour or more searching. I checked every electrical outlet, looking for browning discoloration and touching each one to feel for heat. I brought the stepladder in so as to enter the attic. I checked every ceiling fan and light. I checked the extension cords and the Bunn coffee maker. I checked the stove and microwave and the refrigerators. I checked the breaker box, the power line entrance and the meter.

Finally, I commended the matter to the Lord and went to bed, trusting with the men of old who faced the fiery furnace that the Lord would keep us safe from fire, or that He would take us home.

This morning I noticed that one of our wonderful “green” fluorescent bulbs made in China had burned out. This term is not usually used literally, but in this case, as the photos below show, it was quite literal.



Notice the browned areas in the base of the bulb. An olfactory test verified that the burning smell originated with this bulb.



I have encountered this experience in our house before, but never found the culprit. The smell went away and I never identified the cause.

While it is a relief to know that our electrical circuits have all been checked and found to be in safe working order, it is nevertheless disconcerting to know that these bulbs manifest such a dangerous malfunction.

Thankfully, the locations of all of the bulbs that we use are in fixtures that are extremely unlikely to catch fire. Yet this is still a dangerous malfunction. Moreover, what toxins are emitted into the household air when this happens? The house still reeks with the odor. My fingers still reek with the smokey odor that my fingers absorbed while removing the “burned” out bulb. This time of year, with the windows all closed tightly, such toxins do not depart quickly from the house, which means that we will be breathing them for some time to come.

With the season’s advent of Christmas lights both indoors and outdoors in many homes, this is a good time for every head of house to check the electrical circuits and outlets throughout the house. The extra load placed on the circuitry and wiring by the additional lights makes this a very important and necessary activity. After the lines overheat and cause damage is not the best time to perform this safety procedure. But this often is the pattern in family life. Perhaps my experience will serve to motivate a few readers to take the safety precautions. Checking of smoke alarms/detectors is also a worthy precaution.