Albedo

Your'e not too old mate. I started at 33 if that's any encouragement to you and I'm still going 16 years later. I started grounding but was climbing after a few months as the boss had an injury so I had to get up the tree. My first ten years was a bit on and off as I was overseas or in higher education, full time climbing the last 6 years, so I've done more climbing since I was 43 than when I was younger. So maybe your'e too young and should wait 10 years or so before you get into it

Just be carefull, if your used to short gaffs, and you may be moving around on the ground between trees. Don't spike yourself in the foot. I have done this, on the railways in Wales where everything is a bit frantic, Straight in the heel of my left foot. It don't harf urt, and hurt for 2 or 3 years afterwards as well on cold days etc

Oops didn't notice I was in training and education, and that you were so new to the forum. I see your'e in Cheshire, if you pm me with your phone number I'll give you what advice I can over a chat on the phone. Also you could come along for a day maybe and see what its like. We were all new to it once and I believe in helping people out where I can.

I'm no expert s s steve but I used to get a bout of it about once a year for a good few years but haven't had it for 2 or 3 years now. Maybe its different in different cases. The drugs you get to wipe it out are pretty powerful, so maybe it gets all the little critters sometimes. Its just inconvenient as it can wipe you out completely for a week, which is always when youv'e got bills to pay. Thinking about it, I have a screw embedded in a new tyre in the van, a battery dying from winter battery fever, and one or two other bits to pay for. Have the work to pay for it, but this is just the kind of time it would choose to strike. Fingers crossed. Glad that you hopefully haven't got it Ben (sounds like your'e aware of it). Hope you get it sorted. Dr Brash will go back to being a tree doctor now

Nice thread title mate. This however is ringing some bells. Do you also get nausea feeling? If so you may have a dose of giardia (not sure of spelling) , I copped it in India from dodgy water. I notice that you'e a kiwi. Giardia is present in some of the stream waters of Abel Tasman National Park, and I think in other places too. You can pick it up in NZ. Its an intestinal parrasite and although treatable, you never really get rid of it as it can lay dormant as eggs in the intestinal wall. So if your getting the nausea as well I'd get down the GP. They are not always familliar wit it in the UK, so its worth suggesting it to them. Hope its not this, but it may put your mind at rest if you can get it sorted. Don't worry its not fatal, worst scenario is bad nausea.

No prob mr Dawson, taken as intended. Sometimes I make cynical posts, and you have to take whatever comes back when you do that. Your response, was fair enough, but I thought I ought to let people carry on with their discussion without further interference from me being silly.

Alright I'll go play somewhere else in a minute. Had a look at my orange rope, and it turns out to be Yale xtc blaze. No date on it that I can find. This appears to be the rope that the one you are discussing is an upgrade of. One poster mentioned that a rope wears a bit easy, if reffering to this one, I've noticed that mine does seem to do that. Must go as its inside drying and my cat is starting to have a go at it, maybe that answers the signs of wear thing

Mr Dawson One of us, does not know how to spell annorak. It may be me. Does it have one 'n' or 2 ?

Mine's a bright orange one, don't know or really care what its called, but it works well, in that I'm still here. Might pop out to the truck and have a look as I do like it and would buy another one. What a load of rope annoraks we have on arbtalk! (Smiley - can't see where to add one in quick reply)

Employed climber cheshire - take home less than 300 per week Subby 100 - 120 pd = 5 - 600 per week I did ten years on and off employed on various crap amounts of pay. Then four years freelance on 100 - 120. I worked for three firms regularly, provided ms200 and climbing gear own butties and flask, and my witty cheerfull company for the day. All the firms I worked for were top people (Arbtalk viewers and members). I was on their insurance, although I don't think I pointed this out at the time. Biggest problem with subbying is remembering how to start old husky chainsaws, how the truck opens at he back on 5 different trucks, buttons on chippers etc, I used to get quite confused, working methods too Now I'm a one man band, coming up 2 years. The deal is that for each step. employed, subby, own firm - I have earned more money for less work.

