Ever cut a log with critters in it?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

c5rulz

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Messages
2,764
Reaction score
3,455
Location
Wisconsin
My logger buddies were in the area so I stopped up to see them and took the trailer to get some log cut offs. When I got home I had to saw up the chunks into rounds so I could handle them, they are pretty fair sized even when cut up. After cutting a round off I saw these little guys inside unhurt but very frightened.

They had a rough day, as they were sitting in their tree, it got cut and they rode it to the ground, which was then pulled by the skidder to the landing where it was sawed up. This being defective was tossed to the side and thrown in my trailer for a ride of about 6 miles then had their little hidey hole sawn in half.

t03m7o.jpg


2iac508.jpg


These were some fair sized chunks.

2mr8mc2.jpg


b3n0no.jpg
 
I'm not proud... so I'll tell a story...
A couple years ago I went out early in the woodlot to split wood... real early, like barely light enough to see. One of the first rounds I grab is hollow on one end, I toss it on the splitter and throw the lever. As it splits open a mouse wiggles out, no doubt fearing for its life and makes a leap to save it... right onto my face. Its front feet latch onto the bandana sweat band I have wrapped around my head, and its rear legs clawing for traction on my nose.
I'm gonna tell ya'... I ain't afraid of mice...
But I started screaming like a girl, swatting at my face, doing some sort'a weird dance like running in circles... and managed to knock my bifocals clean off into the weeds. When it was all over... and I found my glasses... I had to look around and make sure no one saw my girly-ness.
I was so embarrassed by my reaction I couldn't look in the mirror for a week without callin' myself a wuss.
*
 
last winter we were cutting a load of wood on the processor and i loaded the the logs on. Came around to help flip big chunks back into the splitter and found my helper splattered with blood. I thought he had cut his arm off or something. turns out the log we were working on was hollow and we had split a squirrel. 404 harvester doesnt leave much behind
 
I was cutting up behind my cabin last winter. One hollow aspen was full of fiberglass insulation (nearest building is several hundred feet away). Had a few mice vacate the premises when I started bucking.
 
*waits for the Mammal thread*
No..nothing to speak of personally.
Cut above many Marten holes (homes) Heard many stories of fallers cutting into hibernating bears in trees? I'm sure it happens but probably a lot more near misses due to the bears being lower than the cut. Happens often when Multching Seismic lines though.
 
I've had many run in with varmits and have stared into the eyes of a few. Like Spidey I've screamed a time or 2[emoji1] (snakes really get me dancing) i mean its not everyday you're 100ft off the ground and cut off a chuck off a hollow tree and when you turn back around a raccon, squirrel, or opossum is looking you dead in the eyes.

I've also seen the saw dust turn bright red a few times too.[emoji20]

A few years ago i chopped a Mama squirrel and found the baby in a hollow spot and its eyes weren't even opened yet, so i put it in my coat pocket inside my jacket to keep it warm and one of the ground guys took it home and raised it as a pet. He still has it and named it Julio. Its cool as hell and his dog loves it. He is kinda shy if he never met you but after you give him a grape he'll love you forever. It runs around the house all day annoying his dog and at night he goes and lays n his cage and goes to sleep. Its even litter trained[emoji1]
 
just once. cut tree down in woods,,and raccoon come flying out!!! exit, stage right!!!!!
Dropped a ~30" hollow oak for a homeowner. A major portion of the top/canopy had busted off and barely missed their house the previous winter so they wanted it down. After escaping and watching the skies for flying branches I turned to see a momma racoon making a run across the lawn toward the tree line along the yard perimeter. The three babies didn't fair so well and were laying unresponsive on the ground just above the top of the hollow at the top of the tree.
 
I'm not proud... so I'll tell a story...
A couple years ago I went out early in the woodlot to split wood... real early, like barely light enough to see. One of the first rounds I grab is hollow on one end, I toss it on the splitter and throw the lever. As it splits open a mouse wiggles out, no doubt fearing for its life and makes a leap to save it... right onto my face. Its front feet latch onto the bandana sweat band I have wrapped around my head, and its rear legs clawing for traction on my nose.
I'm gonna tell ya'... I ain't afraid of mice...
But I started screaming like a girl, swatting at my face, doing some sort'a weird dance like running in circles... and managed to knock my bifocals clean off into the weeds. When it was all over... and I found my glasses... I had to look around and make sure no one saw my girly-ness.
I was so embarrassed by my reaction I couldn't look in the mirror for a week without callin' myself a wuss.
*
I think Its ok to scream if they sneak up on ya and its totally unexpected[emoji1]
 
I Raised a Raccoon that didn't even have his eyes open yet, I was the only mother it ever knew. It was a great pet, Just like a Dog or Cat. Then it decided to check the Belts in my Girlfriends truck...Poor thing :(
 
I've come across mice and squirrels a few times. Once I did a quick hall of some downed dead locust that I scrounged along the railroad tracks. I had to get in and out quick and made off with 2 quick loads. 2 days later when I started splitting it I realized it was filled with cock roaches. Thousands of them!!! From the size of an ant to the size of a large cock roach. I quickly reloaded it and dumped it at the mulch plant.
 
Sawed right through a few bats once. Was restacking a fallen wood stack this summer and found a mouse nest in between splits... was dancing around like spidey trying to stomp the little bastards to death.
About time the start setting traps and put out the poison.
 
Mice all the time, but snakes. I was bucking a big hollow log and a 5 ft black snake quickly exited the open end and scare the crap outta me. My father in law on the tractor got a good chuckle out of it.
 
I got a rabbit once that was hiding in the log pile. I was using the 36" bar and cutting a bunch at a time off the pile when the chips started coming out red (from white oak and ash) and mixed with fur I figured something was having a bad day.
 
I was working on splitting a pile of rounds this summer. I threw a round up on the splitter and a bat flopped out and landed and clung to my arm. Thankfully I wear leather gloves because without even thinking I grabbed it, threw it on the ground, and stomped it. It's amazing something so small can cause the adrenaline to pump. If I had been thinking clearly I wouldn't have harmed it because I'm thankful for all the mosquitoes they eat. Oh, and there might have been a scream in there too! The splitter was running so I don't think anyone heard.
 
Back
Top