Ty Korrigan

Whilst I lie here, dull with Covid, I read about others poplar based adventures. Last week we breezed past this job from September 2021 A staged removal because the owner needs time to get his head around the changes to his chateau driveway. They will be felled in 5-7 years. The lombardies measured 29m. We reduced them to 19m and stripped them to bare poles. The reason was multiple failures through root decay caused by Armillaria and classic lombardy heartwood decay but I was unable to i.d a fungi for that. In retrospect, I could have got in a MEWP to save the climber. The result has exceeded both the clients and my own expectations. Which is fortunate because he was very anxious not to lose the ambiance of the long driveway. I also found a large Sparassus crispa on a Douglas stump I felled in 2013 Stuart

The pleasure and pride I get from owning a reliable machine cannot be overstated. The Evo has done more for my mental health than any prescription medication or counseling ever. That filters through to every aspect of my life so my whole family and entourage see a different me. Stuart

Finished early Thursday so Jérôme offered Alex a flying lesson using SRT The lad was confident, trusting both in Jérôme and the equipment. Fearless would be a wild description but he certainly passed the requirements of the entry test for arb college. We'll stay in touch and our door is open for further work experience and maybe, maybe other opportunities. I've prepared a small motivational thank you package which we'll present once I recover from Covid, tested positive Thursday so Alex's week cut short by a day. Stuart

"Could you work faster please"... Stuart VID_20221018_145941.mp4

Agadir? Stuart

This is Alex, my work experience lad studying a 3 year forestry course but wants to slide into climbing. He is with me for two weeks, one more to go. Although I was given an incomprehensible document to read and sign, alot of it is generally ignored by employeurs. Very little information was required and no official visit made to see is we were suitable as 'hosts' At 15 I can't let him use any saws or cutters although he is keen but I couldn't keep him away from the chipper for long which he has taken onboard as his personal responsibility after watching him struggle with the safety bar and buttons whilst not looking at me for advice. He'd hit the red 🍄 on top again. He gets dropped off at 8:30, works hard then I feed and water him, grafts some more and I drop him home whenever. He's bright, motived, interested in all things arb, trees and fungi. So far he's not given me any cause to swear though I tend to let him work things out for himself to the point I really need to intervene. One day, early finish, so put him in a harness and got him body thrusting up the wee lime in the garden. I think he'll go away having learned positive things and if later in his course he requires another placement, my door will be open for him. Stuart

I think that for those young bucks wishing to make a life in France, marrying a French wench could be a way in. It worked for @Luckyeleven though he became too fat for his harness after a year of wedded bliss. Stuart

You have been traumatised by Forst ownership, shaken by Schliesing and now battling the Triggers Broom that is the GM150

Took it to the workshop where Didier saw the issue right away. This model has the wankiest security system ever devised. I mean, it is safe but über awkward to operate with a jerky motion which is very fatiguing. The nuts that hold the system together need locktight as they creep with the vibrations and only need to move slightly for a huge effect on flow. Just that, very simple. I'd remove the security if it was only for my use but I bought it for clients to use as a deal sweetener. The dealer I bought it from (also a GM dealer to avoid) previously told me there was no problem just a low oil level and I'd simply not greased the rail enough (gives dealer a hard stare through narrowed eyes for mugging me off) Back on site the client started splitting wood with the machine on a slight slope. Hydro oil pissed out in a long green stream from the breather narrowly missing the tarmac drive. The dealer had overfilled and with the machine not being level flooded the breather. The Briggs dealer did the same to my 150P despite the hydro system having no connection to the engine management. Luckily I spotted that before taking it out to work because that would have been messy and embarrassing on the clients driveway. Anyway we repositioned wood splitter on more level ground and started again. Runs perfectly though I now need to remove some hydro oil to be on the safe side. Stuart

Hello, I have a generic Chinesium Briggs powered road tow splitter which is very much like the Rock Machinery 22t model. Recently it has simply lost power. Hydro fluid is at the correct level. I cannot see any obvious inline filter to check, replace or clean. Is there likely to be an internal one inside the pump? Also, is there any adjustment on the pump for flow rate? If I can't find a simple fix, I'll take it to my local machine work shop. The owner himself uses it from time to time and would certainly fix it for free but there is a certain pride in problem solving oneself. Cheers Stuart

