Arob

I think there has to be mention of manual handling somewhere in the RA. In the method statement it would be good to have some mention of how the job was priced i.e. how long each element is expected to take, perhaps not so in depth as a gant chart, but enough to improve communication and set / adjust expectations on both sides of equation. Also might sound ott for RA but some basic info on staff; e.g. name, mobile no., any medical conditions / medication and next of kin contact details / ICE no. Hopefully you never need any of this (especially the latter), but through repetition it might improve awareness / understanding of each other and improve teamworking.

Didn't he get squashed by a rootplate in the end? "Be a George not a Charlie"

Don't know the legal ins and outs of bartering / payments in kind, but I don't think that LETS schemes are taxable LETS Link UK: Homepage

Yes HF you could bridge graft - see p 273-278 of Grafters Handbook by RJ Garner and Repair Grafting

"hey man i just want some muesli" Anyone heard of Wilson Dixon? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmgkpCUt6D0]YouTube - Wilson Dixon "The Man With No Name"[/ame]

Get a positive ID first, then you can check your options.

Hard to see from photo, but wonder if it's scale insect?

Looking good Craig (Rod, did he start snoring after he pulledthe visor down?)

David, please pardon my ignorance, but could you point out the ustulina on the last shot (i'm only vaguely familiar with id'ing through the little black brackets and the black sheets), thanks.

Good one Rod, it came out well, even in the low light. Have to ask, did Craig have his helmet on on way home? Thanks for organising Tom - might have stayed the night if you'd mentioned this morning's climb - where did you hide that beast? Hats off to Johnny for giving it a good go on the last run.

As you can see, the braking system was sorted out, Jamie is modelling it here on his left hand, as Tom cranks the Hobbs to take up the slack.

Well, perhaps I'm impatient but it didn't show any evidence of sprouting so today it was ground out. Interestingly (perhaps!) it seemed to have overgrown a bit of post.

Have you been feeding the tree? (Good feeding in addition to good pruning can restore annual bearing where fruits have tended to overcrop one year then not fruit the following year.)

IIRC the shaggy ink-cap can have the effect of multiplying the effects of any alcohol drunk with it.

I think they're King Alfred's cakes - anyway, spotted yesterday.

Thanks Huck, thought there's been a similar thread but couldn't find. Mods - is it possible to tack this thread onto that one?

Had to pull over to take a photo of this Laburnum. The discolouration is really telling, pruning has left a big stub and below it is a significant injury damaging the bark, between them a large discoloured and decaying area. Anyone else got any pics of compartmentalisation / failure to compartmentalise?

Looking for the right thread to pop this pic onto - small ash taken down cross section of stem a foot or so either side of an inonotus hispidus bracket.

I started and stopped a few times, haven't smoked for 5 or 6 years, I found the whole 'stopping smoking' thing unhelpful it sort of like putting it off. Best thing I found was don't smoke, then it's finished. Just put your mind to it and you'll be right, soon you won't miss it and you'll feel better too.

I wasn't sure if it was a hot potato but as you (Dan and Nepia) have pointed out there does seem to be quite a bit of work done at times which seem to be at odds with best practice, or commonly available advice. I've been getting into apple pruning lately and it is very satifying to begin the process of restoration, but it is often a long road, I have found these Fruitwise films to be informative [ame] [/ame] (Nepia, a good bit of advice I got re; watershoots, pull out when young and never remove more than 90% so that there is somewhere for the energy to go, if these can't be allowed to develop to form new fruiting wood then they can be pruned out gradually in successive years)

Just wondering if anyone does much fruit tree pruning. But moreover, do you carry out work on fruit trees and flowering Cherries throughout the year? Or only specific times of the year?

Yes it's roadside (you can see my bike leaning against gate in pic 1), road side of tree was spray marked, so it may be getting felled soon. (I thought it was a Viz tree, especially the second photo.)

Any idea what's caused this?

Although it clearly has less deleterious effects on those working close to an exhaust, and so is less harmful to the user, I'm not convinced that it is a real boon for the environment as it's a by-product of petroleum production. It may be that it brings slightly greater efficiency to the production of petroleum products by using by-products, but I suspect it's only available in small quantities. It's not an alternative to fossil fuel which is, in reality, solar energy collected and condensed over millions of years. It would appear that it is only available because of the production of petrol, therefore for each unit of alkylate (eg Aspen), x units of petrol, diesel and heavy oil are produced and will be used. For these reasons I don't see that it is 'better for the environment' but if it is less harmful to the user, and can be left in machine without gumming carb and so extend the life of some machines, then it clearly has some benefits. I'm currently working on a wind-powered chainsaw, only problems left to resolve are cost, weight and interruption when blades catch on the branches and the ground.

Some causing quite a bit of damage on a Sorbus Aria today, short stem with 4 or 5 substantial branches breaking out in first 5 foot, the decay ran into each of the branches. Not great pics, but here they are. 2nd pic is a cross section at about 3 foot high, at ground level there was only good wood on one side of ring.