Our work is pretty rough, actually.

[Sunrise Guy]

I think many of us don't stop to think about just how rough it is until we see how it effects newbies. I recently went through a couple of new ground guys. One fellow, 23, put in about an hour and then I found him laying flat on the ground, literally. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "Miles, I think I'm having some kind of stroke. I don't feel good. I'm real dizzy." After a half hour in the truck with some water and the AC running, he made it to the end of the day. A few days ago this other guy showed up for his first day. After he charged in and really hustled for the first hour, I looked over at him and saw that he was white as a ghost. I asked him if he was OK and he shook his head, no. I talked to him for a bit and told him to take it easy for the next fifteen. He started up after that, but then took a break, again, and threw up. After another fifteen or more, he got back in the swing of things and lasted out the day. He is ready to go, for tomorrow, or so he told me, today.

Now, Dan, my right-hand man, and I are older guys, no doubt about it. At 58 and 55, we probably should be sitting in the office or out selling gigs instead of swinging in the trees and hauling brush. Thing is, we like the physical work. Crucial with that, though, we know how to pace ourselves in this 95+ weather down here, and we know when to grab the water bottle.

I tell new guys to not push too hard and to be mindful of taking water breaks before they feel drained. I think because those guys are mostly less than half our age they figure that if the old guys can do the work, how hard can it be?

I'm sure genetics plays in here, too. Both of us come from families that had guys working right into their eighties. Will I be climbing and rigging down big wood when I'm eighty? I kind of doubt it, but you never know.

 

[rmihalek]

Sunrise,

I did some work with a friend a few weeks ago in 85-90 degree heat. I drank a gallon of water before lunch, had a quart of gatorade during lunch and more water after lunch. I never had to pee: I sweated it all out and it was GREAT! I love the work- there's nothing like having sweat pouring out of every pore and you're getting the job done.

I guess some the newbies are realizing that real work is a lot different than playing video games or walking around the mall looking for chicks...

 

[custom8726]

The biggest thing I noticed about :newbie's is they generally work twice as hard to accomplish less. It takes time and a strong desire to succeed to make the tree industry your career but with time hopefully you will work more with your aquired skills then your back. Problem is most of the newer generation lack the intestinal fortitude to make it to the smarter not harder stage of there career.

 

[Nailsbeats]

I work with guys all day that really know how to work. Guys that don't cut it get laughed out of the county. You have to be a worker, have it in your blood, your mind and your eyes. Nothing I like better than seing a group of guys pull together, go in an all out hustle and complete a job. I thrive in that environment, many don't. It takes all kinds, if there wasn't a bottom there wouldn't be a top, someone has to flip burgers.

Good point Custom, many don't make it past the first stage in these types of jobs. Balls come first, figure the rest out later.

 

[TDunk]

I have to agree with you Sunrise, guys that have been doing that type of work for decades know how to pace them selves. Plus the muscles they need are already built up, there use to the type of work being done etc. etc. etc. Point being, my father-in-law is 50 and has been doing tree work since high school. I'm 24 and have been doing tree work for 3 years. I'm finally to the point now that i can work at his pace all day long.

By the way though, there's nothing wrong with going to the mall and looking for chicks

 

[Sunrise Guy]

Sunrise,

I did some work with a friend a few weeks ago in 85-90 degree heat. I drank a gallon of water before lunch, had a quart of gatorade during lunch and more water after lunch. I never had to pee: I sweated it all out and it was GREAT! I love the work- there's nothing like having sweat pouring out of every pore and you're getting the job done.

I guess some the newbies are realizing that real work is a lot different than playing video games or walking around the mall looking for chicks...

Yeah, well said! Dan and I were just talking about how much water and powerade we drink during the day, yet we never have to take a single restroom break. I think your body has to "learn" to sweat efficiently to keep cool. Maybe that's a problem new guys have until they start sweating to the same degree (pun?) as those of us who have been at it for a good bit.

 

[JeffL]

Yeah, you dont really stop to think about it much for sure. Today was a real scorcher, had a few guys just about drop at work. Had them go take all the time they needed in the shade, and told them to keep on putting water in themselves. I've spent nearly every summer outside since I started working at 15 years old (so at my ripe old age of 25, that puts me at 10 summers, through all the hot, humid, rainy, dry, windy #### of it all).

I guess you just get used to it, and cant really appreciate how hard it really is. Hell, I'm almost bored at work after doing a day of planting or something, I'm NOT EVEN SORE when I get home, it feels like such a waste to get home after a day of work and not even be exhausted.

 

[oldirty]

hey i like work'n hard too!

 

[custom8726]

hey i like work'n hard too!

X2, you kinda have to in our field. No matter how much experience you posess its still a very physically demanding proffession it just does'nt seem so grueling once you get in the groove of things.

