CHIT CHAT in VOLTVILLE

[awsum140]

There you go, a Greek making bombs, LOL, nowhere nearly as dangerous as a gun! On a trip like that a gun would be for protection only, not hunting or target practice. Kind of like making sure you have a spare tire and fix-a-flat as a backup. On second thought, most people actually have chemicals in their homes that, if improperly combined, can easily yield explosives, so you're not alone there.

I carried a gun for years. It was kind of a job requirement at the time, but I found out I like making holes in paper with them. I had to learn to shoot, and shoot accurately under stressed situations as well so I am very comfortable around them. Mrs. Awsum got interested, since I have them, and now she shoots as well. We don't get out to shoot as often as we'd like and the range is run by the Army on Fort Dix, so it's very safe compared to civilian ranges I've been at. A gun is not really dangerous, it's the wrong person with the gun in their hand that poses the danger.

JoAnn, there was an angel on your shoulder without a doubt, or, for the not so religious, fate or that third sense paid off for you. I can tell you a branch bigger than a half inch falling more than a few feet hurts at best and can kill easily.

 

[JoAnnW]

Whatever it was, I'm sure glad you moved on when you did. Those kinds of close calls can leave you shaking for a long time afterward.

Yes.. very shaky! Of course Spanky was oblivious to it all... being a dog. I never think to look up when walking under or near trees. There are lots around here but from now on, I think I will look to see if there are any loose hanging branches especially after heavy rains or windy days.

 

[awsum140]

Done with the clean-up and the guy rope is set at about twenty five feet for the next one, maybe tomorrow evening. Now on to setting up dinner and a quick vacuum.

 

[JoAnnW]

Done with the clean-up and the guy rope is set at about twenty five feet for the next one, maybe tomorrow evening. Now on to setting up dinner and a quick vacuum.

I know you know what you're doing but just be extra careful with that tree Awsum!

 

[Konstantine]

Nah! Mine are not dangerous terrorist stuff, it's pyrotechnics.
We will blow up with a sparkling pink, red, yellow, blue bling!

 

[SandySu]

There you go, a Greek making bombs, LOL, nowhere nearly as dangerous as a gun! On a trip like that a gun would be for protection only, not hunting or target practice. Kind of like making sure you have a spare tire and fix-a-flat as a backup. On second thought, most people actually have chemicals in their homes that, if improperly combined, can easily yield explosives, so you're not alone there.

I carried a gun for years. It was kind of a job requirement at the time, but I found out I like making holes in paper with them. I had to learn to shoot, and shoot accurately under stressed situations as well so I am very comfortable around them. Mrs. Awsum got interested, since I have them, and now she shoots as well. We don't get out to shoot as often as we'd like and the range is run by the Army on Fort Dix, so it's very safe compared to civilian ranges I've been at. A gun is not really dangerous, it's the wrong person with the gun in their hand that poses the danger.

JoAnn, there was an angel on your shoulder without a doubt, or, for the not so religious, fate or that third sense paid off for you. I can tell you a branch bigger than a half inch falling more than a few feet hurts at best and can kill easily.

A gun isn't inherently dangerous, but there seem to be a lot of wrong people with them in their hands. I think my fear of guns started when I was very little. My parents had a gun case with my uncle's gun collection in it. They were historical guns or something, not for practical use. I remember a pair of pearl-handled dueling pistols that I found particularly attractive. The pearl handles were so pretty! The metal part was silver, with intricate engraving. I used to stare through the glass front of the gun case at them. I guess that made my parents nervous, because they lectured me strongly about never touching guns, how they can kill people, etc. I doubt these guns were loaded, but I guess my parents wanted to be sure I didn't touch them, or maybe it was just a chance to lecture me on not playing with guns. I think those lectures struck the kind of terror in a small child that stays with you all your life. So I am afraid of guns, not because they are bad but because of early childhood lectures. I tried to overcome my aversion a few times by firing guns when people had them, and though I forced myself to do it, I was inwardly cringing every minute. I'm just not cut out to be packing.

 

[SandySu]

I know you know what you're doing but just be extra careful with that tree Awsum!

Says the voice of experience!

 

[Konstantine]

Says the voice of experience!

tree falls on my house - YouTube
Tree Trimming accident - YouTube
Cut tree hits house - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVkt_Ve70Ic

 

[SandySu]

tree falls on my house - YouTube
Tree Trimming accident - YouTube
Cut tree hits house - YouTube
How NOT to cut down a three - YouTube

Are you trying to scare us?

 

[SandySu]

How many of you watched the Mickey Mouse Club when you were kids? I did. And I've sometimes wondered what happened to the Mouketeers. Here's a neat video telling about their lives as kids on the show and you can see what they look like now and what they turned out to do. The Mickey Mouse Club Story (Complete) - YouTube

 

[Konstantine]

Are you trying to scare us?

Nope, the opposite.

 

[awsum140]

Nah! Mine are not dangerous terrorist stuff, it's pyrotechnics.
We will blow up with a sparkling pink, red, yellow, blue bling!

The operative words being "blow up"

tree falls on my house - YouTube
Tree Trimming accident - YouTube
Cut tree hits house - YouTube
How NOT to cut down a three - YouTube

Lets see, in the first one I didn't see any guy rope, and I really didn't see a notch cut to help the tree fall the right way. The second one they had no idea what they were doing or the physics involved in cutting down a tree leaning in the wrong direction. They did use a guy rope, but apparently didn't pull as the final cut was made to get the tree moving in the right direction and hearing that comment about no real damage made me laugh. I saw a limb penetrate the roof all the way to the trunk.

