Albedo

I had a call for a job 3 weeks ago and could never get hold of the lady to go quote it. For some reason she called me last night to say she'd had it done by some cowboy who had leafleted their house. He'd been there half an hour, got 220 quid out of her and left with some of the arisings in a small red van never to return. He'd taken time to argue with her and her neighbour about how it cost him 90 quid to tip said arisings, and didn't finish the 'pruning' work. If I'd done the job and it had taken me say 2 hours to do it properly i.e all arisings removed and blown spotless with the blower, it would have cost her 70 quid. This little tale could go in a number of threads on bratalk but its relevence here, is .. let them see what a really bad job, looks like , feels like and costs aye. I thought you spent all your time at seminars and pushing the boundries of our honourable profesion M'd, good to see your gettin yer hands dirty old chap.

Cheers Khriss you saved my thread from going off the end onto page 2. Its taken a few days to get the feedback from age concern, but they now have a couple of takers, so its plodding along ok. They did point out that some people have to block off their fires in order to qualify for a heating grant of some sort, so it remains to be seen how useful this thing will be. Am going to split and collect the wood thats been donated next week some time. By the way Andy, I never saw your comments as negative, just realistic feedback which is all useful.

Concentric circles usually represent the spreading ripples in a pond when you throw a stone in, so I wonder if the designer had this in mind. It symbolises spreading information, connectedness etc and would be quite appropriate for a forum. I like the second tree but it is a bit too much like a connifer, and vote for the first for that reason only. Just noticed theres a C in the middle and not circles so it's a copyright mark.

Yep I posted in haste and also a bit rude to Mistert who was only sharing information and got his head bitten off by me. I have given myself a slap:sad: I think the mighty list has a positive roll to play, in demonstrating that the groundie has an important and skilled roll. If I had an office wall, I would put the list on it, for this reason alone. I did save the article at the time, with a view to doing exactly what you say Masterblaster.

Difficullty loading picture, but here's my tractor

Cheers Khriss, have you got any wood left from that huge tree in yer avatar then mate? Where is 'You wouldn't believe' near to, just roughly. Is it anywhere near ' to be honest with ya mate'.??

Is there some kind of cycle or loop going on here whereby the threads repeat every 4 or 5 months or so?? except where helmets are concerned where the repeat cycle is weekly.

Re: Previous Thread ‘Help The Aged’ Just put this in new thread to get attention but it’s about donating wood to old people for the cold winter ahead. Any updates will be in this thread. The concept is, that even if the person has central heating, benefits, cold weather payments etc, they can have a real fire now and again, save a bit of money on heating and stretch the pension out a bit. Spoke to my local Age Concern Today and I was pleasantly surprised how up for it they were. I stressed that the problem is identifying genuine needy people, and not just dishing out free firewood to any takers. They said they can identify the needy ones thru home visits. They are not allowed to give out the phone numbers but can get the person to phone me and arrange delivery. As I said before I don’t have any wood but will put in time, labour, delivery etc. So next call was to a tree surgeon I used to subby for who I know has a big pile of wood. Said person kindly donated 1 cubic metre (seasoned), which I will go to her yard, split with her splitter and make available to age concern. (the benefactor will be made aware of who donated the wood). This will be 2 deliveries of ½ cube each. It won’t last all winter but it will help out a bit. I have other irons in the fire for other donors – watch this space. Now as far as fellow arbtalk members are concerned, the attack is 2 pronged. 1) No need for any network or extra work for Steve etc. If you’re interested just call your local Age Concern and do the same thing independently. 2) Renewed call to tree surgeons in Cheshire (shooting distance of Northwich) to donate me some wood or liaise on you delivering direct (I’ll provide freezing old person). I may be calling you on the phone soon anyway.

just read the first few points on the 30 odd point list posted above. That'd be enough to scare the **** out of ya . Half of that is the responsibility of the boss, or at least a crew leader:ohmy:, I know treehouse and masterblaster are a hugely respected site/person, but lets give the kid a break. From your post in jobs wanted (SAW)I can see that you are new to arb and your question is a genuine one, wanting advice on groundie work, skills etc. Your'e half way there in my opinion in that: a) You want to get into treework = 1st box ticked b) Your'e doing some NPTC's so you'll be able to use a chainsaw Groundies are underated IMO and the list does demonstrate why, as there is actually quite a bit to learn. Climbers, it is often said, make the best groundies as they really know the needs of the climber, especially during lowering operations. But you should be able to get a start on the strength of a) and b) above and learn the mighty list on the job. Good luck with getting a start Just noticed, in defence of the mighty list, it is headed - 'How to become an excellent groundsman' so there is hope for the sanity of the 50 quid a day man, maybe a pay rise!!!

