Those branches had it coming! They should have known that I have been sitting (figuratively)on a well-oiled Homelite chainsaw that’s been itching to cut into something! Sure, the last time I tried to use it to cut some branches, the retaining ring and the associated washer that kept the chain in place flew off and dislodged the chain. Then I had to spend a good 2 hours brushing through the grass with a magnet in the hopes of finding these needles-in-a-haystack. In any case, I finally managed to put it all together with the help of spare parts that I found on Amazon with great difficulty.
The branches of these backyard trees had been a nuisance for a while and I had to do tricky maneuvers while mowing the lawn, in order to not get poked in the eyes.
Today was a perfect sunny day for me to take care of it. So, I managed to run the long power cord to that area and fire up the chainsaw, and was happy that it started easily (considering the trouble I had with it the last time). I quickly cut the small branches and the chainsaw was going through these like a hot knife through butter. I was just about to declare victory on one of the thicker branches, when the weight of the bending branch jammed the chain. Yikes! That’s when it occurred to me that a professional would have cut from the top and not from below, while standing under it! Duh! 🤦🏽 Now, the 10 pound chainsaw got wedged solid in the branch that was 90% cut and would not budge, no matter how much I tried to wiggle it.
After much thought and safety planning (which should have been done before I started wielding the chainsaw like a horror movie villain), I went back out with a step ladder, some twine and a steel bow saw. Once freed from the branch, I knew that the chainsaw would come crashing down to the ground or even land on me. So, I safely tied it up to another branch with the twine. Next, I positioned the ladder across from the chainsaw and cut through the remaining branch gently. After a few minutes of this, the branch gave way and the chainsaw was freed. I was very pleased that the twine held up quite well… even though it did come dangerously close to me, like a pendulum, and almost turned me Jewish! 😊
Thank god (actually Home Depot!) for giving me these powerful tools to play with, so that I can pretend to be useful around the house! Thankfully I was also bestowed with just enough wisdom to use them safely and wisely and not risk chopping any limbs off (or give myself an unintended bris! 😊)
RecoveringNostalgic 