pinned

Making an undercut served two purposes.Number one,it pretty much made sure that my speed saw would not get pinched or pinned in it's cut.But reason number two was the much better reason because-*snap*-it made the branch break off oh so much more nicely.

Platinum

I loved my speed saw.It's curved blade had humped through many a limb for me(someday I should platinum plate it and hang it on my wall:-).I made my undercut...

Favored

Some tree trimmers favored the 'speed' saw,others the chain saw.I used the appropriate tool for the appropriate situation.This limb called for the speed saw."Sh-ling!"-I pulled it from it's sheath.

Copy

The movement I made next was a carbon copy of every other time I tied a limb off using a bowline:pull the rope back to me with the pruner,untie the bowline and retie it into a running bowline,pull it tight;get ready to cut.

Interest

I jiggled my pruner pole out to the end of the limb.I dropped the bowline right down were I wanted it.Most guys didn't bother bringing along the pruner,but I figured that the time and energy that it saved made it worth it's weight in gold,plus interest.

Retreat to Sanity

I don't know,maybe it was joy,maybe it was just to keep my sanity,but I loved to sing in the trees.I started in on 'The Boss',<"No retreat baby....No surrender.">

Unto A Captive Audience

But that was just caution talking unto my carefree nature.And my carefree nature was a captive audience.Just because I was in a groove did not mean I should be running on auto-pilot.Pay attention-I always say-do it right.

Horizon

I smiled as I tied a small bowline and hooked it's knot over my pruner head.This was as close to the mythical Shangri-La-the perfect city from the novel,'Lost Horizon',as I would ever get{and it scared me-it felt just like the other shoe was going to drop}.

Sands

I chunked off a small branch,and tossed it.The proper thing to yell in such cases is,"Headache!",But I had just watched 'The Sands of Iwo Jima',starring John Wayne as Sgt.Stryker,so I copied him,and yelled,"Grenade!Hit the deck." Nik looked up,and scrambled to safety.

Content

In a man's world ,we were both perfectly content to'look the other way'.In fact,over beers,later on we would probably both laugh at our mutual folly.

Withheld

I withheld from Nik the fact that I stupidly left my pruner pole way up in the top of the tree....Just like he had withheld from me that he didn't bring back the big saw the start cutting the fallen log.I started climbing/spurring back up to save us both face.

Chess

By wiggled the rope,Nikolas signaling to me that it was free.Sometimes,tree work was like a good game of chess:move-counter move:plan 'A'turns into plan 'B'.Beware of the 'X'-factor.It was what made tree trimming dangerous,yet,fun.

Adapt

Nik untied my cloth hitch.Some trimmers ran the running bowline,but it got so tight it was hard to untie.I always told Nik that he could learn from everyone.Adapt what worked for him,and throw away the rest.

Melt

The half-wrap is what saved the day.I've seen Chris Miller run some big pieces so fast that the nylon rope would be smoking as he ran it.Parts of the rope would actually melt!A cool trick except for the wear and tear and the shit he would rip up.

Opaque

As Nik slowly started lowering the giant limb he hollered up to me,"If you'll excuse this opaque reference,'Holy shit,batman-Damn!'"

Relief

To Nik's relief,my first cut went according to plan(actually,to my relief as well).While the the tree was still shaking,I told him to start letting the monster piece down.

Grounds

...I pull my chain saw out and begin my back cut,"Hold it!" I yell as I hammer it.*PoP*!The large trunk snaps free!It swings!It falls!Falls!#Ss-th-ink#!It grounds to a halt!Moments from my feet!"Perfect!"I scream,"Perfect!"

Fliter

When it comes to tree trimmers-the size of one's gonads is the best way to filter the the wheat from the shaft:the best from the rest.I don't consider myself one of the best,but I do use their bold moves.I start my undercut...

Alarm

I told Nik to grab hold of the pull rope and take a half wrap around a smaller tree.He saw how high up I had tied off and looked at me with alarm.I repelled down to the bottom of the limb,and fired up my tree saw,"Don't worry,"I grinned,"She'll go.Just hold on to her."

Sage

I*sighed*.While I did not consider myself to be an old sage,I definitely thought of myself as an'old school' thinker.Within the past decade,tree equipment technology had advanced leaps and bounds.I had tried most of it,and,it was easier...yet,I just felt more comfortable and at home with my older stuff.

Moonlight

Another song written by Nik on'The Cranberry Toes' playlist was a tune called ,'Wear wolf'.<"She only shopped by moonlight/in the hottness of the day/hunting for a bargin/keeping the hunger at bay/Aaah Ooooh she is the wear wolf/aaah Oooo look how much I saved/shopping like a corperate raider/forgetting the lay-a-way/bought the blouse at half price/look how little I paid/Aah Oooh aaaa aaah aaaH chew!">I was only half aware that I was tying a limb to be off roped.

Astonish

I quickly learned how Nik could really astonish me with his wit and wisdom.He created a song about Vic Morrow called, 'Vic Doesn't Wear Hats Now' that just blew me away.It went,"Vic doesn't wear hats now/He just doesn't use 'em/Vic doesn't wear hats now/He just doesn't need 'em/Vic,[there's no to] Morrow/Vic[There's no to]Morrow!'.I loved it,and now found myself singing it up in the trees.

Frugal

Nik was both the(left handed) bassist for his band and the lead singer,but he was not the main writer for the group.He wanted to change that.I encouraged him to let his mind become more open to the poetry already contained within his brain.Very quickly Nikolas became less and less frugal with his lyrics and form,and was singing his new material to me all the time.

Toes, Cranberry, Keys, Wedding, Smile, Letter Opener

I had to smile.Nikolas was in a punk rock group called,'The Cranberry Toes'.One time,while I was with Nik,I had used my keys as a letter opener on a wedding invitation.It was from one of our tree buddies named Oscar.Oscar had wanted Nik's band to play at his reception,but only if they knew some polkas.So,I taught him some.That was when he started singing out loud at work.

phantasmagoria

In answer to my song I heard Nikolas reply with his own>"Phantasmagoria-Ga-ga-Ga-Gloria-Seeing things-in the clouds/Reverting-vertigo-upside down/RonaldMcDonald'sClown/flyingSupermanThroughTown/Daa da da da daa/Daa da da da daa/Phantasmagoria-Ga-ga-Ga-Gloria.">Sometimes,I didn't know why I encouraged him.

Beyond

I plopped the bowline down well beyond the crotch,and it fell almost directly to me.I hooked it with my speedsaw,and brought it into me to untie.">Ready to go, willin' to stay and pay U.S.A., U.S.A.So my sweet love can dance another free day U.S.A., U.S.A.<"I found myself happily singing my little ditty again.

Idea

I lopped the end of my rope with the bowline over the end of my pruner.The idea was to poke it up through the 'better' crotch above me,and handle all of my roping work from there.

Golden

[As I made a quick bowline at the end of my rope.]I swear I am easy to entertain.I know that the silver maple is called a silver because of the sheen of the underside of it's leaves,but I couldn't help but chuckle at my own stupid thoughts,anyway.Was the silver maple called a silver because it was a second rate maple tree?If so,then why wasn't there a golden maple?There were red maples,norway maples,japanese,papermark,and of course sugar maples.They all either glowed orange or 'golden' in the autumn...Maple syrup was sometimes called golden...so why isn't there a golden maple tree?