anyone else quit cutting due to the heat??

[Steve NW WI]

That reminds me of throwing bales as a kid. When you got out of the barn if felt like air conditioning. Funny how dad switched to round bales once my brother and I moved out.

Scott

(quote edited to run in the time allotted) It was so hot I had a case of the couldn't think straight rampaging stoopids.

small bales. Back in my 20s worked on a big dairy, he used all small bales...yep, that got to be a lot like work, luckily it was up in Maine and never got that hot. Our record I remember was we cracked over ten thousand stacked in the barn in one day.

There is NO WAY IN HECK FIRE I could do that sort of work today with small square bales by hand and with a bale hook.

We do big, 3/4 ton, big round bales here, whenever the baler is working. .

Y'all (and this flippin heat) are bringing back old memories, that ain't all good. I spent many a day up in the haymow as a kid, it bought my first few cars and trucks. Baling straw about this time of year was always the worst, seemed like the oats had to come off on the hottest dang day of the year.

As far as the rampaging stoopids go, I once broke the cardinal rule of never get off the tractor with the PTO running. It was 90+ and I'd been baling for a few hours on an open tractor, with not nearly enough fluids. I'd already had to change a flat on the baler and one on a wagon, so my day was not going well already. The knotter on the baler started acting up, and after about 5 looksees with the PTO off, and nothing I noticed wrong, I decided I was gonna trip the knotter while it was running and see what I could see when it tied. I had the tractor idled down, went back to trip it, decided I might could see better from the twine side, stepped over the wagon tongue, and WHAM - the baler found a bit of hay, the knotter tripped, the thrower kicked the bale (Deere pan thrower), and I wound up in the front of the wagon with a whole lot of body parts that hurt and a pair of glasses that were not found until the wagon was unloaded. To this day, I'm convinced that had the tractor been at PTO speed instead of idling, I'd be permanently disabled or dead.

The boss's brother pulled into the field with an empty wagon right about then, and we shut down and went for a little trip to the hospital to get checked out. A couple quick x-rays made sure nothing was broken, and spent the night with IV's to get rehydrated. Doc said I was well into heat exhaustion and close to heat stroke.

Moral of the story, when you start having trouble trying to keep focused on your job or getting sloppy due to heat, give up for the day, get some fluids in ya, and cool off. It might just keep ya around a while longer.

Just to keep it a WEE TINY BIT on topic, I might have to bring the saws in from the shed and put them in the air conditioned basement. I feel bad for em.

 

[Ronaldo]

Just checked temp-103 degrees F.
Got sent home from work today because of the heat index-115 degrees or something like that.I am a welder so it does get warm when you are making even more heat! The problem is that I dont get paid and its too stinking hot to get anything else done outside.The last couple of HOT days we had included some breeze or a good wind , there is just no air moving today.The garden plants and corn are even curling.

 

[ponyexpress976]

My hours have become "mexican"...work from 6 am till I can't stand it and go cool off. Take a siesta in the AC. Go back out after 4-5pm and try to get as much done before the sun goes out for the day.

 

[hazmat5760]

Drove up a bit to what was supposed to be a simple blow down clean up of two trees. Right, simple blow down clean up. Wasn't simple at all.

I cut the hung up tree down and got a good chunk of it limbed and was ready to call it quits. 1.5 hours of work and I was trying to figure out why I was already dragging ass. Radio guy said it was already in the triple digits for heat. Screw that. Told the guy I'd be back thursday night after work.

Didn't help that I had to put a coating of elastomaric roofing on my trailer last night.

 

[olyman]

Drove up a bit to what was supposed to be a simple blow down clean up of two trees. Right, simple blow down clean up. Wasn't simple at all.

I cut the hung up tree down and got a good chunk of it limbed and was ready to call it quits. 1.5 hours of work and I was trying to figure out why I was already dragging ass. Radio guy said it was already in the triple digits for heat. Screw that. Told the guy I'd be back thursday night after work.

Didn't help that I had to put a coating of elastomaric roofing on my trailer last night.

wimp:msp_biggrin::msp_biggrin:

 

[chucker]

we had heavy winds come through here yesterday morning, a 10" aspen tree fell in a customers yard that was about 40' tall... took me all of 45 minutes to limb, block and load plus raking up the junk.... this was at 3 pm and 93 degs.... so with not doing much for work outside the last hot week no !! i can say i didnt stop completly..... although i do feel dead after! sure hope today is the last of the 80% plus humidity.... stay cool ???????????

 

[Kingsley]

Call me whatever, but I only cut from September to May. No sense in fooling with bugs, brush, and excessive heat.

