whadja do today?

[jefflovstrom]

wow, I ain't saying nothing!
Jeff

 

[treebilly]

I'll say it.
It was a cold, snowy, windy, beautiful day.

 

[mike515]

It was around -5 with a -26 wind chill when we rolled out this morning. We were sweating by the time it was 2 degrees. Probably sweating before that but it was 2 when I happened to look at the temp. That's just being a tree guy in the magical cow kingdom. Not gonna say I love it though. Bring on spring!

 

[climbhightree]

Went through a bunch of old tree work photos last evening...threw together a clip

I need to change out the music on this, ugh...finding good not protected music is a pain.

 

[climbhightree]

As to the cold...I let it up to my climber. If he can handle freezing in the tree, I'll handle freezing on the ground. 15 degrees with 22 mph winds (-3 wind chill)

 

[mike515]

I'm pretty happy with one thing I finally managed to do today. Long story but....a number of years ago I had a huge dispute with the state...in which I was initially right. I didn't really win or lose but we settled it and that required me to basically make the equivalent of a monthly bucket truck payment to them for a few years (could have been better, could have been worse...because I did eventually make a big mistake). So I've been paying for all this time and today I sent them my last payment and finally paid it off. I owe them nothing now! It will be nice to not have to make that payment anymore....finally.

 

[gorman]

I'm pretty happy with one thing I finally managed to do today. Long story but....a number of years ago I had a huge dispute with the state...in which I was initially right. I didn't really win or lose but we settled it and that required me to basically make the equivalent of a monthly bucket truck payment to them for a few years (could have been better, could have been worse...because I did eventually make a big mistake). So I've been paying for all this time and today I sent them my last payment and finally paid it off. I owe them nothing now! It will be nice to not have to make that payment anymore....finally.

Yeah, don't go saying that without letting us know what happened. Did you spill fuel into the storm drain? Cut some trees in wetlands?

 

[Griff93]

Climbhightree,
Those are some cool pictures. What's that bucket/basket thing you have picked up with your mini skid? Looks like it's full of brush or something.

Mike,
Can you elaborate on what happened a bit more? I only ask so that none of us reading this make the same 'mistake' regarding the state.

 

[mike515]

Yeah, don't go saying that without letting us know what happened. Did you spill fuel into the storm drain? Cut some trees in wetlands?

No, no....nothing like that. It was a sales tax dispute. It was a long time ago. It was kind of complicated but I got my permit suspended (even though I did pay and could prove it). I should have appealed but I was sick of dealing with it so I just let it go....but I kept working because I'm not just going to shut my business down....I had kids to feed and bills to pay. That was just what I felt like I had to do. My next mistake was to not file for my permit once I was no longer suspended. I didn't do that because I was afraid I would be in deep trouble for working while it was suspended. So one thing led to another and before I knew it....I just let it get out of hand. I always knew I would have to pay it all eventually and I really didn't want to keep operating without it but I figured filing would get me in hot water and the longer I didn't file....the more trouble I felt like I would be in. They eventually caught me. I was actually relieved that it was over and they were totally cool with me. They settled the amount, reinstated my permit and gave me a payment plan. I had no issue with those terms because I knew I was in the wrong for not getting my permit back faster. So anyway....I've been in good standing ever since then and just got done paying off a pretty large settlement with them. I now owe no taxes of any kind and have paid all of my tax filings on time for years.

Edit to say....I just didn't think anyone would care to read a long story about it so I tried to keep it short in my last post.

 

[Griff93]

Do you guys have to pay sales tax on labor or was this a different business venture?

 

[mike515]

Yes, we have to pay sales tax on labor. Some places don't for some reason but I checked with the state a few times and they were clear about it. I'm not going to challenge them on it now. I'm happy to just pay what I need to pay. I charge the customer for it anyway so no skin off my nose.

 

[climbhightree]

Climbhightree,
Those are some cool pictures. What's that bucket/basket thing you have picked up with your mini skid? Looks like it's full of brush or something.

Thanks.
I am guessing you are talking about the green bag thing with yellow webbing? It is a bagster. You can get them at Lowe's,

http://m.lowes.com/pd/Waste-Management-Bagster-Dumpster-in-a-Bag/3198477

 

[gorman]

Yes, we have to pay sales tax on labor. Some places don't for some reason but I checked with the state a few times and they were clear about it. I'm not going to challenge them on it now. I'm happy to just pay what I need to pay. I charge the customer for it anyway so no skin off my nose.

What state do you live in? I never heard of having to do that.

 

[mike515]

What state do you live in? I never heard of having to do that.

Iowa. I'd love to not have to pay it but again....it's not even money out of my pocket. It's more of an inconvenience than anything else. I'm just glad to not have monthly payment hanging over my head anymore. It took me a long time to correct that mistake. I won't make the same mistake again. I've found that the easiest way to do things is to just do it by the books.

 

[capetrees]

Iowa. I'd love to not have to pay it but again....it's not even money out of my pocket. It's more of an inconvenience than anything else. I'm just glad to not have monthly payment hanging over my head anymore. It took me a long time to correct that mistake. I won't make the same mistake again. I've found that the easiest way to do things is to just do it by the books.

Or be a bum. Its easy to be a bum. No responsibilities, state pays your way for everything and no taxes!

 

[wiltzzy]

The crew at this country club was going to make the cut, looked like a candidate for this so I convinced them to let me make the drop. Good fun. Some say to use a plunge cut to prevent a barber chair, I don't like the idea, opinions?

 

[climbhightree]

The crew at this country club was going to make the cut, looked like a candidate for this so I convinced them to let me make the drop. Good fun. Some say to use a plunge cut to prevent a barber chair, I don't like the idea, opinions?

Umm did you cut a notch in that tree? That would be step one for no barber chair. If you did, you definitely did not go deep enough. Was the brush still on the tree when dropped?

The only tree I've ever had barber, was a extremely rotten maple tree (dropped brush and all).

 

[Griff93]

Thanks.
I am guessing you are talking about the green bag thing with yellow webbing? It is a bagster. You can get them at Lowe's,

http://m.lowes.com/pd/Waste-Management-Bagster-Dumpster-in-a-Bag/3198477

Yep that's what I was asking about. Thanks for the link. How well does it hold up to brush? Looks like it would be great to use instead of dragging a brush bucket back and forth from the tree to the truck.

 

[climbhightree]

Yep that's what I was asking about. Thanks for the link. How well does it hold up to brush? Looks like it would be great to use instead of dragging a brush bucket back and forth from the tree to the truck.

Way more durable then any tarp I've had...and for only 30 bucks. I've had this one for at least a year. Granted I rarely drag it....and avoid dragging it on pavement. Just set it by the tree, and start throwing all the small stuff in as it vomes down.

 

[wiltzzy]

Umm did you cut a notch in that tree? That would be step one for no barber chair. If you did, you definitely did not go deep enough. Was the brush still on the tree when dropped?

The only tree I've ever had barber, was a extremely rotten maple tree (dropped brush and all).

Sure did, a nice open notch @ 80-85% of the width. Canopy still on the tree [Ash]. Had a decent lean, but not really pronounced. i was expecting this so I was moving way clear as soon as she started to go.