You'll need to apply for a work visa but to obtain that first an offer of employment. There is certainly a shortage of arb workers here of all categories but as free movement has ended you must abide by the 90day rule so there is simply no 'moving to France' without some hoop jumping unless as inactive (retired) You have a 3 month window within which to find a company that will be able to offer you some employment before you must return to the UK for 90 days. A suggestion is trying the larger outfits which engage in line work. Best of luck Stuart

I just asked the accountant (Mrs Lee) and we spend 1.25% of our turnover on publicity. That is Pages Jaune and web site hosting Google and the reviews are free and pure gold. I take images on my phone, post to instagram share via FB and upload to Google Maps. I fluctuate between a 30% to 70% uptake per month though I still need to update my year on year average figures. A grand a month for £10-12k in accepted quotes does seems rather steep to me. Stuart

I bought a steel pulley for very little and was stunned at what the wee Solis could pull. Stuart

Do you know the cost of that? I imagine it doesn't kink like a cable which at times can be frustrating to release. Stuart

On the French news, small businesses reliant on electricity and gas are closing upon the advice of their accountants, rather than get into debt. I suspect that many of these were marginally profitable anyway. Better to close than to run up debts to and risk losing your home though recent legislation has offered better protection against such scenarios. Boulangeries and laundries especially vulnerable it seems. Enquiries are lighter than last year, a sign that people are thinking ahead perhaps? Stuart

Which is why they render, cheap porous block work. Based on what I see in France... Stuart

I was about to post along this line myself but thought for once I'll read the whole thread beforehand. My main climber charges a sum which represents his worth and allows me to make a margin I'm happy with. A less capable climber would mean a lower margin (which is why I rarely climb) I'm in business and my goal is net profit so am happy to pay for a fast efficient climber. Stuart

October 2022 in Lantillac Morbihan Brittany Yew hanging onto life next to a 16th century cross. A European hornets nest occupies a cavity further up. If that isn't just the definition of Tolkiens Ent HO HUM... Stuart

Mrs Lee just found an article on a new species of Hornet even worse than the Asiatic, the Oriental... Le Frelon oriental, espèce très dangereuse, détecté à Marseille pour la première fois en France FRANCE3-REGIONS.FRANCETVINFO.FR Une nouvelle espèce de frelon, le frelon oriental, a été découverte pour la première fois en France, à Marseille... Stuart

Guêpes et frelons asiatiques WWW.ELAGAGE-HEVEA.COM Retrouvez l'essentiel pour lutter contre les guêpes et le frelon asiatique : pistolet insecticide longue portée... Guns and ammo freely available but pointless buying when so many regions finance the destruction through approved/licenced companies. Even finding training and getting on a course in de-insectification is a near impossibility here. Stuart

Indeed. Stuart

Here, Jerome gives our local exterminator (former tree surgeon and Blakes hitch man) a crash course in SRT in order to reach a particularly difficult nest. Our man failed due to the +30c temperatures. Then Jerome said "putain" and put the neoprene suit on himself (Meindl Airstreams) Upon reaching the nest the feckers swarmed him. He treated it then shot out of the tree faster than the SAS on an embassy balcony. Amazing descent, well he does climb competitively. Stuart

Free in fact, paid for entirely by the commune in this region of Brittany but no-one including the client or his neighbours in the village could see a nest so no-one to take responsibility for it. I recently abandoned moving my wood pile at my renovation due to Asiatics interested either in the grape vine or those others insects feeding on the grapes. I watched for a long time and saw they took off in 3 directions. After noting their flight paths, I walked several hundred metres across fields towards copses yet could not see a single nest in any tree. Like yours, the nests often very difficult to spot until you are almost upon them. Even then, you need a property owner to take responsibility and sign the required forms. Stuart

So far only one job abandoned this year when Asiatics started bombing Jerome in the heat of the afternoon. The nest was close but hidden amongst other trees. We went back a week later, early morning when they are less active. Jerome got stung twice in the face last year, me 7 times on the back and head in 2016 which sent me to hospital with a severe reaction. Between PPM, OPM and Asian hornets, volonteering on the Ukrainian front line is looking to be the safe option. Stuart

I've never gone in for creating balls out of trees. I respect the skill but it is an unnatural and unecessary look.