Those last two are just plain dumb. Using a chain saw while standing on a ladder is not a smart idea in the first place. In the third one the guy should have started the cut from the bottom and cut about a third of the way up, then cut down from the top to complete the cut and make it cut cleanly so the limb dropped rather than hinged on itself. The last one needed a guy rope being pulled.

When I take these trees down, I'm on the ground. Tension is maintained on the guy rope by pulling forward with my Jeep in four wheel drive low gear, and that is well out of the way of the area where the tree will fall. Mrs. Awsum drives the Jeep and watches what's going on and I give her the high sign to hit the gas harder and yank hard to make it fall where we want it to. When it starts to go, I retreat at right angels to the direction of the fall to make sure I'm clear as well. In terms of danger to me operating the saw, it's more dangerous cutting them up once they're on the ground.

 

[Tail11]

Afternoon volties! Whisper and I had a mommy/daughter day yesterday. We took a ride to Mt Hamilton (East of San Jose) to the Lick Observatory. It was a wonderful day, warm and sunny. The roads were full of twisties and Whisper enjoyed the entire day. We stopped at a little roadside diner for lunch. Here's a few pictures of our day:

The main observatory:

The hills won't be green for much longer:

And a cute photo of an old stove pipe made into art:

 

[Tail11]

Good morning/afternoon Volties. I just got back from a very interesting walk with Spanky. It's kind of overcast windy cool today and we were walking near a rather large tree, Spanky was taking his time sniffing around the base of it. I sort of dragged him away to continue our walk when all of a sudden, a very large branch came crashing down right where we were. We were still close enough that one of the tiny branches scraped the back of my coat, that's how close we were. Needless to say, it scared the stew beans out of me! I walked back to it and couldn't even lift it. Well... all I can say is Thank God because I don't believe I would be here now to tell you about my experience. Sooo close but far enough away....

How scary JoAnn! I'm glad you and Spanky moved before it came down. I'm usually looking at the sidewalk making sure I don't trip over anything when I go for a walk. Now I'm going to look up and down!!!! Your instincts are working, always listen to them!

Another cheesecake without cheese here too. No guns in my house and my hubby is a retired police officer.

No guns here either. I grew up with them but never had the itch to purchase any. I rarely ever have children in my home, but I would not want to be responsible for an accident.

I do however, keep a baseball bat beside my bed...

 

[awsum140]

An interesting factoid...more people are bludgeoned to death than killed by guns.

Tail, this is when I really envy you being out there in California. That is some gorgeous scenery. If that was around here, I'd never get anything done, I'd be too busy out riding and taking pictures all day.

 

[Tail11]

An interesting factoid...more people are bludgeoned to death than killed by guns.

Tail, this is when I really envy you being out there in California. That is some gorgeous scenery. If that was around here, I'd never get anything done, I'd be too busy out riding and taking pictures all day.

That's why I keep a bat around!!!

I do love it here, except that Whisper and I are allergy sufferers. Central California is one of the worst areas for allergies. She scratches and I sneeze!

I don't really stop riding during the winter. There are some good days to get a quick ride in. The temps have been in the 70's all week. Perfect riding weather for us. I wish I'd taken the whole week off!

 

[Tail11]

Speaking of Jeeps. My 95 Cherokee is still going after all these years. Have you seen the new 2014 reintroduced Cherokee? It's very ugly IMHO.
2014 Jeep Cherokee Revealed Ahead Of 2013 New York Auto Show

 

[abracadebra]

Good morning/afternoon Volties. I just got back from a very interesting walk with Spanky. It's kind of overcast windy cool today and we were walking near a rather large tree, Spanky was taking his time sniffing around the base of it. I sort of dragged him away to continue our walk when all of a sudden, a very large branch came crashing down right where we were. We were still close enough that one of the tiny branches scraped the back of my coat, that's how close we were. Needless to say, it scared the stew beans out of me! I walked back to it and couldn't even lift it. Well... all I can say is Thank God because I don't believe I would be here now to tell you about my experience. Sooo close but far enough away....

geez joann...falling on your knee few weeks back...now a branch nearly falling on you...some message there about falling....im very symbolic...ive found often things that happen to me ...have some other reason.....but that's me..im glad your safe...and still with us..

 

[abracadebra]

How scary JoAnn! I'm glad you and Spanky moved before it came down. I'm usually looking at the sidewalk making sure I don't trip over anything when I go for a walk. Now I'm going to look up and down!!!! Your instincts are working, always listen to them!



No guns here either. I grew up with them but never had the itch to purchase any. I rarely ever have children in my home, but I would not want to be responsible for an accident.

I do however, keep a baseball bat beside my bed...

I keep a huge knife....you know like paul Hogan had in.....Crocodile Dundee...True..

 

[JoAnnW]

How scary JoAnn! I'm glad you and Spanky moved before it came down. I'm usually looking at the sidewalk making sure I don't trip over anything when I go for a walk. Now I'm going to look up and down!!!! Your instincts are working, always listen to them!



No guns here either. I grew up with them but never had the itch to purchase any. I rarely ever have children in my home, but I would not want to be responsible for an accident.

I do however, keep a baseball bat beside my bed...

I'm so happy that you and Whisper enjoyed yesterday. Those pictures are wonderful to see... such beautiful scenary!

We keep a baseball bat handy as well. Hubby could have kept his service revolver but he knew how I always felt about it and turned it in when he retired. I hate the thought of using a baseball bat on anyone but at least it makes us feel better to have something that is not a weapon that could be used as one if called for.

From now on, I will definitely be checking for loose or hanging tree branches before walking under one. It will be easy to see now because they are still pretty bare.