Ty Korrigan

Been alot of chat about the new Stihl 500i on French Arb FB pages. 500 have been released to select dealers but very little info otherwise. Prices? Specs? Full release dates? My 2009 441 is becoming tired so I might hold off replacing it if there is a real chance of the 500i being available soon. Stuart

Client sent me these. I spotted the vestiges of fungi last Autumn at the base of a 35+m poplar which is being used as one of 4 supports for a large cabin mounted some 4m off the ground. If... this is Armillaria sp. I will propose a staged reduction over the next few years to reduce leverage. Something else I'd like to try is to let the climber use spikes in Springtime and treat the wounds with rooting hormone. The tree is coming down anyway in time and perhaps the spike wounds might generate some new growth? I notice poplar sometimes developes a thick roll of cork cambium around the wound after the main stem has been felled and from this new shoots grow. Mad to try that out? Stuart

Am I looking at mature Sulphur tuft here? Damn they look like Chanterelles. Stuart

Chipper lights work fine on other vehicules though and there is a dash board yellow warning light permanently on merdre alors...

So, I have an electrical issue which gives me half of my chipper lights. On the truck, specifically a 2007 Iveco, where is the wiring loom earth to be found? On top of the battery is a plate with multiple connections. Could it be here? Might as well try the basics before I call in an auto-electrician. Regards Stuart

Nah, more to it than that it seems. Luckyeleven has found one on Ebay. I'm just waiting on a reply to my message.

Hello, Wingmirror number 4 passenger side smashed off by a speeding Frenchman on his phone. I had my wheels on the verge to try and avoid him. Anyway, I though I had a bargain online but it is a left hand drive wingmirror which is useless for vision although it fits. Can any one point me to a reliable source other than Iveco themselves? Looking to avoid paying dealer parts prices. Thank you in advance. Stuart

Ah, that will be the infamous 'Quittus Fiscal' in triplicate, stamped and signed by the tax office, your social security organism, the mayor, your doctor, the gendarmerie and the local bar to say you have paid your tab. Stuart

Any French government website or body which demands you justify yourself by producing endless pieces of paper less than 3 months old and when you have submitted your dossier replies after 28 days that you lack an 'element' which isn't even on the list (2 elements actually) which if not submitted in 5 working days will cause your application to be rejected so requiring a day off work traipsing from one 1970's architecturally challenged building to another where people tell you that you do not need this paper anyway despite us being told to produce it... Stuart

Me too, here in Liffre. Full road closure, diversions in place. Council gave us the barriers and an official 'arret municipal' permissions. Jogger vaults the barriers just as a chog bounces past him. Teenager also tried his luck and petulantly called his Father to get us to let him through. We spoke to the Father later and he apologised for his son. Old people "but I walk my dog here every day"... Another job out West and a British tourist and his family in a Freelander, up the pavement, onto the bank and gets bitch slapped by a leylandii. Didn't stop to pick up his passenger wingmirror either. Stuart

This image shows the tree December 2016 during a deadwooding operation. The crane behind is part of the viaduct construction. Stuart

Just to be clear, I was referring to the throw of that Delek item made from Chinesium.... Not dissing Jo Beau or Haeksler in anyway. Stuart

One of my older and higher spending clients had some land expropriated by the city of Rennes for the new metro system. This 25m oak stands near the limit of the property with a third of it's roots now lying under a metre of bund with a fence on top. To the left a hedge, leylandii which my company planted by cutting a trench right through the roots. I was as the Germans used to say "only following orders" As the clients personal contractor I had zero influence over this project, I could only speak to the city project managers through my client. Doing so led drew negative focus on our small company and caused us to not be invited to tender again. So now, 4 years after the metro began, this tree has now significant die back and it's life significantly curtailed. However, more problematic is this handsome ganoderma I saw this on this evenings inspection. Potential targets are a new metro line above ground on a viaduct, fences and the house. Question is, before I get one of the few specialists out to survey (picus has arrived in France now) How far advanced might this fungi be? I think I might be looking at my first ever crane job... Stuart

