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So how much do you tell your wife when it comes to logging troubles

Started by plasticweld, February 05, 2014, 09:42:03 AM

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plasticweld

Reading the posts today; it is a pretty common theme that all of us here struggle with one problem right after another, broken equipment, lack of parts or information. bad weather. injuries. Whatever can go wrong normally does in logging and the guys that make it are pretty tough both mentally and physically or the woods will weed you out in short time. I have been logging now for 37 years, when I was young I shared everything that went wrong with my wife, mill quotas, break downs. employee troubles. land owner troubles, forester troubles. DOT troubles you name it. Having spent the last couple of weeks with what seems like one break down after another I realized I had shared almost none of it with my wife. Why worry her, this is what this business is, it is not going to change. I like what I do but if I told someone about what a normal weeks worth of bs consisted of they would either think I was a whiner or crazy or both. I keep my head down and my mouth shut just wondering how other handle the normal weeks worth of challenges?

CCC4

Basically this is the reason I get on logging forums...it does zero good to talk to yer ol'lady or yer buddies about logging or your day if they themselves don't have a clue about logging. I have found that if I am having troubles, my buddies I have found on logging sites are much better to talk to about things n stuff.

I have a good friend up in town, known each other most of my logging career, if I go blabbing about my day, whether it was good or bad, he just looks at me like a deer in the headlights...all brain function seems to slow to a crawl.

I get so many scratches an cuts on my face that what used to get the attention of, "Oh no, what did you do are you alright", went to "Yuk...go wash yer face off I'm cooking dinner". However that should have been my sign that she was fixing to bail on me and I didn't know it..go figure!

Logging sites offer a support factor that can only be offered by other loggers...and I think it's a wonderful thing! Met ALOT of good guys on these forums and learn tons of information!

treeslayer2003

+1 c4. my first wife couldn't handle it........lucked out on number 2.

Alcranb

"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.  (Mark Twain)

ST Ranch

I usually find it helpful to be able to talk out my frustrations and/or get someone elses input into problems that arise. My wilfe is a good listener, even if she does not always understand the problem, but having worked with high risk youth, she can often help me work it out. 
Years ago I had a terriffic friend and business partner, who I could always talk things out with.  We actually spent most of our coffee and lunch breaks discussing the job, looking at ways to improve things, inventing and eventually building/modifying equipment etc.  It is great to have a second set of eyes, ears and a mind to solve problems. Unfortunately he died in his  Super-cub in a freak airplane accident, and I miss that brainstorming we used to do.
Tom 
LT40G28 with mods,  Komatsu D37E crawler,
873 Bobcat with CWS log grapple,

Autocar

I pretty well tell my wife whats going on just incase I fall over dead and she has to sort out all the logs and jobs I may have bought. But always make a point of giving her directions to a job I may be working and always tell her if Iam not home by a certain time or call you better send someone out to see whats going on. To be honest its probably not a nice thing to do to stress her out she always makes a comment that she breathes easyer after I call her in the evening. Guess we both said for better or worse ;).
Bill

redprospector

My wife is good support, and knows how the business is. Her Dad was a logger back when they did it with crosscuts and axes. Her brother had a logging outfit for a while, and now here we are. What we do isn't really logging anymore, it's thinning for fire prevention with a few small logs thrown in here & there.
She gets onto me for spending money on frivolous things, but supports (almost insists) that I buy things that make my job safer, quicker, easier, more productive, etc.
It's not a job (where you would have troubles), it's a life style. You either live your life looking forward to getting out there, or you live your life wishing you could get out of it. There are other things I could do that would make more money, but money isn't everything.
Here's my "rule of thumb";
If you run equipment...it's gonna break.
If you work outdoors...it's gonna rain & snow.
If you're under a deadline....something's liable to slow you down.
It's all part of life, might as well enjoy it.

In short.........Yeah, I whine to my wife all the time.  :D
1996 Timber King B-20 with 14' extension, Morgan Mini Scragg Mill, Fastline Band Scragg Mill (project), 1973 JD 440-b skidder, 2008 Bobcat T-320 with buckets, grapple, auger, Tushogg mulching head, etc., 2006 Fecon FTX-90L with Bull Hog 74SS head, 1994 Vermeer 1250 BC Chipper. A bunch of chainsaws.

clww

Quote from: redprospector on February 05, 2014, 01:05:00 PM
Here's my "rule of thumb";
If you run equipment...it's gonna break.
If you work outdoors...it's gonna rain & snow.
If you're under a deadline....something's liable to slow you down.
It's all part of life, might as well enjoy it.

In short.........Yeah, I whine to my wife all the time.  :D
Very good points! ;)
Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
18-Wheeler Driver

saxon0364

She asks how my day went and Ill tell her about something I saw, or something the truck driver said or did. Just lite stuff.    Never mention the close calls, it does no good to worry her.    Don't complain about the weather, shes been married to me long enough that she knows bad logging weather.    If the clothes in the laundry are grease covered she knows Ive been working on something.    If I mention not to spend more than she has to she knows things are tight.      She knows thats life for a logger and his family.     
Nothing wrong with quiet.

