D Mc

Because Porcelain fungus, Oudemansiella mucida is only found in the presence of damaged or dead wood, I would suggest some determination for their presence is required. Beings as there is a road below and they are halfway up what appears to be a substantial tree, determining the extent of the damaged area in relation to the structure of the tree would be prudent. Dave

David, what a great job! I wish more people would carry out ideas and thoughts in such a competent manner. I am a firm believer in the growing of life in the soil. There are times when things need to be hurried along, perhaps as with certain pathogens which become opportunistic with imbalance, but for the most part I prefer to let life happen. It just needs food, habitat, shelter and time, like everything else. Good job. Dave

Until I read this post I thought duck retreival by terrier was just a fluke. I had a little female Jack that was the best field hunting dog I ever had. (Ok, the only one ) But she would retreive big mallard off the water, up a steep embankment like it was no trouble at all. Looked pretty comical as the duck was about the same size she was. But she loved it and had no quit. Got these two Jacks now, full brother and sister. They are real cute in the picture, now that they are full grown, they are excellent examples of the huge variance within the breed. Both great dogs but totally different personalities. These are some of the longer-legged, foxlike terriers, incredibly quick! They regularly chase and capture birds in the back garden. Even our cat couldn't do that. Though they both have strong terrier "never quit" attitudes, the female is unretreivable when on a scent. She will NOT stop. Great dogs. Good luck with your search. Dave

Toprotter, if you lengthen the loop on your bowline, you will be able to girth hitch it onto your carabiner. This will reduce the chance of side loading the carabiner and keep it from flopping around. On your VT, you might want to sample less wraps and more braids. Blakes7, Take a look at the pictures on post #6. You can do the same thing with a hitch climber. The benefit here, is there are times when the VT does not self-tend and guys have a nasty habit of going up 4 to 8 ft and then tending their slack. This is a great opportunity for bad things to happen. Log-ologist: That's the right attitude, recognizing when a technique is easier and more efficient will allow you to keep whipping the younguns' when you are even a bit longer in the tooth. Dave

I'll be here to ensure the debate continues. I am more than happy to supply the counterbalance in this discussion. Dave

Dave, You are an extremely talented artisan. That is the best example of a monolith that I have seen to date. Now if you could just curb your enthusiasm to work on only dead, standing trees, I would give you a big thumbs up. It is the using this technique on live trees that I have a real problem with. Dave

This "technique"? Quoting from Neville Fay's article Natural Fracture Pruning Techniques and Coronet Cuts "Natural fracture techniques involve pruning methods that are used to mimic the way that tears and fractured ends naturally occur on trunks and branches. A coronet cut is a type of natural fracture technique that is particularly intended to mimic jagged edges characteristically seen on broken branches following storm damage or static limb failure. (sic) This occurrence creates microhabitats that are colonised by microorganisms and succession species." This technique you want to use and sell to clients is designed to promote decay and therefore benefit microorganisms that live off of the decaying wood. This, indeed, may be very good for the planet but it is not good for the individual tree. There are many things that are good for the ecosystem that are not appropriate to be used in close proximity to people. A rotting carcass comes to mind; excellent habitat. Just stating this as a check and balance, so to speak, for those enthusiastic about this type of work for the primary reason of raising their revenue. Dave

Close call. It is a 3-turn scaffold knot. Same as what most people call a doubled fisherman's with an extra turn. The extra turn has been documented in recent tests with our modern ropes to have a higher strength/pull through resistance. Therefore on a termination knot it just gives a bit more reassurance, especially on new rope. Dave

Wattie, Good for you for asking questions. My advice would be to maintain the investigative attitude and research and try out as many different systems as you can as each system will have its pros and cons. Overall, bottom line the new systems reduce effort. Maybe not initially but as you become comfortable with the climbing technique that is required for that new system the energy savings are tremendous. I use all of the systems stated above and they each have their application. Also do some research on SRT. Unfortunately, this will undoubtedly require a different saddle than you may have but the reduced strain on the body is worth the expense. I'm posting a picture of the set up I use when using the Lockjack, which is by-the-way, hands down the coolest tool ever invented. I use Velocity 11 mm run through a pulley. Dave

Ok boys, let's put our thinking caps back on for a minute. The turn in this discussion kind of reminds me of one of my wife's favorite sayings: "The operation was successful, but the patient died." The co-dom is an obvious flaw; however, as any of you who have worked on these trees know, their limb structure is fiercely co-dependent. If you look at the full tree in picture one, you will see the top has knitted together by the branch structure. This should go a long way to relieving the stress of the co-dom; at least for now. Assessing the tree's entire health and stability gives you the information necessary to devise a proper plan. Dave

