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BatiArb

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  1. BatiArb
    Funeral went very well on Monday, and I managed to play my part without too much drama. The months of mental preparation have certainly helped enormously, and now I feel stronger than I have ever done, but need to regain my focus and re-establish my direction. So getting back into things now and beginning to work out what has changed. I have put a great deal of effort into my own personal perspective on life and my relationship with mortality. Now my issues are not actually with my own life but with other people’s perceptions of it. We live in a strange world where 'modern' (Western) society has lost its relationship with death and the natural mortality of the human race. As such people generally do not know how to handle it when it happens to them or others that they associate with, especially when it is unexpected. I was lucky to have been given the time to face the inevitability of the situation and the ability to prepare myself for it. As such I am in a much stronger position now than I have ever been in the past. I also feel incredibly privileged to have been given the opportunity to experience the last years of my wife’s rewarding life. This is a time of massive change and I am very receptive towards it. And I do not just mean my own personal circumstances, there is something much much bigger going on, that is only apparent through the ripple effect. Maria, passed away on the 31st October, which is a significant date in itself, and I also believe it was her choice to do so. She was at home in bed with me and both her mother and sister had been to visit that day. She had reached a stage where her illness was depriving her of virtually all her independence and I do not believe she wanted to persist any further. It is indeed a privileged experience to have, sharing and coming to terms with mortality in all aspects of nature. Unfortunately I think it is all to rare in modern society and I feel empowered by the opportunity that was offered to me, although I have to say that it has only been recently that this became my reality, because I also experienced considerable emotional turmoil before reaching a point where I new it had to be turned around. I am grateful that I found my strength before Maria’s passing and that she experienced the change in me. I sincerely believe that she found the strength and determination within herself to allow me the extra time. I am know drawing on the strength she gave me and working out how I make the best of my life in a way that honours her contribution to it. Spiritually I am still a little uncertain of my connections in the world and place within the grander scheme of things, but I am confident that I am here to make a difference and I am discovering my true purpose. I value my understanding of the natural world and the connection I feel with it, both organically and spiritually. However, it concerns me that so many people struggle to see how such associations and understandings are an intrinsic part of our life on this earth. I feel a need to share my experience and am fortunate to be in a position where communications channels are already open to me. I now need to work out how I can best exploit the availability of modern media, on the net, audio visual, in hard copy books and magazine, not to mention public speaking. We live in interesting times, and I am currently poised in anticipation for what may happen in the near future. Although nervous of what might be in store, I am confidence and strong, feeling capable of drawing on my life’s experiences and an ability to communicate with others. Live life in gratitude…… Best wishes to you all Andrew PS. I have attached a brief tribute to Maria, which I read out at her funeral on Monday. .. Tribute to Maria Phelan - Cowan.pdf
  2. BatiArb

    I should be able to send you something shortly.

     

    Bleeding canker is something that can be surveyed very effectively with Thermal Imaging, and Marcus and I are currently working on a case study to promote this.

     

    Long and short of it, is that it looks a whole lot worse than it actually is.

     

    All really depends on the location of the cankers and their relationship with other structural features within the tree

     

    Andrew

  3. BatiArb

    David,

     

    Funeral went very well on Monday, and I managed to play my part without too much drama. The months of preparation have certainly helped enormously, and now I feel stronger than I have ever done, but need to regain my focus and establish my direction.

     

    So getting back into things now and beginning to work out what has changed.

     

    I have put a great deal of effort into my own personal perspective on life and my relationship with mortality. Now my issues are not actually with my own life but with other people’s perceptions of it.

     

    We live in a strange world where 'modern' (Western) society has lost its relationship with death and the natural mortality of the human race. As such people generally do not know how to handle it when it happens to them or others that they associate with.

     

    I was lucky to have been given the time to face the inevitability of the situation and the ability to prepare myself for it. As such I am in a much stronger position now than I have ever been in the past. I also feel incredibly privileged to have been given the opportunity to experience the last years of my wife’s rewarding life.

     

    This is a time of massive change and I am very receptive towards it. And I do not just mean my own personal circumstances, there is something much much bigger going on, that is only apparent through the ripple effect.

     

    Maria, passed away on the 31st October, which is a significant date in itself, and I also believe it was her choice to do so. She was at home in bed with me and both her mother and sister had been to visit that day. She had reached a stage where her illness was depriving her of virtually all her independence and I do not believe she wanted to persist any further.

     

    I spent last week preparing for the funeral that was on Monday, so now I’m spending this week getting back into life and working out what has changed, and more to the point, how I work forward from here.

     

    Andrew

  4. BatiArb

    "Just so there's no embarrasment or misunderstanding, you should know that the Manager has got Arboraeration in this week doing some work around the woods."

     

    I would be interested to know how Thermal Imaging could be incorporated into the ArborTrack survey schedule.

     

    Do you have a better idea of your meeting time, as in when you will be back at Highgate?

     

    It will be good to catch up with Cindy again and meet Rebecca, so I am sure we could start without you if necessary.

     

    Andrew

  5. BatiArb

    Yes, preparing for the funeral this morning.

     

    Not easy, and I am practicing my tribute.

     

     

     

    Maria was so many things to me, my closest friend,

    my partner, my mentor and in many ways my teacher.

     

    And like any great teacher she knew how to give me the strength

    to do things for myself and she stood by me to catch me when I fell.

