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Tree safety incident - a long story barely made sh
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Posted by williamf on February 26, 2006 at 08:10:14 from (69.19.14.24):
Since last Tuesday, when this happened, I've been trying to figure out how to explain it in a way that would be helpful to others and shows that I accept that it was entirely my fault and entirely avoidable, and yet doesn't make me appear to be a total donkey head. I'll have to settle for three out of four.
I was using my Ford 3500d TLB far down in the swamp, pushing the tree line back from the edge of of a road, making more room for the sawtooth oaks the huntclub planted some years back. There was a good size hackberry tree, maybe eighteen inches at the base, that needed to go. Its trunk split about three feet from the ground.
The ground was soft from recent rain and when I put the hoe in next to the stump and gave it a tug the whole tree moved a little, let me know this would be an easy one. A little more digging got the main root loose on the left side, the left trunk started to tear away and roll my way. (This is where I screwed up. Should have stopped and pulled the hoe out, moved it to my side of the tree, and pushed.) No problem, I do trees this way all the time. The hoe is off center to my right and tree is on the right of that so as it pulls up the hoe, the mast and the roots on the far side of the stump turn it away from the tractor. It'll land lying right alongside.
This time, though, therewere no roots on the other side; it popped loose from the other trunk which then rolled it back my way.
The main trunk landed between the steering wheel and the exhaust; the loader arms held it up off the tractor. A three inch limb, which would have been six or eight feet high, landed across my lap.
Most of the weight was probably on the loader, but it felt like it was all on my left leg. It was heavy enough that it split the half inch plywood under the seat cushion. Trapped. My foot was slightly back on the platform and the only way to straighten my leg was to lift it slightly.
After a minute or two of panicked thrashing (I couldn't even wiggle it) I managed to move the control levers enough to raise the hoe and swing the back corner of the bucket under the trunk and press it against the standing trunk of the tree. There was no more than two inches of cylinder left to lift, but that was enough to get the weight off my thigh and let me pull my leg out and dismount, on the hop.
By the time help arrived (The hunt club guys said "Ol'Edward went from zero to hero.")I had removed the seat and muffler. After Edward climbed up and cut off the limb that had had me and was now tangled in the levers I was able to start the tractor up and back it out.
Bad as I hurt I took time to finish off the hackberry.
Lotsa lessons. Including, remember the camera. In fact, if I had one of those fancy new camera phones I coulda had some good flat leg shots.
I hope maybe I learned the better ones.
Wm
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