In that video on the link, the chip throw is just overwhelming. I'm not sure it would even reach the back of my truck in a light breeze. Is there anyone out there who has put some serious hours on one of this type of machine? We have a CS100 with over 300hrs and it is still punching above it's weight and still in great condition. Stuart

Morning, After I had a hedge cutting accident in 2007 I bought a Henchman platform, senior I think. I was working for a French company as an employee harvesting yew at a vinyard and was cutting off a ladder with a plank attached to it. Plank slipped, hedge cutter made contact with my left inner forearm severing tendons. Oddly enough, this has just happened this September to a mates young employee here despite me warning him this could happen one day. I had previously had a heated discussion about safety only a few weeks before and got the usual Gallic shrug for my efforts. He'd been cutting off domestic steps for 20 years he said... Type of guy who cuts branches working from ladders. However, working from steps is strictly forbidden even in France especially for employees. Stuart

I find the legs go in between plants quite well. Besides, clients who plant up to hedges are just not thinking about the practicalities of maintenance. How dare they moan about my size 10's leveling their annuals and herbaceaous border as I get on with the impossible task of missing their marigolds with feet, ladder or rake... Stuart

https://www.henchman.co.uk/products/hi-step-platforms.html Possible the finest and safest solution cost wise. Worth every penny but I do cut alot of hedges. Stuart

Henchman platform. 4 legs extendable by 70cm I have an extension kit for it too for extra height but rarely used. Feeling safe vastly improves productivity. Stuart

I imagine that after Jan 1st 2019 when red is no longer supposed to be used for plant, the Gendarmes and Douaniers (customs) will start dippping tanks of plant both at roadside checks and on sites to check if it is being used illegally. They regularly visit building sites checking for unregistered workers as it is. Stuart

Any-one interested in working in Brittany? 2 local firms have contacted me to ask if I know any suitable candidates. An experienced person required for a landscape and maintenance company and a climber is required to join a tree firm. You need to speak some French though. Stuart

Why would I risk it? I get stopped every year more than once as it is. Proximity to ports and our trade like the building trade is known for such tricks. Stuart

Here is one of many articles online. http://www.lefigaro.fr/conso/2018/09/24/20010-20180924ARTFIG00306-en-2019-le-prix-du-gazole-va-quasiment-rattraper-celui-de-l-essence.php GNR (which replaced fioul in 2011) will only be available to farmers and the rail transport sector from January 1st 2019 Diesel at the pump to rise by around 7cents. I think the maritime guys have their own diesel stained blue. Stuart

Red diesel is almost finished in France. Gasoil non-routier will no longer available to any-one other than farmers or trains. We must all run on white. The purchase price is lower than a diesel, fuel consumption and cost slightly higher, lower cost of interest on finance due to lower price. Playing around with figures, I deduce that over the 5 years I will own the machine, the cost is about the same as a diesel. However the initial investment was lower. Besides this, I live opposite a petrol station. Diesel will certainly rise in price as it is slowly squeezed out of fashion. My house is rented and I have no local yard, thus I am limited by law to storing no more than 20litres of petrol (Aspen in my case) or diesel so a 200litre barrel of cherry bought from a farmer is out of the question. I get stopped by the Douane a couple of times a year who dip my tanks. If they find cherry in them after the date for stopping it's use has passed then it's trouble at mill. So lot's of good reasons for choosing a petrol engine over diesel. Stuart

Yes, U.K bought although I rather thought the machines were all made to the same 'norm' these days. Perfidious French!z Until I get a stop switch fitted it does not conform to the tighter French safety regs. Of course these things are only important when you have an accident using the machine or want to re-sell. Reading into the new regs here, all existing machines must be converted to bottom bar with a minimum of 120cm to the feed rollers. Machines which do not conform can no longer be used or sold unless for parts. Stuart