c/arborists

Tried using a handsaw instead of a chainsaw on a big limb drop and it saved my back

I had a 60 foot limb come down last week and used a Silky Zubat to break it up instead of dragging out the saw. Took longer but I wasn't sore the next day - anyone else switch to manual for cleanup cuts?

Took me 6 hours to diagnose a lightning strike on a single white oak in Raleigh

I was out on a job last Tuesday where this big white oak had a weird crack running up the trunk but no sign of rot or insects. Turned out there was internal damage from a lightning strike that happened like 3 months ago, and I only caught it because I happened to look up at a funny angle. Has anyone else spent way longer than expected figuring out what's wrong with a tree that looks mostly healthy?

Stumbled on a 3 year old oak reduction photo today...

Took a massive overgrown live oak from 60 feet down to 35, and three years later the growth is perfect - no suckers, even canopy spread, the works. Anyone else had a reduction come out better than you planned?

Vent: Took me 4 hours to remove a single dead pine in my own yard in Phoenix

I do this for a living but my own property is a different story. This pine had been dead for about a year and I figured it would be a quick 30 minute job. Wrong. The base was wrapped around a buried water line and the roots had fused with some old concrete from a previous patio. Ended up digging out the stump by hand for 3 hours after the top came down. Guess I got too confident since I'm not charging myself. Has anyone else wasted a whole afternoon on a tree that should have taken no time?

Tried using a pruning paint on a big oak wound in Portland last fall

I had a 60 year old oak that lost a major limb in a storm. Usually I just let the wound air dry but I read online that pruning paint traps moisture and causes rot. After 8 months the wound is clean and callusing over nicely. Anyone here ever had a pruning paint job go bad?

That day in Portland that made me rethink how I stunt oaks

I was working a big red oak in a tight backyard near Mount Tabor a few months back. The homeowner wanted a 40% crown reduction (which felt aggressive) but after talking to a local urban forester on site, she explained how the tree had been topped years ago and needed structural calm more than a pretty canopy. I changed my cuts mid-job to focus on reducing lever arm weight instead of just chopping back to a bud. Now I ask about the tree's history before I even touch my saw. Has anyone else run into property owners who resist proper stunting because they just want it to look neater?

I finally had a perfect day of pruning with zero mistakes

Last Tuesday in Austin, I was trimming a huge live oak and the whole job went smooth. No dropped branches, no busted ropes, just clean cuts and good positioning from 8 AM to noon. The homeowner even brought out cold water and said my work looked like a sculpture. Has anyone else had a day where everything just clicked without any screw ups?

Just hit my 500th tree removal and it felt weird

I crossed 500 removals last week on a big silver maple in a backyard. Never thought I'd remember the number but something about that round count made me stop and think about all the close calls I've had. Anyone else hit a milestone like this and get a little reflective?

Bought a cheap pole pruner for $60 and the head snapped off on the third branch I cut

Spent a Saturday afternoon fishing my broken saw head out of a neighbor's maple tree after the cheap aluminum pole just gave out on a 2 inch limb, anyone else had luck with the mid range fiberglass ones instead?

Wasted $200 on a cheap pole pruner that snapped on the second job

I bought this off brand pole pruner off Amazon for like $200 thinking I was being smart saving money. The thing looked okay in the box but the fiberglass felt kinda flimsy when I extended it. Second time I used it on a big maple in Austin the head just snapped off the pole while I was trying to cut a 3 inch limb. Limb came crashing down luckily nobody got hurt but the pruner was totally done. The aluminum part where it connects just sheared right in half. I emailed the company and they never even answered back. So now I gotta spend real money on a proper one like a Silky or something. Any of yall had bad luck with cheap gear from big online stores?

TIL those expensive rope bags actually matter

I spent years just stuffing my climbing line into a duffel or backpack, figured a rope bag was just for guys with more money than sense. Then last month in Portland I spent 20 minutes untangling a knot that took a chunk out of my work time. Borrowed a buddy's Notch bag, and the difference in how it feeds out is legit. Anyone else put off getting one and wish they hadn't?

Rant: The time a client's pet parrot cost me an extra 3 hours on a tree removal

I was taking down a big old oak in somebody's backyard near Austin when their tame parrot flew right into the middle of the canopy and refused to come down. Had to stop the saw, climb up with a blanket, and coax the damn bird out while the owner filmed the whole thing for Instagram. Anyone else ever have to pause a job for an unexpected animal rescue?

