benedmonds

Do what he wants, it's only a leylandii. It will survive 50% off the top probably more. It might look stupid but the alternative is to take it out and plant something else. If he won't go for that think of it as a big hedge. No need for spikes.

Do any of you process and bag logs through the summer. We've a big pile of wood and not a lot of work.. If we spit it and bag it, as long as it's kept dryish it shouldn't be a problem should it?

If I could get the price this guy wants for his wood I'd be happy.. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/firewood-logs-solid-fuel-log-splitter-timber-wood_W0QQitemZ140235841437QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item140235841437&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I don't normally take any notice of this type of email but you guys are whinging on about the cost of fuel so thought you might be interested.. See what you think and pass it on if you agree with it We are hitting £108.9 a litre in some areas now, soon we will be faced with paying £1.10 a ltr. Philip Hollsworth offered this good idea: This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy petrol on a certain day campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to hurt ourselves by refusing to buy petrol. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT,whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read it and join in! Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a litre is CHEAP, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the market place not sellers. With the price of petrol going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of petrol come down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing their Petrol! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. Here's the idea: For the rest of this year DON'T purchase ANY petrol from the two biggest oil companies (which now are one), ESSO and BP. If they are not selling any petrol, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need to reach literally millions of Esso and BP petrol buyers.It's really simple to do!! Now, don't wimp out at this point... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!! I am sending this note to a lot of people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it... .. THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!! Again, all You have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all.(and not buy at ESSO/BP) How long would all that take? If each of us sends this email out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8days!!! Acting together we can make a difference . If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE 69p a LITRE RANGE It's easy to make this happen. Just forward this email, and buy your petrol at Shell, Asda,Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons Jet etc. i.e. boycott BP and Esso

In the above case there is a recognisable defect, so I guess it is more likely to work. I guess I'm off thread a bit thinking about healthy trees with no defects that will cause damage if they fail..

It makes sense just not sure my local council would see it that way as they just add a caveat (as I do on my reports and I'm sure you do on your reports)such as: "although mechanical failure in trees is often attributable to recognisable defects, a sound specimen can fail in exceptionally adverse conditions."

Bob - Give the tree a chance saying two years is going to scare the owner. I don't think you can condem such a tree without a good poke around. As Chris says there is plenty of reactive growth around the base and the crown looks reasonable. Also there are no signs of bulges or fibre buckling. IMO A significant oak like that should be given every chance. Get someone who knows what theyre doing to have a good look. You would hope that the tree officer who has stuck the TPO on it knows a bit about trees and has had a good poke and tap with his/her mallet.. They have seen the tree and didn't think it a danger. That must be a first me backing a TO....

Chris, surely you'll never get a council to send a letter accepting responsibility. I presume that’s kind of the point but have you had much success with this approach? I tried this tack with a local council with some trees leaning over some buildings but they haven't budged. The tree owners insurers are also writing to the council. The trees are OK, a little exposed since we removed two big neighbouring trees and one fell over. The neighbours are just scared cause if they go it will cause a lot of damage. The case has just been through the laborious appeal process and we're waiting on the report but the council representative just did the old any tree can fail line. It would be difficult to see the the council making a U turn and letting us take them down if the appeal is up held.

ChCh is like little England. It was a swamp till a few years ago and many of the trees are from the UK. They've lots of big elms in one part. There are also some BIG eucs, and lots of pin oak.. Or maybe I just spent lots of time thinning crappy pin oaks.. The Kauri trees are all on the North Island I think, worth a visit! As are the southern beech forests. The Southern Alps are a couple of hours drive but don't expect the conditions to be like Europe or the States. It's much, much less developed. Propper big pointy mountains but no bars etc.. Sumner is on the edge of ChCh. Head for there. You can surf a bit, paraglide often and the hills from an old volcano give the place some aspect. Loads of Britts end up there. Be prepared to stay, I don't know why I came back!

The way my local council tenders work you can expect shoddy jobs. Many a job I've put a price in and not got, later I've passed and been shocked at how pap the work was. It really irratates me that we miss out on work as we price to do a proper job and someone else prices lower but only does 1/2 the job. I mentioned it to the tree officer and she said that street trees just have to be done as cheaply as possible and so the quality isn't an issue.

Is it not an old graft?

I worked in CHCH, lived in Sumner. Great, loved it wish I was still there! The sea, easy access to mountains, a great system of back country huts, nice climate. Good cheese! Bad pubs, women are ... butch (take your own), lack of history anything over 50 years old is a historic monument! People are a bit into bigging up NZ but there OK. If you like the outdoor life it's the best. If you like cities and clubbing and shopping its not. A bit like the UK as it was 50 years ago. I didn't have much tree work experience at the time, less then a year and a three month short course, but found two tree jobs. Left the first after a couple of weeks as boss was a ****, but spent best part of a year with City Care a sold off council firm. They use MEWPS lots but still require climbers. Had a few Brits passing working on holiday visas when I was there. The climbing kit was basic, only type A trousers and regular steel toecaps so take your own kit..

