I started doing a lot of work in my yard and woods. Much of that involved chainsaws and dropping some decently sized trees. (6″ to 12″ diameter and 50′ high). Given the situation with the Covid 19 pandemic, I realized that was not a good idea.
I’m on 2 1/2 acres, approximately an acre of which is woods. I’m really trying to get the place looking better. One of the projects was to drop any of the leaning trees in the woods. They are only going to get bigger and more dangerous as time goes on.
If done properly, the risk is low. I have hundreds of hours of experience with chainsaws. Below is a tree that I just dropped about a month ago. It was leaning over my shed.
However, it dawned on me that now would be a really bad time to require any medical attention. Therefore, the saws will sit idle for the duration of this virus pandemic. Any accident or injury that would require any medical attention could be problematic.
It would be wise to avoid any risky activity. Think before you start a project. Does it involve ladders? Does it involve heavy lifting? If so, let it go.
The same can be said for sporting activities. Things such as rock climbing, dirt biking and similar activities should be shelved for now.
Pregnancy
This also raises the issue of pregnancy. A lot of people are staying home and… well .. finding something to do with their time. We don’t really know when the current crisis will end. Would you really want to have to go to a doctor’s office for pre-natal care now? Are you sure that the crisis will be over nine months from now when it is time to deliver.
Alternatives
There are a lot of other things I can do around the house that pose a lower risk. You can never reduce your risk to zero but cleaning a closet is arguably less risky than dropping a leaning tree.
Summary
We are experiencing situations where we have no foundation of knowledge or experience. We need to think ahead and carefully consider our actions.