SBTC, This poor tree is struggling. I don't know what facilities are available to you but cedars are susceptible to many insects and pathogens capable of causing quickly appearing symptoms. On Plate 6 the darkened area of the bark plating close to the ground looks suspicious to me. I would want to rule out a root rot such as Heterobasidion annosum. I would recommend a (gentle) root crown excavation to see what is going on there. For your future information: I have found care needs to be taken in trimming/thinning of these cedars as the limbs develop a natural dependence on each other. A little too much thinning can result in significant damage to the then unprotected limbs. Good luck with this. Dave

Not a prusik but it is what I use. I find hitch adjusters with a pulley to be much superior to mechanicals for this useage. Dave

The signs on the live leaf look very similar to Dictyospermum Scale over here. However, there is a big spot of water between us and bugs appear to be somewhat different. Couldn't find Tilia listed as a common host (doesn't mean they can't get them). Monkeyd might be right that the flagging could be caused by something else entirely. Dave

Good post:001_smile: Dave

Tom, So Sylvia and I have talked about this and would love to go. Especially seeing as Boise is her home town. (She claims to remember Julia Davis park when it was first established. ) Being as it is 100 years old, me thinks she is exaggerating. Dave

:laugh1: The swivel is useful if you use redirects frequently because it automatically aligns to the pressures and allows you to spin underneath to position yourself. Dave

Please explain to me why one of these "trim" jobs should gleam our utmost respect for modern methodology in tree care and the other should be condemned as an appalling practice. Both were used to reduce risk in a traffic area. Dave

Tony, I am virtually positive Laz was not criticising you personally. It is always good to bring forth techniques as the industry develops. I believe his main concern on this particular technique is that it is discussed often and yet I have never once seen inherent dangers discussed or referred to. With most of our tools and techniques there are pros and cons, times to use them and times not to. But we need to be aware of all ramifications of those techniques in order to accurately judge if it is right for the particular occasion or not. Dave

Tom, I agree with your observations and I do think ergonomic efficiency is the most important aspect of SRT. When we first started foot locking it was nonsecured. We thought nothing of doing 40 and 50 ft "locks" unsecured and would just split the ropes, putting them behind our shoulders and rest on the rope. I have seen a lot of change. And like most old farts, I don't like change. However, I do like improved climbing techniques. I will excuse a young climber/newbie their inefficient movements because it all takes time to learn. But when someone has been handling ropes and been in the trees for 20 to 30 years, you shouldn't have to beat them over the head with a good idea. For them it should be obvious. The argument I run into the most is the "if it's not broken, don't fix it", but the ease of access using SRT should at least be experienced before being dismissed. Dave

I am sure you are all aware of the substantial side loads created by a redirect. If you are not familiar with this, just find a sling chart and look at the force multiple factors. With that aside, the problem with the M redirect is that you wind up with a substantial amount of rope by running it through the pulley and a friction hitch on just one side. If either one of your TIPs fail, you are all of a sudden holding a bunch of useless slack as you are falling. With the standard double rope redirect, (with two seperate ropes or the tail end of your rope) if one of your TIPs fail you will going for a swing but not a fall. Dave

As far as the worms go, if you use fresh tree chips with leafy matter as well, within 6 months to a year, you should not find any ground under that area that does not have worms. If you build it, they will come. Cardboard is a proven and inexpensive barrier. I prefer it to the weed mat. To suppress grasses without a barrier requires at least 8" of mulch. This could be too much for a veteran tree. Dave

What we recommend for mulching over pre-existing grass area is to cut the grass as short as possible, but not try to grub it out, as that will disturb roots. Thoroughly moisten the area to be mulched, lay sheets of cardboard with 6" overlap, (you might want to use landscape staples to hold that down) thoroughly soak that, and apply your 3 - 4" of organic mulch of choice. The cardboard will decompose but by the time it does, the grass roots should be dead. You will get reseeding from the surrounding grass area, but that will happen no matter what method you choose. Can the footpath be moved away from the tree? The psi on foot traffic can be as damaging as the impact from a pickup truck. Dave

Here is a poor, old neglected plains cottonwood (Populas sargentii) that my wife and I did this last week. 120 ft tall, 90 ft spread, 8.5 ft. dbh. Has many, many issues. But its location dictates that it be preserved as long as possible. Dave

And yet you constantly recommend coronets and fracture pruning on live trees. Dave

Lockjack is excellent for fast decents, among other things. I would like to interject a word here on those that have tried the Lockjack and then dismissed it and to those who may be reluctant to try it based on those reports. Most of us require years with the climbing systems that we use to become confident and competent. Using a Lockjack is not the same as just tying a different knot. It is a different system. It would be unreasonable to expect the level of confidence felt with your current climbing system immediately on the Lockjack. I have used virtually all systems in tree climbing. Currently my preferred system is the Lockjack, followed closely by the hitch climber and a VT. But horses for courses... Dave