I have the same steel/ single cab LDV, with wooden greedy boards and go to the commercial tip that has a weigh bridge. The receipts vary a bit, but the heaviest weight after tipping is 2400KG that includes 2x o20's, 038, blower, hedgecutter, climbing gear, lowering rope, and fuel cans, and ally 3 section ladder. And me 11 stoner, so yours will be 7 stone more, plus any flashy shiny chainsaws you may have like 88s etc. I fill it to the brim with unchipped stuff, and no matter whether its connifer, or whatever it never comes out more than about 950kg on what I've crammed on to it, whether I've mashed it up with the saw or not. I wanted a TW125 for xmas, but santa let me down on that one.

So Hamadryad, What's yer point!

No Worries mate, I'm over it. I'm afraid I quoted you just then because, it all clicked in my head, about the more general points I wanted to make about all this forum business. I thought it might be helpful to people who are a bit worried about dipping their toe in the water. You are not the villain of the piece . You do need the skin of a rhino sometimes though aye!!!

quote skyhuck last year ”Its this kind of patronising extremist that puts people off”. That was referring to me in ‘Glyphosate and Trees’ last xmas – 31,12,08 - Post 57 If that’s not personal, I don’t know what is. However I may well have been guilty of being patronising, if we put your comment in context, and I think I admitted guilt at the time. The reason I bring this up, is not to have a pop at you skyhuck, I like your blunt style, and find your opinions well informed. However, as a newbie to forums at the time, the whole, being involved thing did my head in. I stayed away for this year, but after a lay off period started to keep an eye on Arbtalk again as it is so useful, for all kinds of info, that you often didn’t even know you needed. I just started posting again, and the first (actually second) thing I do is the facetious, completely unhelpful, post I made earlier in this thread. I did this, because I found your style a bit preachy Hamad. I couldn’t help myself! and was quite pleased when it was completely ignored, as I would have had a job defending it. The Glyphosate thread got 104 posts and 3,393 views (the guy who started it, made his post, then didn’t look for a while so he got quite a shock) Hamads thread has 297 posts and 3,800 views, when I looked before I lost my connection, so you beat the last Christmas record – congrats mate My point is that this forum thing is indeed tricky, its not like normal communication as you don’t know who you’re talking to. The one thing I would like to come out of this post, that I am now making, is that if you want to have a serious debate about something, you really do have to reference, your data (as I think Paradise said). Otherwise it is purely subjective. I know this is not always possible, but some attempt would be nice. In fairness to you Hamad, you have said when something is your own opinion and from your own observation etc. This is fair enough. As an afterthought, are you familiar with James Lovelock of Ghaia fame. His model – ‘Daisy World’ of the earth as a self regulating organism, might be of interest to you. He’s one of my heroes, and refers to the ‘scientific straight jacket’ in one of his books. He was a big cheese who invented an electron detector for the Gas Chromatographer. (This is the means by which we detect how much of something is in something else). He couldn’t let loose with his real thoughts until he retired because ….. anyway I digress and this post is long enough. seasons greetings and positive posting to all, may many trees be based next year, and may we all pay off our chippers

For climbing, remember that you'll need to wear spikes sometimes. So you need a boot with well defined heel / sole division i.e. not rounded off in any way, so spikes sit nice and firm.

Hamad - you being a 'master of fine tip reducion' and our Gavin being chomping at the bit to take down huge trees - Maybe you two should team up. By the way I agree with skyhuck on a lot of what he's been saying lately - makes a change from a year ago Mr Huck PS Hamad - never let the facts get in the way of a good story aye mate Old pollards were aerial coppice - keeping the young shoots away from cows, lions, moose etc. Ask the National Trust in Cumbria, they've got tons of old neglected ones

Quote 'untill you get arrested' Thank you Mr Saw-sick. You do have a point as it does look like youv'e lost the plot, waving your arms about, like a madman. Its usually only the first hour of the day for me, as above about 1 degree C, I don't get the numb fingers, and round here it usually climbs a degree or two by 9.30 10ish.