Changed my mind about topping oak trees after reading a study

I used to think topping big oaks was fine if you did it right, but I came across a paper from the ISA last week that says topping actually reduces a tree's life by 40% on average. They tracked 200 trees over 10 years in Portland and the topped ones had way more decay and broken limbs. I mean, I always heard the old timers say it was okay, but now I'm thinking they were wrong. Has anyone else seen different numbers from a legit source?

Remember when we used to climb with just a flip line and a lanyard?

I was out on a big red oak removal in Cleveland last week and watched a new guy set up with a full SRT system. Made me think back to the early 2000s when I started, I had a simple flip line, a single lanyard, and a pair of spikes. No mechanical ascenders or fancy friction hitches. I can't say it was better, but I sure knew every knot by heart and didn't waste time fiddling with gear. Has anyone else noticed how the extra gear slows things down sometimes?

Question about that rope trick I saw a guy do in Denver last week

I was on a removal job in Denver last Tuesday and this older climber used a friction saver setup I'd never seen before. He ran his rope through this little pulley thing and it cut his friction way down on the lowering line. Has anyone else tried something like that on big limb drops?

Hot take: crown reduction vs. topping - Had a guy at the equipment rental place swear topping is fine on old oaks

That Tuesday when every branch I dropped decided to bounce sideways

Had a 30 foot oak limb hung up in the canopy last week near Portland, spent 45 minutes trying to free it without wrecking the fence below. Then my climbing saw battery died mid-cut on the next limb and I had to repack the whole rig to swap it. Anyone else have days where the tree just fights back at every step?

Does pruning in the fall really cause more harm than good? I tried it and got mixed results

I pruned a big red oak in late October last year because the client insisted it had to be done before a fence install. The tree had some dieback the next spring on a few cuts, but then it bounced back strong by midsummer. I've always heard you should Avoid fall pruning because of disease risk, but now I'm wondering if it depends on the tree species or the climate around here. Has anyone else had a fall prune job turn out okay?

That Bradford pear job near Austin that almost killed me last spring

I was cutting a 30 foot Bradford pear in someone's backyard off Parmer Lane last April. Tree looked healthy from the ground but as soon as I got my rope tied high, the whole trunk split right down the middle. The half I wasn't on peeled off and slammed into their fence. Turns out the tree had included bark and a weak crotch that you couldn't see from below. I got lucky it didn't swing back into my saddle. Anyone else had a close call with these garbage trees when they looked fine on the outside?

Just realized I was pruning live oaks in Texas all wrong for years

I used to always strip the lower branches flush with the trunk, thinking it looked clean. Then a guy from the city arborist office watched me work on a job in Austin last summer and asked why I was cutting off the branch collar. He showed me how leaving a proper collar lets the tree heal faster and stops rot from setting in. Now I spend more time on each cut but the trees actually look better 6 months later. Anyone else get taught the wrong way at first?

Why does nobody talk about the Bradford pears in my town's new park?

They planted a whole row of them three years ago, and now every spring the smell is awful and the branches are already splitting. Has anyone else had to deal with a city choosing a bad tree like that?

Cleaned out the truck and found my 100th climbing hitch

It was that old, frayed piece of rope I kept as a backup for years... I started tying them back in my apprentice days with a guy named Carl in Eugene. We'd go through so many learning different knots on the big firs. That little piece of cord saw a lot of trees come down. Anyone else hold onto a specific piece of gear way past its prime just for the memory?

Pro tip: I was hiking in the Red River Gorge and saw a huge oak with a cable brace from the 80s.

The tree had grown completely around the old steel cable, and the bark was bulging over it in a way I've never seen. It made me wonder if we should be using a different material for long-term bracing that trees can absorb better. Has anyone else run into a fully swallowed cable like that, and what did you do?

Serious question, what's your backup plan when a rigging line snaps mid-limb?

Last Thursday in Eugene, I was lowering a big oak limb over a garage. The 5/8" rigging line, which looked fine during my pre-climb check, snapped about 15 feet from the ground. The limb dropped straight down, bounced off the roof, and dented the gutter. I had to stop everything, re-rig with a new line, and finish the job two hours behind. Has anyone else had a rigging line fail unexpectedly, and how do you check them besides just a visual once-over?

Had a close call with a cheap climbing rope last Tuesday

It was a $120 line that felt fine in the yard, but it slipped on a big oak limb... what do you guys use for a reliable primary line?