POC

I don't tell my wife that much, but when i come to the house with holes in my clothes from the saw, she gets concerned... :o
And that's all I have to say about that,
Patrick

Ryan D

I tell her about everything but the close calls. I thinks she just tunes me out anyways which is fine, I'm usually just looking to vent a bit after a bad day.

coxy

I tell my wife just about every thing but how much some of the things cost but in the long run she finds out any way never says to much only a few times she asked why I bought 2 saws in one week ;D some one always knows where I am logging

Mark K

I tell my wife pretty much everything. Just in case something did happen to me she would know whats going on and where equipment is. I tend to leave the close calls out. We talk three times a day anyway, morning, noon and when I pack up. She knows in my voice when things are not going right so its tough to hide.
Husky 372's-385's,576, 2100
Treefarmer C7D
Franklin 405
Belsaw m-14 sawmill

Maine372

wifey knows all here.

its easier to come home wound up and tell her why, than to have her wondering why im on a short fuse. but at the same time I share my good days with her. when I have a day that most everything goes smoothly and I remember why I love logging, I tell her all that stuff too.

she also runs the money around here so I have to keep her in the loop about what things cost, whats wearing out and needing replaced soon, etc.

shes my wife, life partner, helpmate. my job is part of her job.

lynde37avery

this place is like my support group. i cant begin to explain anything with the women in my life. they dont understand. i allways smile n nod. and keep the saw cutting making me moneys. when i break down i talk to a fellow logger or the local repair man. they knows whats up. good advice too from them and on here.
Detroit WHAT?

Ed_K

Rita and I talk about everything,she works at yankee candle and has good and bad days same as me. I worked in manufacturing so I can relate to what she goes thru,she came from a dairy farm so she know what logging is like,+when we lived in Tx. we both worked running heavy equipment.Be damed if I can get her on the skidder tho  ;D . I don't say much about close calls but she knows.
Ed K

Corley5

She's has a need to know status and for the most part she doesn't need to know  :)
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

thenorthman

Used to tell her all the details, Hel used to have here helping out, now she keeps an eye on the books, and I give the highs and lows, and whether I seen/did anything interesting... I don't always tell her the scary bits, she don't like hearing that...

So far She's gone with me to move equipment on every job so she knows where they all are. And I consult/ask for permission on major purchases since the business is sorta hooked to the house payment... I figure she should have equal say in me buying big stuff.  She just rolls her eyes any more when I buy more saws.
well that didn't work

Ken

As long as the bills are paid my wife does not pay too much attention to the business.  I think she tunes me out pretty quick when I complain about bad days so I generally keep it to myself.  The plan however is for her to begin looking after the paperwork for the company when she retires in 4 years. 
Lots of toys for working in the bush

treechopper40

I don't tell my wife anything she can tell how my day was just by looking at me when I walk in the house at nite she knows the woods and knows I will do whatever it takes too keep going she hates it when I leave in the morning and it -30 out or leave in the pouring down rain and don't come home till dark shes seen me cut with a chainsaw and my whole shoulder and chest black and blue she always tells me there no tougher or more stubborn person than a logger and I think shes right but I love the woods and wouldn't trade it for the world
1979 c5d treefarmer 1966 c5b treefarmer prentice g model loader 2 6100 dolmars a 6400 dolmar and a 7910 dolmar 2012 ford f 250 4x4 with a service body and 2 golden retreivers

Woodboogah

I tell my wife just about everything, she doesnt like hearing about close calls.  She grew up on a farm so she gets it.  Doesnt always understand but she at least tries.  My dad is right there always wanting to help which is fine, sometimes to much though.  I think talking to someone who is in the same game is the best, they can relate 100%.  That's why I like this forum so much!
Keenan Logging & Tree Care, LLC

gologit

Quote from: redprospector on February 05, 2014, 01:05:00 PM

She gets onto me for spending money on frivolous things, but supports (almost insists) that I buy things that make my job safer, quicker, easier, more productive, etc.
It's not a job (where you would have troubles), it's a life style. You either live your life looking forward to getting out there, or you live your life wishing you could get out of it. There are other things I could do that would make more money, but money isn't everything.


I think your wife and mine must be related.  Mine comes from a logging family and that really helps her understand things. She's been seeing the same things, and dealing with it, all her life.
I tell her most of what goes on and I always look for the funny stuff or odd-ball things that might give her a laugh.  There are enough days when there just aren't any funny stories to tell so I try to keep it light and not drop off into whining and complaining.  She's not prone to be too sympathetic to whining anyway.  :D

She does the basic books and keeps an eye on things in general. When I'm working a long way from town  the guys at the saw shop see her more than they see me.  Same with the guys at Cat and my other suppliers. If I call her and tell her I need parts I don't have to worry...she'll get 'em. I'd hate to have to pay her for all the hours she puts in helping me.

Like most of you, I don't tell her about the minor accidents and close calls.  She knows those things happen. If I come home scraped up I'll tell her about it. If there's a fatality I'll always tell her about it because she'll find out soon enough anyway.

She's my partner.  I talk to her.  I listen to her, too.
Semi-retired...life is good.

clww

The only close calls the wife knows about immediately are when she has met me at the ER. I've told of other near misses long after the event happened. I never, ever tell my Mom.
Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
18-Wheeler Driver

Woodboogah

Sounds like there should be a forum for the wives of loggers.  "I cant believe he bought another saw that cost 1200.00 dollars, now he has three, who needs three chainsaws?"
Keenan Logging & Tree Care, LLC

gologit

No, it's more like "you promised me another bathroom and a bigger laundry room on the house and you bought another D-6 instead?"

Saws don't cost enough to bother getting upset about.  It's when you start looking at new Cats and shovels and processors that gets their attention.
Semi-retired...life is good.

treeslayer2003

Quote from: Woodboogah on February 07, 2014, 09:48:29 AM
Sounds like there should be a forum for the wives of loggers.  "I cant believe he bought another saw that cost 1200.00 dollars, now he has three, who needs three chainsaws?"
only three? LOL

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