Descending From Danger

Guidelines For Hiring An Arborist l Tree Removal, Trimming ...

A homeowner had noticed that some of the trees on his property were beginning to obstruct his view and hired an arborist to trim them down. The arborist deftly scampered up the trees, displaying great skill, and expertly topped them to preserve the homeowner’s view.

A neighbor of the homeowner observed the work and walked over to watch the process more closely as the arborist began to tackle some of the tallest trees on the property. The arborist was working on one particularly large tree, and as he neared the top, the trunk began to flex, and the tree swayed dangerously. Every so delicately, the arborist continued to maneuver his way around the upper reaches of the branches and finished topping the tree before carefully descending. As he neared the base of the tree, the arborist quickened his pace as both the trunk and branches felt more secure. When the arborist was just over ten feet off the ground, the homeowner shouted to the arborist, “Be careful up there!” The arborist paused and smiled, then continued his way down the tree.

This procedure was repeated on several more trees, and every single time, the homeowner would wait until the arborist was just a few feet off the ground before he shouted his reminder for caution. And every time, the arborist would pause and smile at the homeowner.

Confused, the neighbor asked the homeowner, “Why do you wait until your arborist has climbed nearly to the bottom of the tree before warning him to be careful? At that height, he could almost jump out of the tree!” The homeowner responded, “When he is near the top of the tree and it begins to sway with his weight, and the thin branches begin to break, the tree itself reminds him of the danger. No doubt the arborist is quite aware of the risk. However, when the sense of risk diminishes and he begins to see safety nearing, that is when mistakes can happen if he lets down his guard prematurely.”

Errors are often made because our sense of risk diminishes, even though we are not yet “out of the tree.” We can become complacent and overlook the danger that still remains. That is when we get hurt.

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