 

[extraspecialman]

kinda off topic,and I apologize,but I live in farm country and do alot of custom work for farmers around here,including lots of custom baling.They will pay me pretty good for using my tractor and square baler,all I do is sit on my butt and drive.While they want to pay the young kids $20 a day for slingin bales in 90 degree heat .Now im not saying in anyway that you guys dont pay enuff,cause I have no idea what yall pay.I agree 100% the younger guys cant keep up with older guys ,but many times,they really have no reason to. Lots of kids out there just need some incentive,while lots more just need their a$$es kicked away from the video games.

 

[Slvrmple72]

You learn to work hard. I was splittin wood at home and my little 3 yr old boy was watching me run the splitter. I put some hearing protection and safety glasses on him and he would hang on that splitter lever while I fed the logs. He loved it! I think I won't have to worry too much about him being a hard worker when he gets older. Now teaching him to be a smarter worker not just a harder worker than his old man will be the real challenge. Some heads are harder than others, I know I was a tough nut to crack as a teenager. Twice as much effort to do half as much work because I was to darn stubborn to listen or take constructive criticism.

 

[ropensaddle]

Funny ya brought this up I remember all the help over the years and
one ole boy comes to mind. In all outward appearances he was fit as
a fiddle and bragged and said he worked on the farm etc. He was 22
and I 41 at the time and I will give him credit he tried to keep up. He
found me relentless and I was just working my normal pace when he
collapsed and I was surprised. Took him to see the doc and when he
came back I told him to get to shade several times each day. He did
not want to listen much though so I actually had to stop to keep him
from overheating! He quit after a few weeks said the work was too ruff
for him and I found out later he was taking steroids and weightlifting
trying to build up

 

[M.D. Vaden]

The roughness of this work came to mind last night. Not sure if you saw my post in off-topic about joining 24 hour fitness.

But when trying to decide how long to exercise, I realized that the profession I'm in affects how long of a work-out to choose.

For people working, I tend to find the branch hauling as something that wears-down workers faster than say moving piles of soil or sod for lawn installation. Even though any of those can be paced.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

The biggest thing I noticed about :newbie's is they generally work twice as hard to accomplish less

Especially the one stick at a time drag to the chipper

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

But when trying to decide how long to exercise, I realized that the profession I'm in affects how long of a work-out to choose.

That it does, and one often needs help figuring out what to actually do.

I've been investing time and money in seeing a PT clinic since my back is so screwed up, and it has been helping tremendously. I've found that the front part of my neck is over developed compared to the back, due to leaning forward with the helmet on, and there are many locked muscles on the inside.

That deep massage can curl the toes!

 

[ropensaddle]

Especially the one stick at a time drag to the chipper

No not on my watch and if the try it those sticks will get much bigger

 

[tree md]

Funniest thing, Last Summer me and my partner hired a grad student to work with us and he made a great start coming out of the gate. He was 29, ex KU football player and power lifter. I am 39 and my partner is 46. We had several trees to remove from a property and the temp was 106 that day. That morning the guy was running to load brush and logs and saying come on pops to me and my partner. By noon I was cutting and loading a small tree from a creek bank on the HO's property and noticed that Mr. piss and vinegar had disappeared on me. I hollered for him and my partner hollered back to me that he was stroking out on us. I walked up to the house to find him on his back laying in the shade on the deck. I was too worried about him at the time to make any wise cracks as he was ghost white but as soon as he recovered I made a point of telling him to get it in gear pops . That was the last day he worked with us.

 

[JeffL]

Funny this thread was just posted. We had one guy in pretty rough shape yesterday, we made him sit in the shade for awhile yesterday and made sure he was hydrating himself. Kept complaining of dizziness and lightheaded, pale as a ghost.

He came in today, apparently by 930 this morning he was puking nonstop and ended up falling asleep in the truck and stayed there all day. Poor bastard. He wasnt with my crew today, but the few guys I had with me today I made sure to remind them constantly to go take a few minutes out of the sun and put some water in themselves.

"But I'm not thirsty." Well by the time you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated nimrod!

 

[Sunrise Guy]

The (formerly) puking guy showed up today and did a great job. He took breaks with us, for water, and every hour, or so, he hosed himself down using the garden hose. He kept up with us and will be back, tomorrow. I give him credit for adjusting so well, today. I'm sure my taking the time to give him some tips about hydrating and then asking him, fairly often, how he was feeling, showed him that I actually cared about him as an individual. He's a good guy, knows his trees, and I hope he hangs in there. As he is a surveyor looking for full-time work, he'll probably be gone in another few days. The better ones sure seem to come and go pretty quickly. The losers hang around until you can 'em.

 

[silk]

I remember the first week on the job as the new brush mule I could not believe how hot the slash pants were and my boots filled up so fast I thought I had jumped into knee deep water.

The guys were as mean as hell to me, making me buck down this stump that was held together by GIANT black ants. They were in my mouth, ears and nose.

The dude who delivered the pizza for lunch would not come near me to collect money with all the ants crawling on me.

the look on his face was enough to have me smiling inside all day long.

When we have new ground crew in training we are lucky to have 2 out of 10 stay past the first week.

To do this job for the long haul you must have soul of a draft horse