Itchy Tree-gger Finger

A spruce plantation in Sweden

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The first shift of a tree planting contract is a time to ease back in to the reality of the job. Rather than shoot out of the gates like a racehorse, conventional wisdom around camp suggests that you not push your body or mind too far before you've had time to warm up. That's easier said than done in many cases. After several years, planting trees is like riding a bike so even on the second day of the contract you can find yourself planting like you've been at it all summer. Today as I found myself cruising down the rips at a healthy speed, I wondered if I would be better off slowing down. The first shift is when tendonitis usually strikes and I've been down that creaky road before. Getting an injury early in the season costs you missed days of production while everyone else gets their engines fired up. If you don't eat your piece of the tree planting pie, somebody else will. But all felt well so I went with the flow and planted hard for the rest of the day.

As I lie here in my tent writing this, I feel achy and tired, but no more than usual. I ignored the conventional wisdom but I seem to have made it through the day unscathed. Is it reasonable to cast aside conventional wisdom on a whim? Let's see how I feel about that tomorrow.

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In hindsight (two weeks later as I type this) my decision to forgo conventional wisdom paid off. I made more money than I would have that day if I had chosen to be cautious and slow down. But was my minor, short term monetary gain worth the risk of jeopardizing my season in the long term? Conventional wisdom is conventional for a reason. Sometimes the rush of planting lots of trees can get in the way of more reasonable thoughts. I didn't follow the conventional wisdom this time, but next time (if there is a next time) I think I'll err on the side of caution. Big risks that produce small rewards should be taken only in moderation.