ASPLUNDH crew thanks the AS folks

[Trinity Honoria]

this morning, 3 ASPLUNDH bucket trucks and 1 p/u truck lined my street... suddenly, i heard them incredibly close... i stepped out on the front porch and WOOPS! all the branches were off a tree in the yard across the street... even at the distance, it looked like they'd done sloppy work as i could see bark peeled off the trunk where it had ripped off as the limbs had been dropped... i stood and watched-- well, there was no need for neatness as they proceeded to take the entire tree down...

and i wait the tree owner's discovery later... a disturbance in the force will be experienced...

anway, why do they owe you thanks? 1. i didn't go near them, just watched from my porch (previous thread talked about idiot bystanders get too close);
2. i realized they were cutting around the electrical wires (public outcry after recent ice storm & prolonged power outage); and 3. i was able to just observe, without being a PITA...

fascinating watching them take care of the equipment: a man sharpening a blade after using it, the maneuvering of the bucket around the wires, the immediate collecting of equiment, storing it properly, etc... i know this is the ordinary for most of you here, but just fascinating to watch-- and due to the education here, had a general idea of what was going on...

 

[Trinity Honoria]

When i first looked out and saw a butchered tree in my neighbor-the-architect's yard, i was gasping-- i could only imagine how i would feel if i came home and saw one of my pecans or dogwoods slaughtered without me knowing anyone was even going to LOOK at them... then as i watched, i became thankful the utility wires are across the street... so my yard was safe...

then one of the fellas was in the bucket, using a saw on a pole (never saw that before, so i watched)... after he lowered the bucket a bit, tied a rope to the still-standing-trunk, then returned the bucket to it's 'sleeping postion' on the truck... by then, someone was walking to the trunk with a saw, another fella grabbed the rope... etc so it was just one thing after another... and i was able to watch without being in anyone's way...

and why would i be watching the guys when i have the opportunity to pass the time with all you wonderful AS dudes??? also, Steve, apparently you haven't yet captured the reason i am here anyway: learning things i know nothing about is always a delight... i knew nothing when i came on AS; now i know a mere smidgen... and instead of reading descriptions, i was able to watch...

so, no trolling here... simply watching men/women active in their profession...

 

[04ultra]

Good answer .. LOL you can never learn enough.. V-Good site..



Steve

 

[treeseer]

the real issue is, by what criteria are decisions made to remove trees? After storms there is a kneejerk political reaction to slaughter anything that looks suspicious, and a lot of bad decisions can be made by people trying to do good but not knowing about tree risk.

 

[Trinity Honoria]

the real issue is, by what criteria are decisions made to remove trees? After storms there is a kneejerk political reaction to slaughter anything that looks suspicious, and a lot of bad decisions can be made by people trying to do good but not knowing about tree risk.

these guys were traveling up the street, cutting along the utility lines... i will assume they were subcontracting for Duke Power... they weren't cutting for individuals, that's for sure...

BUT one thing i noticed was that they left all kinds of "shrub" growth on the electric lines... not trees, but overgrown tall shrubs...

 

[Redbull]

I wouldn't worry about your friend coming home to find his tree gone. He probably had to sign a release for that tree to be removed.

 

[Trinity Honoria]

I wouldn't worry about your friend coming home to find his tree gone. He probably had to sign a release for that tree to be removed.

he's not a friend... he's a neighbor who is better than i am; he never ceases to let me know...

historically, the sub-contractors for the local power company just come along and cut... no releases...

 

[skwerl]

Trin,
The power company contractors only clear the power lines. They don't bother with the phone and cable TV lines. Phone and cable are the bottom 2 lines, power lines are on insulators. Shrubs growing up into the phone line doesn't affect them or their job.

They also won't cut off a dead limb 11' from the wires since they are only contracted to cut everythnig within their 10' 'zone' around the power lines (bigger zone for higher voltage lines).

 

[Trinity Honoria]

Trin,
The power company contractors only clear the power lines. They don't bother with the phone and cable TV lines. Phone and cable are the bottom 2 lines, power lines are on insulators. Shrubs growing up into the phone line doesn't affect them or their job.

They also won't cut off a dead limb 11' from the wires since they are only contracted to cut everythnig within their 10' 'zone' around the power lines (bigger zone for higher voltage lines).

ok, that makes sense with the tree across the street-- the pole it was next to has one of the large cylinder thingys...

 

[Kate Butler]

cylinder thingy

Transformer. I watched a transformer blow and catch the tree that had fallen into it on fire - amazing colors, balls of fire, the whole pyrotechnic spectrum (no pun intended). It was like watching special effects in a movie.

 

[dingo]

I live on a rural electric line and they get all scared yearly about trees and electrical cables. One walnut tree was bothering a couple of young guys and they wanted to cut the tree. I had a crew on the road and didn't want to be late so I told the cutters to deck the tree and not worry about trimming it. It was not close enough to the lines to get spooked about. My feller could fall it with no problem, but we were in oak timber and running hard.
I was following the foreman when I noticed he was stopped over the next hill and was out of the truck. I arrived and couldn't help but see what he was looking at. The jokers had cut the walnut and didn't trim it, but the stump was five foot tall. They must of cut it with a step ladder. I learned right then and there not to let them cut any logs again. They weren't even power company employees, they were contracted by the power company to cut brush out of the right of way, so recouping the loss was a waste of time.