When your fingers start to go numb, windmill your arms quite fast, it gets the blood flowing back in them. I saw this on Bear gryls (whatever his name is) programme a few weeks ago. It really works, it seems the longer you windmill the longer it lasts.

I’m running a policy of no major work on connifers during nesting season.Also any tree work where nests are seen to be present. My first client who wanted a connifer hedge reduced by 50 per cent agreed to delay till September. So very positive response and good for my reputation too, and no work lost yet. I expect to lose work over it though but my conscience won’t allow me to continue with the summer carnage. What are other peoples thoughts on the matter? and is there an official date for the end of nesting season? I know pigeons go on breeding 2 or 3 times in a season and would like to include them in the amnesty, so advice on when they finish also apreciated. I’m aware that there are laws on this, i.e. No disturbing nests period. But in my past career working for other tree surgeons this has been largely ignored. Advice and opinions appreciated

Have a look at - learn spanish.com Look under - Free Stuff - Theres tonnes of useful stuff, and if you like their way of doing it (by understanding and using grammar as a tool), you can buy stuff. I lived in spain for 4 years and worked hard at it to get to a half decent level. I use the above site, and all the free stuff to try to keep my hand in.

A piece of anecdotal evidence, i.e no real proof but perhaps interesting. The debate has moved on to the discussion of alternatives. Fair enough for those of you who have large scale applications to worry about, I understand that you silviculturists have a different or bigger problem and will leave you to discuss it unmolested by the ‘patronising extremist’. However I’m a domestic client, back garden arborist so I might have an easier choice to make. Years ago, in France I was clearing a windblown oak for a farmer. During a smoko break I was counting the rings to get an idea of how old the tree had been. I noticed that a few years back from the latest growth ring there were a series of rings all about 1mm apart rather than say 5-8mm apart like all the rest. I asked the farmer if there had been a long drought or some climatic reason or any other ideas i.e. attack of P & D etc for this period of reduced growth. He said that all weather and climate had been normal. He didn’t know about P & D but he knew that roundup had been used on the field to control weeds for the crop he was growing, and that it corresponded with the period of reduced growth rings. I believe that the roundup may have killed off the trees mycchorizal root fungi. This would explain the reduced growth. You could see from later years that the tree and its mycchorizae recovered. The story didn’t have a happy ending though as I was there to chop it up. I don’t know why it blew over, but during the 8 years or so that the reduced growth rings were present, the tree may have been weakened enough to allow secondary organisms to attack. Or maybe it was just, its time. As I say, although this is not proof of anything, it’s enough (along with all the other scientific evidence) for me to exercise caution in the use of chemicals around the root zone of trees. There’s a school of thought amongst scientists and concerned individuals who want to invoke what they call the ‘Precautionary Principal’. Scientists got fed up with the onus of proof being placed on them by companies like Monsanto and by Government departments like DEFRA. I.e. we say this product is safe and will allow it to be used until you prove otherwise. DEFRA and other relevant Gov’t departments have to take industry interests, jobs etc into account and therefore cannot act solely in the interests of the public, or end user. They are involved in a complex and difficult balancing act, whereas I as an individual am not. Environmental scientists want to put the onus of proof where it belongs, with the manufacturer. So you can’t market a product until you (the manufacturer) prove it is safe. You only have to look at Monsanto’s’ involvement in GM to see that the onus of proof is still on us and not them. (I’m not against all GM technology by the way. I’m on the fence awaiting evidence, but I am against Monsanto’s roundup resistant crop technology and marketing and legal actions etc, but that’s another issue) So I personally use the ‘Precautionary Principal’ in my use of chemicals around the root zone of trees. I.e. In the absence of conclusive accepted proof, one way or the other, or in the absence of universal agreement, there is enough evidence for me to choose not to use pesticides / herbicides in little back garden situations. I thought I might also post this link to what seems to be a reasonably balanced article on Glyphosate. It seems there is a small element of choice based on the type of surfactant used by Monsanto as it has a version of its product with a less environmentally destructive surfactant than the one used in the mark 1 version. http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Actives/glyphosa.htm

