Scare

[turnkey4099]

I about sludged my shorts. working in a grove of dead and dying B. Locust cutting up one of the down ones when I hear the "snap, pop, crack" of a tree starting to fall right near me. Took a quick look to see which way was the exit. Nope, not a tree coming down but the stump of a downed one I had cut up a week ago standing back up. Took a bit to get the heart rate down to countable level. I did get two more 20" diameter rounds off of it since they were now up out of the dirt.

Was the first really nice day all spring temps low 70s then, 78 now. Decided to make a quick trip to pick up the log I was working on (small but got a 1/3 load out of it) for some weight over the wheels then proceed on to a dead locust snag I felled two years ago. Wasn't able to pull it off the hill then. Chained it up and tried but no good, Cut it in thirds and pulled it down to the road. Had planned to cut it up too but I was already played out. Left it to cut up at some later date.



Harry K

 

[zogger]

They are scary when they stand up. I learned my lesson on one. Now when I start on a blowdown I get some logs and prop that rootball up good. Then I cut it off and work the tree.

 

[philoshop]

Zombie trees, yikes. Our only defense is a chainsaw and a stove. :msp_scared:

 

[H 2 H]

It's a different sound they make when that happens

 

[jdc123]

Old feller told me once to make the stump cut on a blowdown first, and get the standing-up over with when you are expecting it. You have to use a wedge or prop it with a block of wood, usually, to keep from pinching the saw. And I mean "feller" in the generic sense.

 

[Twindad]

I was bucking a blown down oak recently and was kind of expecting it to stand up when I cut the butt log, but it didn't. I continued to work my way up the tree. When I came back to the stump, it was standing up! Didn't see it or hear it stand, but it happened within minutes of being cut. It was a little unnerving.

 

[rarefish383]

A year or 2 back there was a post in the injuries and fatalities forum, grandfather was cutting a blow down up and his grandson was playing in the hole when it stood up, could not save him.

We had a monster Oak blow down on my buddies garden Easter morning. He had me come over after dinner and limb up all the brush and clear the garden. We knew the rest would sit a couple weeks till we could get back to it. There was about a 20' section of trunk, a good 30" where we stopped cutting, on the ground when we left. It stood up. Later in the week a University of Maryland college student was doing water samples on the creek the tree was growing on. She called DNR and told them we cut down a large green tree. On the phone they didn't believe us. When the tree went over it pulled great big long roots out of the sandy soil. When they came out to investigate, it was obvious the roots had been pulled out when the tree went over, and then sat back down with them sticking out. We all had a good laugh at the expense of the college kid, Joe.