I finally got the rest of that wicked tree down. I'd been eyeing it warily for weeks. It had shaken my confidence much like the time I was broadsided at an intersection. For several years I got the willies whenever driving past there. The intersection doesn't scare me anymore, but this tree still does.
Normally, when I fell a tree, I can drop it where I want it - like calling eight ball in the side pocket. But this one fooled me and I'm still not sure how. The mishap seemed to defy physics.
Since the dead elm was threatening the barn I thought it best to limb it out before the final felling. I was at the top of an extension ladder cutting a large limb above my head (a no no) that was leaning outward and should have fallen away from the tree, me, and the barn. But when I completed the cut, the branch bored straight down like a pile-driver, taking me with it. I briefly caught a glimpse of the ground rushing up and thought, 'This is going to be bad'. Unlike a cat, I twisted my body in order to land on my back. My hip took the brunt of the impact and my head took the secondary hit. Once I was able to open my eyes, I saw blue and green and Chris, who said, "Don't move!". So of course I moved my arms and legs and was relieved to find them still working.
I said, "Chris, I'm fine. I just want to lie here for a while".
"You're not fine. There's a big puddle of blood under your head."
Once she was sure I could remain conscious, she ran to the house and brought a towel for to hold against the wound.
I told the emergency doctor I thought the cut might be from the chainsaw but he said it was an impact laceration which happens when the energy of an impact needs to escape and opens the skin to release pressure, like what happens when you drop a melon on the ground. It splits.
He used a staple gun to close up the wound, x-rayed my neck and hip, and cat-scanned my brain. He poked around my abdomen checking for internal injuries and finally let me go home. I was amazed to have so little pain that night but by the next day, the chickens were home to roost.
One of the side effects of concussion is excessive sleeping. They told Chris to wake me every two hours, which she did for almost two days. I'm still sleeping a lot more than normal but things are healing very nicely. They say that accumulated head injuries take a toll on brain function. I've had more than my share and that may explain a lot.
I now shudder to think of how things might have gone and chalk up my good fortune to fools' luck.
And now for my next trick...
Well, I finally exacted my revenge on that elm by using my bucket saw to carve a bear from the stump. I had intended the bear to look fearsome but it ended up looking like Winnie the Pooh. So now that evil elm is destined to live with a humiliation similar to my own.
Normally, when I fell a tree, I can drop it where I want it - like calling eight ball in the side pocket. But this one fooled me and I'm still not sure how. The mishap seemed to defy physics.
Since the dead elm was threatening the barn I thought it best to limb it out before the final felling. I was at the top of an extension ladder cutting a large limb above my head (a no no) that was leaning outward and should have fallen away from the tree, me, and the barn. But when I completed the cut, the branch bored straight down like a pile-driver, taking me with it. I briefly caught a glimpse of the ground rushing up and thought, 'This is going to be bad'. Unlike a cat, I twisted my body in order to land on my back. My hip took the brunt of the impact and my head took the secondary hit. Once I was able to open my eyes, I saw blue and green and Chris, who said, "Don't move!". So of course I moved my arms and legs and was relieved to find them still working.
I said, "Chris, I'm fine. I just want to lie here for a while".
"You're not fine. There's a big puddle of blood under your head."
Once she was sure I could remain conscious, she ran to the house and brought a towel for to hold against the wound.
I told the emergency doctor I thought the cut might be from the chainsaw but he said it was an impact laceration which happens when the energy of an impact needs to escape and opens the skin to release pressure, like what happens when you drop a melon on the ground. It splits.
He used a staple gun to close up the wound, x-rayed my neck and hip, and cat-scanned my brain. He poked around my abdomen checking for internal injuries and finally let me go home. I was amazed to have so little pain that night but by the next day, the chickens were home to roost.
One of the side effects of concussion is excessive sleeping. They told Chris to wake me every two hours, which she did for almost two days. I'm still sleeping a lot more than normal but things are healing very nicely. They say that accumulated head injuries take a toll on brain function. I've had more than my share and that may explain a lot.
I now shudder to think of how things might have gone and chalk up my good fortune to fools' luck.
And now for my next trick...
Well, I finally exacted my revenge on that elm by using my bucket saw to carve a bear from the stump. I had intended the bear to look fearsome but it ended up looking like Winnie the Pooh. So now that evil elm is destined to live with a humiliation similar to my own.
