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The old timer who taught me to read the wind by watching trees
Was on a job in Gary last spring and this retired guy who used to run a Manitowoc pointed out how the leaves on a distant oak were moving different than the flag on site, saved me from a swing that would have been ugly. Anyone else pick up little tricks from the older guys that aren't in any manual?
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terry_lewis214mo ago
Tree watching is a secondary tool for sure, not your primary. I had an old foreman who'd tell me to look at the top of a sycamore, not the whole tree, to gauge the wind up high. It's a decent double check but I still keep my anemometer handy.
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phoenix3313mo ago
... watching a patch of corn for wind reads? That's a new level of old school I ain't never heard of.
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the_dylan4mo ago
Not so sure about that one honestly. I mean yeah watching trees can HELP but you gotta be careful relying on that old school stuff too much. Flags and trees are reacting to totally different conditions half the time. Trees are twisting in the THERMAL layers closer to the ground while your load is gonna be catching the full wind sheer up high. I've seen guys miss picks by twenty feet because they were watching a patch of corn instead of checking their damn anemometer. The old timers know things but they also forgot half the stuff that got people killed back then too.
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