# The laburnum tree



## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

It was huge

Taking all the light

But Albert and young Albert have thinned it 

Albert taught him knots to secure cut branches

He cut them

Young Albert secured cut branches to prevent them falling

It’s a macho thing 

But a 74 year old up high in a tree ?

Young Albert wanted to take his place 

No way

We would never forgive ourself if he fell 

But one day he won’t fall, he’s been taught by the best 

And together they have thinned that tree

Sandra


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

A 32 year old friend of ours, a university qualified Arborist killed himself when he fell from a tree a few years ago, easily done.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Tree surgery is one of the most dangerous jobs.

When you find out how to stop Albert do let me know......


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

79 year old not up a tree 🌳 he knows how to throw a rope over a branch, used to be first go, now sometimes takes 2 tries. Yesterday he cut down a plum tree and enjoyed doing it. Sometimes I have helped :grin2:

He has a special battery operated branch cutter that reaches a considerable height.

Here is the gadget, it cuts really thick branches, but this is just trimming off the smaller ones. He had cut big branches from a pear tree a few days before, but I didn't think to photograph that. If you have a lot of trees to thin Sandra, tell Albert to invest In one of these, It was an offer at Lidl, cost 59.99€ and He has used it dozens of times.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

WTF is Albert doing up a tree!!  I know he is made of steel but up a tree? Impressive though.

Ill tell you a story nobody will be interested in. When I was 17 me and my pal decided we would add "Tree Surgeons" to our business empire as my pals dad had a brand new chainsaw which we "borrowed" and offered to lop all the trees (of which there were many) in our local area. I wasnt daft though, as I owned the van (I also ran a mobile Disco) he got to go up the tree while I directed and shouted orders from the bottom (or sat on the rear of the van). We did alright at it actually but we did get carried away on my parents own Laburnum tree which we did for free to practice on. It never fully recovered and even now when I sometimes pass by it, it still looks a bit "Stumpy".

Tell Albert NOT to be climbing trees!!!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

He used a ladder and a chainsaw 

He was removing some thick branches to let through light but retain the shape of the tree

Lots of logs for the wood burner 

He’s well used to trees, he worked in the experimental orange groves in Israel 

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

aldra said:


> He used a ladder and a chainsaw
> 
> He was removing some thick branches to let through light but retain the shape of the tree
> 
> ...


He wasn't 74 then. 
They like to think of themselves as never getting too old to do what they have always done, it creeps up on them slowly Sandra, then one day he will try to lift something he's never had trouble lifting before and suddenly can´t.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

True

But he does what he does 

I have to trust that when he feels it’s no longer safe to do he’ll stop 

Meanwhile young Albert is growing proficient in using a chain saw safely

Just not at the top of a ladder on a tree yet

Sandra


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Having been around tree surgeons all my working life I can safely say that I've rarely met a whole one.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

He’s still whole Ernest :grin2:

Now busy cutting the logs for the wood burner 

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Hans is waiting for the petrol run chain saw to warm up a bit in the garage before he tries starting it, something he suddenly had difficulty doing because of a painful shoulder. He will then cut up what he cut down yesterday for our log fire which is outside :grin2:

or is it inside?


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

24 hours in A&E (TV doc) is full of old farts who have been doing things with ladders, as I am fond of reminding Chris! At least he has got a cherry picker now. It helps his knees.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Who amongst us has EVER had ANY success telling our old dear farts NOT to do something "they've been doing all their lives????" More luck f*rt*ng against thunder". (Yes me still cranky!)


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Sandra your thread header sounds like the title of a book!


BTW what about UK's plans to ban wood fires to help global warming. Yes, repeat the above expression of probable failure.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Our wood burning stove 

Is an efficient burner , meets all regulations 

It burns twice and minimises the release of fumes into the atmosphere
Also burns smokeless coal 

Cost a fortune 

We do our bit 

Have never bought wood

We collect it from felled trees 

And occasionally from Albert, balanced on a ladder, using a chain saw , to thin out branches from a laburnum tree :grin2::grin2:

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

My old fart has never needed telling, he is very safety conscious, for instance today I was in bovver for leaving one of our very sharp knives upside down on the worktop, if he cuts himself its not very funny you see. It´s also to do with his engineering background, he was always very safety aware, even though he broke a lot of rules that wouldn't have passed in a commercial workshop, he was always safe. 
You won't find any trailing electrical wires in the house either.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Truth is

We need to be safety conscious 

But we need to live

And melonoma became part of our lives 

And loads of his arm was cut away, time after time , lymph nodes removed 

A huge swollen arm , with lymphadeama 

That eventually it seems it’s found a way to reverse itself 

He just refused to treat it differently 

Refused to let it define his life 

And yes he could fall from a ladder, could be killed in a driving accident 

We live and take our chance 

And at 75, we’ll weve beaten the odds 

More would be good

But for many it was far less

Sandra


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

We found my 89y old Dad, with dementia, up on the garage roof with his walking stick, trying to cut new roofing felt with a Stanley knife.

There's no fool like an old fool.

Gordon


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Oh there is Gordon

A young fool is far worse >>

Sandra


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

I think the chances of getting Albert to take life even a small tad easier are about the same as a snob all in h*ll.....

It is difficult yo tell him to do less as, to him, being active is the reason for life....

He has always worked to live, not lived to work - to him it is as natural as putting his socks on.

Just remind him yo keep himself safe - he is important to you and to the rest of us and we want him around for years to come....


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Hell be here as long as he is 

Up trees or not

The melonoma is the problem

And he’s been so lucky

They gave him no time because of the depth of the original tumour 

Sure it had spread internally through lymph and blood 

But as yet it hasn’t 

Throughout his arm , yes 

But even that he’s managed to defeat 

By ignoring it 

And bored it’s decided to reverse itself 

His hand now equals his other hand 

His arm is larger but not by much 

So if he falls from a ladder , it was his choice 

Melanoma wasn't

Sandra


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Next door are completely removing their laburnum tree which overhangs our drive 

Alberts always kept it in shape but unfortunately most of the branches are on our side , and he wouldn’t ruin the tree by cutting half the branches away 

Beautiful in flower then for weeks after covers our van roof in a brown sludge of wet dead flowers 

We’ve never said anything,much as you may doubt it we are very much live and let live, but now they want to widen their drive so it’s coming down 

And we are getting the wood !

Laburnum is a beautiful wood ,with a dark centre, so most we will burn but some we will store for the day Albert gets his lathe back up and running 

And another skill and appreciation maybe young Albert will learn 

Sandra


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