This made me laugh, very true. It may be a non starter, but still up for it tho and cheers mester h.

Good points so far folks, appreciated. I wondered, how do you tell if they are poor and freezing or not. maybe BMWs in driveways etc, icicles on zimmer frame? May call age concern next week and see what they say.

With it shaping up to be a cold winter. How about a few free log deliveries to freezing cold old folk. I've been toying with the idea for a while but don't have, hardly any seasoned wood myself and I know a lot of you are a bit sold out. Just thought I'd throw the idea into the pot. Maybe could be done thru age concern, and local arbtalk groups. If anyone has free wood in cheshire I can help with splitting and delivery, i.e got a bit of free time at the mo. Also can make the phone calls to find the freezing old folk. Any one got any experience of organising this type of thing?

How much do you want for that serious machine gun type rifle thingy, I might try organised crime, or even disorganised crime:sneaky2:

When someone asks you is all the kit on the van? Answer not with a yes (unless your'e sure), but with something like - The kit I was using is on the van don't know what everyone else did with theirs. If something is found to be mislaid, this is a very common trick for unscrupulous lazy people to cover their arse and blame it on you. Alternatively do an 'idiot check' This means that when it has been announced that everything is on the van, someone does a quick look see. When I was a roadie, amp racks etc i.e. expensive kit was found on the 'idiot check'.

Ive only been going on my own since April this year so don't know whats typical. First six months were quite good, but gone a bit quiet now.

Agreed. And we are looking at just that right here right now. Not a dig at you skyhuck or anyone else voiceing their opinions, but want to make a post in support of this work. We are not necessarily going to be saved by scientists, don't know why but there never has been enough research out there. I know you can fight your own battles MD but. MonkeyD is constantly using pioneering techniques, documenting and sharing them with us. Attending seminars etc. He's fortunate to be in a possition to do this but he's not wasting the opportunity. This is the frontier of arb, don't rely on little men in white coats in universities, you may have a long wait!!!!

Def worth bearing in mind that this could happen, I would have only considered poss effect on buildings, not on other trees. It was much easier when I was subbing and this was someone elses responsibility. Although the combination of taking that responsibility, and the amazing resource for info that arbtalk is, has made the job interesting again. I prefer the broken heart theory myself, will probably use it when quoting.

Just thinking aloud and following on from your train of thought Dean. As you will know removing big trees, on clay soil can cause heave. This expansion of the soil - could it affect soil structure?? i.e less air spaces. Less air in the soil thru either increased water logging as you suggest or above theory of soil structure could have the effect you decribe. thru creation of anaerobic conditions.

OK ages, thats why spider plants grow well on my head, they're well mulched.

Cheers JJG nice to be of use, I'm trying to be good at the moment, and not get into all the arguments I get into. Already landed myself in it on this thread. There is obviously more than one type of gob. I guess if we keep ourselves up the tree with this thread we can avoid clash with top tips. Tip- take time when topping down, to position head and shoulders well above intended cut then all the sawdust doesn't go in yer face. Took me years to figure this out

Borecut in middle of gob (scarf fa kiwis) when felling connifer stems. makes em push over more easily.

Sorry Ed. Didn't mean to put you in a awkward sitch. Got a bit carried away there.

Yes he did, thats true. I can vouch for that. They quake in their boots at the very whisper of his name. However we digress. and I am about to incur his wrath!!

I do that a lot John, specially on brittle trees, where silky goes thru real quick. I read somewhere that it also has the advantage of making you think a bit more before you cut when you have to use the old elbow grease. Your'e less likely to over thin, or lop something off that you later think you shouldn't have done. I think its a habit that should be encouraged in arb, generally.

About 13 or 14 years ago Mr Ed used to subby to the guy I started in tree work with. I was a groundy then. He did all those things (posted in this thread) and some, he was an awesome climber, and absolutely fearless. Literally no fear gene in his DNA. Getting a bit chubby tho last time I saw Ya mate. Tee Hee!