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That time a 40-foot pine decided to sit down on a client's fence instead of the drop zone
Was doing a removal in a tight backyard in Bellingham, had the notch cut and everything lined up. A gust came through right as I made the back cut, and the whole thing twisted off the stump. It landed right across their brand new cedar fence, crushing a whole section. My ground guy just looked at me and said, 'Well, that's not ideal.' Spent the rest of the afternoon and half my profit for the job sourcing matching cedar and rebuilding it with the homeowner. Anyone have a good method for judging wind shear in a bowl-shaped yard? Felt like it came out of nowhere.
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the_harper1mo ago
Used to think a quick look at the treetops was enough. That exact same thing happened to me on a calm day in a sheltered spot. Now I always take a minute to tie a long ribbon or a piece of flagging tape high up in the tree before I even set my notch. Watching how that ribbon dances tells you what's really going on up there, not just what you feel on the ground. It showed me a steady breeze I couldn't feel at all. Changed my whole routine.
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elizabethmason1mo ago
Man, that's a gut punch. Did you have a chance to check the wind forecast for gusts specifically, or was it one of those days where it seemed totally calm at ground level? I've been fooled by that before, where the air is still down in a hole but the tops are getting rocked.
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