M

 

[howard270]

I enjoy outdoor work, can't wait to get out to the farm and help my dad out, but I do not like to cut wood during the summer mainly due to the bugs. I don't like the heat, but can tolerate it since I enjoy working that much. It's just those dadgummed bugs whether they be gnats, flies, wasps, bees, yellow jackets, ticks, whatever. We still do the farm and ranch work that needs to be done but just not anything extra during the heat of the day.

And since us Howard men are notorious sweaters, any bug spray we put on is gone within a few moments. So I mainly do my cutting in winter time. My favorite days are about 30 degrees with some sleet coming down, and I am one happy cutter. This year and last year we didn't have a spring, just went from about 40 degree highs into the 90's so I basically quit cutting back in March.

 

[MNTAINGAL23]

Cooler

Right now we might hit 67 today and it is cloudy. I love this weather more than the heat you all have going on. Heck we might even have to fire up the wood stove at night to take the chill off. People here are complaining about not having a summer this year. Much like last year, but it sure makes it comfy to sleep at night in the coolness. Stay cool down there.

 

[Dalmatian90]

My cutting has stopped not because of warmth but because I have no freaking time between the veggie garden, the flower garden, the lawn, and the gall to try and take one weekend day a week off to do something fun

Getting real close to buying an older riding mower just so I can do some mindless lawn mowing when I'm too tired to use the big walk behind (an older Toro 42" commercial mower)...takes longer on a rider, but the time saved with the Toro isn't time saved if I don't have time when I have energy to use it!

 

[SpiralAcacia]

Well I wouldn't mind cutting wood when it's 90f,
just don't send me into the grown corn fields locating that torn dripper pipe!!!
Whew, we'd roll them 16mm dripper pipes back on them big rolls before harvest, some of them
were always making passionate love to some corn roots, then it goes SNAP! and you go S....T!!
Then you have to bad-mouth your way through hundreds of meters of corn jungle, cut by corn leaves,
smeared with dust, pollen and red fungus, bitten by insects and generally having a bad time.
I always felt like shouting at somebody when emerging out of the rows...

But I miss those tractor days...

SA

 

[TMFARM 2009]

i want to know who let Satan move in to phoenix? 107 deg today? who pissed god off?
oh and stay down there too dont come up north with that heat...

 

[Dalmatian90]

i want to know who let Satan move in to phoenix? 107 deg today? who pissed god off?

He aimed for Las Vegas, but his eyesight must be off in his old age

 

[CrappieKeith]

I realize that it's hard to believe that I have that much gathered so far. I'm the ant rather than the grasshopper. My collection is composed of mulberry, ash, hackberry, locust, elm, walnut, sycamore, and oak. I am now adding cottonwood for salt and pepper.

I have 14 rows that are each 20' long, 6' high, and 18" deep. Most is stacked on pallets. How many cords are thus now on board, mostly drying in the sun? I figure about 19.

I still need to split about 10 cords of elm and cottonwood that I collected last fall. Bark is falling off, so I figure it's about ready. I've also saved about a cord of chunks in a pile that were salvaged from crotch that was impossible to split. Can't stack the stuff, but it sure burns nicely. :msp_wink:

19.68 cords

 

[Blazin]

I have'nt started yet :msp_unsure:

 

[046]

HOT!!!

103 outside today, 105 tomorrow, 106 the day after with no end in sight.

 

[Valkyrie Rider]

I'd love to not cut anything in these temps!! Too bad my CT state wood lot is just getting around to starting and it's the hottest part of the year! Tomorrow (here in CT) the heat index is 110!! I still don't know why they do wood permits in the summer. At least last year I had my permit in late May and was done early July. They give you about a month to do the work. I'll get my permit likely this weekend or early next week. Worst timing possible, but was told if I don't take this one, I won't get a lot at all.

Also working a full time job and driving a long ways every week day.... the only time I have is weekends. Since this lot is in a secluded area I may start work at like 5:30-6am (I typically leave for work at 5am or earlier and I'm only 15 min or so from the lot, so it would be normal routine) and quit by noon if possible.

 

[MNTAINGAL23]

Another beautiful drizzly morning here at 58 degrees and supposed to get to 70 today. I feel sorry for all of you suffering in the heat. I will take this weather over the heat any day. It makes working in the yard on the wood pile nice and cool.

 

[mga]

i'll remember this thread next winter when every one is saying it's too cold out to cut wood.

 

[lone wolf]

HOT!!!

103 outside today, 105 tomorrow, 106 the day after with no end in sight.

Be careful there thats just to much .