As Quickthorn says its hard to get access to the articles referenced in Nomads link as often you have to pay subscriptions and at best you get an abstract. The link no longer works but if you google ‘pesticide profile glyphosate’ you get one of the articles with the URL starting – abc birds. If you Google ‘the glyphosate threat’ you get the other article with URL that starts – rag.org Heres a few things I’ve found: Only freely available extracts posted for copyright reasons, 1) A piece of independant research. 2) A review article. 3) A statement from Monsanto. 4) More food for thought. All 4 are available in full at the links provided here. 1) THE LETHAL IMPACT OF ROUNDUP ON AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL AMPHIBIANS. RICK A. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 USA Abstract. The global decline in amphibian diversity has become an international environmental problem with a multitude of possible causes. There is evidence that pesticides may play a role, yet few pesticides have been tested on amphibians. For example, Roundup is a globally common herbicide that is conventionally thought to be nonlethal to amphibians. However, Roundup has been tested on few amphibian species, with existing tests conducted mostly under laboratory conditions and on larval amphibians. Recent laboratory studies have indicated that Roundup may be highly lethal to North American tadpoles, but we need to determine whether this effect occurs under more natural conditions and in post-metamorphic amphibians. I assembled communities of three species of North American tadpoles in outdoor pond mesocosms that contained different types of soil (which can absorb the pesticide) and applied Roundup as a direct overspray. After three weeks, Roundup killed 96–100% of larval amphibians (regardless of soil presence). I then exposed three species of juvenile (post-metamorphic) anurans to a direct overspray of Roundup in laboratory containers. After one day, Roundup killed 68–86% of juvenile amphibians. These results suggest that Roundup, a compound designed to kill plants, can cause extremely high rates of mortality to amphibians that could lead to population declines. Full article available at: http://www.pitt.edu/~biohome/Dept/pdf/1703.pdf Ecological Applications, 15(4), 2005, pp. 1118–1124 q 2005 by the Ecological Society of America 2) Also found this: Glyphosate A review of its health and environmental effects By Andre Leu Conclusion Glyphosate is widely used in the mistaken belief that it is harmless, safe and readily breaks down leaving no residues. Consequently, it is sprayed in public areas while people are present and by operators without protective clothing. These people are exposed to the drift of this herbicide. The facts show that Glyphosate causes a range of health problems to humans, plants and animals, it causes environmental problems and that it is highly persistent. It is time that the widespread use of this toxic chemical on roadsides, footpaths, parks, gardens, schools, farms, forestry, national parks etc was stopped or highly restricted. Full article available at : http://www.geocities.com/opaq2001/glyphosate.htm 3) Monsanto’s version of events is available at: http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto/content/products/productivity/roundup/gly_efate_bkg.pdf In relation to effects on aquatic systems Monsanto says. “In situations where a glyphosate herbicide is applied to weeds growing in water, the exposure of non-target aquatic species is expected to be reduced due to interception by target vegetation and dissipation over time via binding to sediment and microbial degradation” 4) More Food For Thought: Health and Environmental Impacts of Glyphosate is a report by the Pesticides Trust [now PAN UK] produced for Friends of the Earth. Topsy Jewell is an independent environmental researcher and a member of the Pesticides Trust Board. [This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 41, September 1998, page 5] Article available in full at: http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Issue/pn41/PN41p5.htm

By the way Skyhuck. Your 'patronizing extremists' comment says more about you than me. You might want to put your brain in gear next time.

My dial up keeps cutting out so here goes. If you dish it out, you have to be able to take it. So Skyhuck, God knows I've been pompous/patronizing in this thread. Criticism accepted, I'll try not to do it again. Quickthorn, I may well have jumped to conclusions, I'll try not to do that again as well. No pomposity and no jumpin. I promise and apologise for any offense, none intended. Can't guarantee it tho you know what I'm like