Hit tree number 500 in my career last Tuesday... didn't even realize till I checked my log

I've been climbing and cutting for about 8 years now, mostly residential stuff around Portland. I count every tree I take down or prune heavy, and 500 seemed like a big round number I should have noticed coming. But I just checked my notebook on a whim and there it was, tree 500 was that big dying maple on Belmont Street. Made me think about all the close calls and near misses along the way, and how easy it is to get complacent when you're just grinding through jobs. Any of you guys keep a count of how many trees you've worked on?

3 comments

3 Comments

river_thompson5d ago

Count em if you want but I stopped keeping a log after about 200 trees. The numbers game gets in your head and that's when you slip up. I'd rather focus on the next cut than look back at some notebook. Your point about complacency is the real takeaway here though.

lucashenderson5d ago

500 trees and still got all ten fingers? Impressive.

rosepark5d ago

lol @lucashenderson the "all ten fingers" part got me. That's honestly the biggest flex in this whole post. I've been around enough old-timers with missing digits to know that 500 trees is no joke. You must have some serious chainsaw control and a whole lot of patience. Most people I know would have at least one close call halfway through that many cuts. Good on you for keeping your hands safe while getting the work done.