Pollards, the forgotten art-discussion

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Ah in this throw away society even skills are not immune. Yes I do believe that if the pandemic scenario happened many people would not have the skills to survive.

 

This is not their fault. We all rely on a small percentage of people (farmers, growers) to provide for us in a busy life. What I see of more concern is the agricultural and forestry monoculture. Vast tracts of the same species/var. being wiped out by whatever superbug or disease that we are incapable of controlling. So as long as we all demand cheap food diversity in agriculture won't happen unless we dig deep and pay up.

 

What makes me die is all the fuss over these bees, they transport 100's of thousands of bees to a massive mono culture for two weeks traveling upwards of a thousand miles, two weeks on and then moved again, and they wonder why the bees are stressed and geting viruses! tonkas.

 

i think modern agriculture techniques will eventualy be faded out, iether that or they will work out organics and diverse growing is the rigght way AFTER the mono cultures and modern agriculture goes into a collapse, imagine!

 

you only have to look down from a plane to see how much of our land mass is devoted to crops, if that all went tits up like the potatoe famine, it would cause anarky

[David Humphries]

Does anybody put earth sods on the cut pollard head to keep the sun from drying it out? I heard this is where the term 'sod it' comes from.

 

 

Hello Knapp, whilst out in the Basque region of Spain recently, I was looking at lapsed Beech pollards that had been re-pollarded in the last three years.

Some of these had had moss placed over the pollard cuts.

 

Most of these had their own habitat niche associated.

 

Found that very intersting, as I had not come across that before.

 

First shot is from the Beech on the right.

 

Welcome to the site.

 

.

[Catweazle]

i think modern agriculture techniques will eventualy be faded out, iether that or they will work out organics and diverse growing is the rigght way AFTER the mono cultures and modern agriculture goes into a collapse, imagine!

 

I very much doubt that, with the population increasing rapidly and climate change rendering some fertile areas waterlogged and some desert we will need the most efficient food production methods possible.

 

Mono-cultures, despite their negatives, remain the most efficient way to feed people.

 

Food and Water could easily become the only real currency once the full scale of the fraud we call money is uncovered.

[Andy Collins]

Phew this thread is deep, I nearly changed the title to "Pollards, the forgotten discussion" But it is all interesting. So many folks with so many opinions, and from so many backgrounds. I can see why the Climate Change discussion in Copenhagen solved so little reading this thread, at the end of the day human nature (and greed) means we all look after ourselves, and everything else takes a back seat.

On the subject of a pandemic causing chaos for us, heck we just had a couple of inches of snow and the infrastructure of the country collapses!

I too grew up in poverty, shooting rabbits for dinner, chopping sticks for the fire, collecting coals from the railway bank for the fire, not having new clothes for school and the free school dinners. I have worked hard to ensure my family have a better life than I did, and to a certain extent have achieved all I wanted. Would I wish to step back to the 70's way of living? NO WAY!! This life is better, I am warm, fed and clothed, as are my family.

Back to the topic, when times were hard, we would do whatever we needed to keep warm, felling trees for our fire, selling logs to raise money for the next bill. Did we care about the trees, definitely not. Now I can afford to care about trees, and that makes a huge difference to the way I carry out my work.

[skyhuck]

skyhuck, do not patronise the c--p out of me, youre a stick giver, and you KNOW exactly what youre saying when you say it!

 

 

I was in no way patronizing you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I was pointing out what I saw as a major contradiction in your argument.

 

I'm still not sure what you are trying to say??

 

Did the medieval woodsman follow nature or lead it?? I thought you were saying he observed and followed it, but now you saying you need to help it??

 

Much of what you say is contradictory, you say you are skint, but are on top money as a climber?????

 

You view of the past is WAY off, life back then for the ordinary working man was CRAP!!!.

 

People would have lots of kids because many would die, they would have a child and when it died they would have another and give it the SAME name as the one that died!!!!! just think about for a moment, how little emotional attachment did they ALLOWED themselves to be able to do that.

 

My great grandfather was born on a farm, his life was hideous!!, he was up at 4am, before school he had to take any spare milk to the next farm, he would get to school and get the cane for being smelly, he was also caned for being left handed and was forced to use his right hand, he could do any task with either hand (ambidextrous)

 

As for people on £250 week being happy!!, I used to be there and I remember well the shame of putting stuff back at the supermarket check out, going to bed because we were too cold to stay up, the fear of the postman and any unexpected bill.

 

I now make good money and like SWB says life is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! money if freedom from worry.

 

I think you life has not gone the way you wanted, but instead of looking to yourself for a way to sort it out you are BLAMING the system.

Edited December 24, 2009 by skyhuck

[Doug Blease]

not wanting to burst your bubble or tell you what you think, but i sometimes think back to stuff i used to do and think it would be great, but that was then and sometimes we alter our own memories so many times by thinking about them so much that we start to remember all the good bits and see it through rose tinted glasses a little:001_smile:and my back couldnt handle 8 hrs bent over with a saw, and i like cake and coffee to much now anyway:biggrin:

 

Wow, you boys stay up way past your bed time!

 

Just home for lunch and thought I would catch up. Your right SWB, times could be crap on the coppice, but I havent done work that rewarding (environmentally and production wise) since. A real team effort on the coppice, filling a big demand for a traditional, quality product.