My niece and nephew are witchcraft as I call it.. They still haven't learnt to fly the brooms yet. Don't be put off, if your insured, got the correct training, and equipment. Top roping is pretty safe.. Kids should be able too experience this stuff. I grew up in London but spent ages mucking about at scouts with axes and fire and "dangerous" stuff. I'd hate it if my kids didn't get the chance to enjoy these things in a "controlled environment." Kids get loads out of it, I used to have kids telling me the 30ft absail I'd just sent them crying down was the best thing they had ever done! One of the reasons I got in to tree work was I need an adrenaline boost every now and then to keep me going. When I worked in an office or schools I'd go hang gliding, kayaking, mountain biking, diving whatever.. I need it to stay sane. Kids should be able to do activities that feel dangerous..

Vertex vent is way better, the ecrin rock with big metal plates to fit your ears onto was way too heavy.

I used to take kids climbing on rocks and swinging from trees etc.. at an outdoor studies centre, had to do my single pitch award with the BMA: "This award trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to supervise climbers on single pitch crags and climbing walls. Common activities undertaken by an SPA holder will be roped climbing and bouldering " I rekon if you have a climber who's done that, and you are top roping you'd be fine. Your woodcraft group presumably has some insurance check if your covered. You'll have to do all the risk assessments and Method statements obviously. I'm no expert so get further advice but don't be put off doing it by doom and gloom merchants. Risk is good for kids. There was an ineresting thread on kids tree climbing a while back on the UKTC forum. Ditto to keeping the ones on the ground interested, wouldn't want more than 5 at a time. We always had a "round robin" system where you split the group up with a bunch of other activities.

When we're that busy prices creep up... We're not that busy at the mo however.. You must be doing something right. Are others out there feeling a slow down or is it just me?

I used to do yoga and got a lot out of it, I should make the time to do it again.. it's amazing how much of a work out you can get without jumping around. My sister is a bit of a guru very bendy. Generally climbing trees we resort to brute strength, which resorts in us screwing up our bodies. I'm not half a flexible as I was in the past but stronger. We always have big decent holds and something grab on to. I did a rock climbing course a few years back, the little French instructor was mortified by my style. When climbing on rock you need to use more skill as your holds are much smaller. If you watch decent rock climbers it like dance, slow fluid movements. I try to do this tree climbing, self belaying gets in the way and when you can simply prussic up it is simpler..

I've had my Weaver Harness for about 10 years now. It was the first tree harness I got and the only one I've really used, not conting some rubbish when I was in New Zealand. I'd like a new harness but there's nothing wrong with the one I've got. It's bomb proof, two sliding D's quick to get on, moulded to my shape, comfortable and jingles when you walk.. I went and tried a bunch of harnesses but just found it them fiddly in comparison. I know the weaver is a bit... "agricultural" in design but what benefits am I going to get from spangly modern design.

I used to have a subaru sumo van, put some bigger wheels and mud and snow tires on it was great. I don't suppose it would have towed much of a chipper but plenty big enough to get my hang glider on the roof. http://www.careos.com/pics/BiblioPHO/net/libero_1984.jpg

I'm with trust for PI, pretty simple as I remember. With NFU for everything else, they told me they didn't do the PI. The nice thing ablout NFU is they are local phone up and talk to some one and they know who you are..

White, for me orange of others, i can see them, and it's easy to see who's in charge. Everyone else wears hi-viz on the ground and I will soon once I've worn out all my old black Hely Hansons. I came to the conclusion last year one wet day, after coming out of a tree head to toe in black goretex with a black lid that I ought to be a bit brighter.. Being seen from the ground is an issue especially if you have several climbers and several groundies and using hand saws.. Also if roadside you do come to ground at some times of the day.

Has anyone tried running transits on vegie oil?

Matt, I may owe him money, but he owes Canopy Tree Services money of which I am a partner. There is no way he's getting any cash from me (he hasn't completed the works) but I was trying to figure out if it was a simple process to get money from the liquidators, and find out others experiences. I'm not going to go round and sort him out.. but if all his assests are getting shared out he does have a nice new pick up..

MOD, i'm with pecontools, I don't think your insurance will cover you if you don't have the tickets.. If you are so good just take the tests 3 days.. and your legal.

An issue with being a one or two man band is what happens when you don't want to/can't climb every day. I know some guys keep climbing into there 50's but unless your making serious cash there are still a few years till retirement.