Arob

Tony, you took a bit of a kicking on this thread, but i ask in the spirit you expressed here; i'm interested to see how the tree responded - did you take any further photos? Thanks.

The points regarding danger and cost may in some cases be related - pushing on to finish, doing long days, waiting to repair/replace kit, taking bigger risks and so on. Constantly chasing to catch up also adds stress and can cloud judgement and increase risk taking, so there is a balance between silly money and silly risks. As for Dave 123's original post i would say that the prices are in the right area. As for the difference on the prices, one explanation may be that there are some jobs that can be taken on with less kit and some that need more kit, some boys have lots of toys some have fewer. Your job sounds small enough to be done by those with just a few toys, other jobs are impossible without, or become increasingly cost effective through, the use of big toys. There'll be loads of brash (i.e. branch material and foliage) from your job - meaning lots of handling and possibly multiple trips to tip site. Plus the resin just gets everywhere and blackens everything!

...i've got a question...you know the wildlife and countryside act....

Have you considered proving the apple with a little bit of a feed? Some chicken manure pellets spread at recommended rate around the drip zone might assist its regrowth.

have you seen tommy craggs' work (http://www.treesculpting.co.uk/)? Based in north County Durham and also travels.

That could indeed be argued, but as a counterpoint we could look at mankinds selection of species and strains for use in monocropping. Sometimes we don't understand the benefits of the individual as we are trained to think in a particular way, so traditionally foresters have concentrated on yield hence blanket non-native block planting, a local authority here used to pollard street trees, now they don't pollard or even manage the regrowth so well, the new trend is to plant massively disproportianate amounts of fastigiate Carpinus. In plants which were once spurned we may discover a valuable trait such as resistance to specific pest, disease, drought etc. This is driving the work to protect biological diversity and develop seed banks. In humans illness can spur a new phase of growth - many stories of cancer patients undergoing a whole change in their outlook. Road races make an odd spectator sport, if you go to see you only get a tiny glimpse into the race which is why tv coverage is so good. If, as others have said, there is a management plan which is favouring native species it could be useful, if people get the chance to witness the courage of a Jonny Hoogerland [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCTYyQ1ovC8&feature=related]Johnny Hoogerland 'Tour De Johnny' 2011 - YouTube[/ame] (see 1.30 not even complaining!) or the tenacity of a Thomas Voeckler then perhaps it is of benefit to the human spirit?

(Apologies for thread title) this links to a New York Times article about a bloke taking pictures of some of their finest trees. Including some wonderful Elms.

For me the best way is usually the quickest, as i don't have a yard.

Thanks for the info Fungus, and thanks for being one step ahead of me with the observations Sloth. Will be interested to return to site to look at butt of fallen section - that habitat pile might need to go though! - and to get up a ladder and see what's going on up there around the branch union. More pics to follow i expect. Just one last question from the back of the class Gerrit, any advice in terms of a clean up? Thanks.

Having seen the failure of a minor branch which had seemingly developed as a result of earlier work (reduction of a major limb - some time ago i assume given extent of decay in section of old limb extending beyond the minor branch) with consequent limited connective tissue, i had returned to tidy it up and was surprised to see catastrophic failure of a much larger limb. This had survived the worst days of the recent high winds and must only have failed at the very tail end. The fault hadn't been identified when looking at the tree from ground level, and appears to have been the result of damage from an earlier tear out on the upper side of the limb. The decay had set and extended up the limb by two metres or more causing extensive softening of the heartwood. I noticed these small fungal fbs in the compost that was once branch. Can you id? Are they primary or secondary in nature? I expect to return to examine the remainder of the branch to look and perhaps probe for decay into the main stem - any advice you could offer?

Not sure how you do it fungus (Gerrit), just tell me where to send the cheque! Thanks

Hi David, thanks for the prompt reply.

Two more.

Greetings Gents, hoping to get your views on these chaps, snapped on my phone; a dessicated gilled fungus found at base of a lions tailed sycamore (help reqd to id), woodpecker holes in section of ash affected by inonotus hispidus (for your enjoyment), unidentified fb's at base of veteran beech suffering severe dieback - my limited knowledge looks at size and location and offers ganoderma and daldinia - but i don't think it's either of those (help reqd to id please) unidentified parasols in leaf litter flesh remained white after breaking (lepiota?) Thanks in advance!

Just had the radio on and they mentioned this site, I thought you chaps might appreciate it Fungi and Lichens | iSpot

Just seen Janey's reply in http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/tree-health-care/8603-whats-up-rowans.html in which she mentions whitebeams also being affected. Here I noticed several whitebeams including one long line in a good wide verge which in late summer looked as if they'd been sprayed with herbicide (I'm pretty sure they hadn't been).

To try and keep things neat I thought I'd bung this here, given the name of the programme. Anyway, one of the funniest tv clips occurs in this prog, which is interesting in its own right BBC iPlayer - This World: 2009-2010: Can Obama Save the Planet? if you haven't the time or interest to watch the whole hour then f/fwd to 34 mins and watch the next 3 mins at the Las Vegas pig farm. Hats off to the presenter, he's got a good sense of humour

I think it's similar to the way that sand dunes form a critical mass before slipping and extending their base, hence spreading the load. I wonder if there is a thermal benefit in having a covering of snow snow (minimising frost damage which is offset against the loading effect)? Or perhaps it is simply that the benefit of light harvesting outweighs the cost of risk of physical damage? Nice pic btw Tim

Snow I never! Fair cop guv

"why does nearly every species of conifer have horizontal branches?" To catch light? To shed snow (depending on location)?

Has anyone got any advice on ensuring the static line in the hitchclimber doesn't interfere with the vt? Haven't got a photo to show, but was anchored off a choked krab and using the spliced eye on the static end, found it held too close to the wraps, and prevented them from funtioning properly - so often had to re-dress the hitch to ensure it bit down. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the replies chaps. I think you are probably either on, or near, the money Bundle 2, but thankfully it's not critical to ID it, more to expand my limited knowledge. In case it's of any interest, I've taken a couple of pics of a dryads saddle that's been sat, upperside down, on the ground for a couple of months. (The bracket is now becoming limp and the main source of degradation appears to be small burrowing insects with holes apparent on upper and under surfaces, perhaps these were caused by maggots, as there were small flies present.)

So you've got a sat nav?

In my view the problem of politics is that no matter how well intentioned you are you may not be able to cause people to act in the way that you may wish them to. The greatest wo/man in the world, whoever s/he may be, (opinions are many!) cannot force another to change their mind or heart, yet in many cases politician's are judged on the actions of others. So it is a very unenviable position. And then add to that the fact of the political inheritance - the legacy of one Government, or Leader, to the next! Perhaps this was why Ghandhi advised that, "you must be the change you wish to see in the world", (as opposed to thinking that change must occur externally)? It is for this reason that I believe that the arguments between absolute political systems eg solicialism vs capitalism are entirely baseless; as our society is no more than the sum of it's parts, if people behave inappropriately then it is inappropriate; regardless of any prevailing political preferences. There are examples of great people who have had socialist sympathies and great people who have had capitalist sympathies, but it was not their political ideology which made them great, it was their attitude to others; their tolerance, benevolence, forgiveness, and so forth.

Maybe I've got it wrong, or perhaps it's one of the hundreds/thousands still to be named?