 

But when the money almost disappeared it was really sad to see it all pulped with a harvester and we were moved off to Larch and Norway thinnings. Then I started doing groundwork for a friend, then some climbing...then more climbing until working in the woods actually became a cost to my business.....this made me even sadder.

 

For this reason I have done my degree, to resurect that diversity into my work again. In a few months I will be educated and qualified to carry out and put my name to a massive variety of work that I have always been interested in. Hopefully with more credibility for myself and the excellent, forward thinking companies I contract to.

 

Amazing what an ancient skill like pollarding can bring out in folk!

 

Here's wishing us all the best over xmas!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I very much doubt that, with the population increasing rapidly and climate change rendering some fertile areas waterlogged and some desert we will need the most efficient food production methods possible.

 

Mono-cultures, despite their negatives, remain the most efficient way to feed people.

 

Food and Water could easily become the only real currency once the full scale of the fraud we call money is uncovered.

 

wow, theres some deep currents in this thread!

 

is modern agriculture the most efficient production of food? or is it just that we do not appreciate a diverse range of food like that wich wood be avaliable in "alternative methods?

 

And I totaly agree about the money thing, we are kept "docile" by a system that keeps our nose to the wheel, and keeps enough fear of loss to stop us wanting to rock that boat too much.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Wow, you boys stay up way past your bed time!

 

Just home for lunch and thought I would catch up. Your right SWB, times could be crap on the coppice, but I havent done work that rewarding (environmentally and production wise) since. A real team effort on the coppice, filling a big demand for a traditional, quality product.

 

But when the money almost disappeared it was really sad to see it all pulped with a harvester and we were moved off to Larch and Norway thinnings. Then I started doing groundwork for a friend, then some climbing...then more climbing until working in the woods actually became a cost to my business.....this made me even sadder.

 

For this reason I have done my degree, to resurect that diversity into my work again. In a few months I will be educated and qualified to carry out and put my name to a massive variety of work that I have always been interested in. Hopefully with more credibility for myself and the excellent, forward thinking companies I contract to.

 

Amazing what an ancient skill like pollarding can bring out in folk!

 

Here's wishing us all the best over xmas!

 

good on ya fella, i hope you get the succses you deserve. It only requires imagination on our parts to bring change.

[Arborist Sites]

as for sorting myself out, thats why im doing the school thing, without it I am unemployable for anything other than climbing and i already get top wack on that front, less anyone here has a better offer!

 

 

I think thats a load, you really dont need any qualification to get on in life, i would employ a man with experience and knowledge over a cocky numpty out of college demanding top whack any day.

 

If ypou are good at what you do people will sniff you out and pay the appropriate huge cash sum..

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

 

I was in no way patronizing you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I was pointing out what I saw as a major contradiction in your argument.

 

I'm still not sure what you are trying to say??

 

Did the medieval woodsman follow nature or lead it?? I thought you were saying he observed and followed it, but now you saying you need to help it??

 

Much of what you say is contradictory, you say you are skint, but are on top money as a climber?????

 

You view of the past is WAY off, life back then for the ordinary working man was CRAP!!!.

 

People would have lots of kids because many would die, they would have a child and when it died they would have another and give it the SAME name as the one that died!!!!! just think about for a moment, how little emotional attachment did they ALLOWED themselves to be able to do that.

 

My great grandfather was born on a farm, his life was hideous!!, he was up at 4am, before school he had to take any spare milk to the next farm, he would get to school and get the cane for being smelly, he was also caned for being left handed and was forced to use his right hand, he could do any task with either hand (ambidextrous)

 

As for people on £250 week being happy!!, I used to be there and I remember well the shame of putting stuff back at the supermarket check out, going to bed because we were too cold to stay up, the fear of the postman and any unexpected bill.

 

I now make good money and like SWB says life is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! money if freedom from worry.

 

I think you life has not gone the way you wanted, but instead of looking to yourself for a way to sort it out you are BLAMING the system.

 

going to answer these one after the other in line and order!

 

patronising yes you was, YOU captalisation on save implies you are into provocation more than participation, you seem to enjoy provoking more than evoking.

 

i say i am skint but as a climber on top dollar. this is a situation i will try to clarify for you.

 

when i was hammered in 18 months theft wise it took EVERY ounce of resource to stay operating, even to debt, then they came and took the truck and chipper to finish me off, at the same point i lost my partner (long story abusive alcaholic, lost my best mate (cared for elderly uncle) to liver cancer and my own mother and her sister tried to sell this my home from under my feet. i had to take a sharks mortgage, pay of that and 54 grands worth of company debt, i have a mortgage that is 250 a month MORE than high st rates, and when i cant keep up, i get hit with late charges by all and sundry.

 

but i fight, like a pure bred english bull terrier, and i am winning the game step by step. i dont blame the system, i blame myself AND the system, cos the system sucks, the poor are penalised, if you cant pay a bill at the end of the month the charges that are applied kil your chances of the next payment and it spirals, its a hard system to get out of and once your tarnished your scum and no body cuts you slack, because your the fodder this countries unproductive nature feeds on.

 

As for going back to a time less complicated it will never happen in a modern society, you seem to think and others i am suggesting dropping all the equal rights good working conditions laws that are in place today, what am I, some sort of idiot!