     

    They say opposites attract,

    and this balance is a natural part of life.

    Maria and I celebrated our differences

    and embraced with passion the similarities that united us.

     

    Great teaching requires great patience,

    because the lesson is strongest when we learn it for ourselves.

     

    Maria knew I would need help to survive without her,

    to do the things that I relied on her for.

     

    So like the teacher she was, with her gentle encouragement,

    I was given the time to learn for myself.

     

    I am convinced that Maria knew when she had done her job,

    and she left this world confident in the knowledge

    that her work was done.

     

    The timing of Maria’s passing is significant in many ways…..

    Autumn is a time of seasonal change….. a time for reflection……

    a time to appreciate the vibrancy of life…….

    And a time to draw in the energy from a season of growth….

    in preparation for renewal and rebirth….

     

    Nothing Lasts,

    But Nothing is Lost

    There is only Change,

    And with Change comes Opportunity.

  6. BatiArb
    Thank you for your thoughts and private messages… I had not intended to blow the thread in quite that way, so please accept my apologies, but you can never plan for these things and although it was inevitable Friday was an unexpected day, if that makes any sense. A surreal experience on many levels, and again it was my evening dog walk that topped it all, when I strolled across the common with Millie and stopped in at my local pub for a couple of pints. Nothing unusual, but I had forgotten it was 31st October and the pub was full of people dressed as ghosts, skeletons or vampires, celebrating Halloween. Surreal does not really do it justice after the day I had experienced. However, it did lead me to wonder how many of the revelers in the pub had fully considered or really appreciated the implications and traditional associations of the festival, with the centuries of cultural relationships focused on human mortality. And observing others in the pub reinforced my thoughts about the duality of our ‘modern’ western society that has lost touch with its natural ecology. So as this thread draws to a close I would like to encourage everyone to take a fresh look at our living environment. Those of you with dogs will be out there on a daily basis walking in the woods, but the others may have to dedicate some time specifically. Live life to the full and be grateful for all experiences good or bad, value each one as an opportunity for fulfillment……remember this is not a rehearsal and you get no second chances. Nothing lasts but nothing is lost….there is only change…..and with change comes opportunity. *************
  7. BatiArb
    *********************WARNING************************* If you are not completely comfortably with the reality and mortal context of life then do not read this posting…. ************************************************ All a bit deep….intelligent / well read….. well may be…,,to show up dense tree climbers certainly not !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, shall I put this into context, and do not say I did not warn you….. This is about our relationships with each other, ourselves and other animals, and ultimately the world in which we all live or at least our perception of it. Now, there is a very good reason why I have been reading such philosophically, scientifically and spiritually challenging literature……and challenging in more than one sense of the word considering I am educationally labeled as a dyslexic…….and had never read a book cover to cover until 6 months ago. It is also the reason why I value the time I spend walking my dogs (making it very relevant to this particular thread), one of whom recently died with bone cancer, which was a serious emotional blow considering he spend most of his time shadowing my every move. Mans best friend in the truest sense of the word…… Believe me the fact that I have had the responsibility of taking the dogs out for a walk twice a day without fail has indeed had a great deal to do with my clarity of thought over the years and saved me from the turmoil of work induced stress. However, the stress of a working life is not what drove me (or inspired me) to read so deeply…..it was the inevitability of human mortality. Something that I have had to come to terms with over the last few years since it became clear that my wife’s illness was terminal. When you are faced with losing someone with whom you have shared over half your life, it can be a make or break point……and it forces you to face facts that would otherwise pass you by without question…. Life has a habit of throwing some pretty curved balls at times…… however, as an arborist I count myself lucky that I work in a profession where my endeavours will have an influence on generations to come, whether they are aware of it or not. This is only possible because I work with trees, and I remain grateful of the fact that arboriculture offers us such fantastic opportunities to influence the lives of organisms that have the capacity to continue growing and surviving for many times longer than we can ever hope to do ourselves. This is one of the reasons why I place so much emphasis on my experiences of ancient trees, because by definition they have lived a particularly long time and intrinsically deserve our respect and admiration……. A quick word for those of you still reading this…..I have come to terms the natural balance of mortality, with the inevitability of life and death……life goes on for the living and for the dead?......well, they live on in the thoughts and actions of the people they touched and influenced…… One last request to you all…… I have bared my sole to you here on this open forum, but I wish to be treated no different when we next meet,……because keeping up with work has helped me maintain my connection with normality. Dedicated to: Maria Catharine (Phelan) Cowan 15th August 1967 – 31st October 2008 .
  8. BatiArb
    Yes, but such decisions and associations also says a lot about an individuals character (emotionally and spiritually), it therefore follows that it is something to consider, even if some will only deal with it subconsciously. A simile decision / choice as to whether you are a cat person or a dog person, or make no distinction between either (for or against), says a lot about your personality. Personally I am defiantly a dog person and only tolerate cats……. .
  9. BatiArb
    I think it comes down to how you perceive God, god or gods.... I would not consider myself a particularly religions person or a believer in God in the Westernised sense of the word. Christianity is too corrupted and Catholicised in a dictatorial way that does not sit easy with me. The more I read the more I see sense in the traditional spirituality of the eastern cultures that maintain cohesion between humans and their environment, by bestowing a simple respect for live. However, I cannot see myself adhering to one or other doctrine, but rather dipping in to aspects that are constructive with consideration to the fulfilment of a productive life…. I do believe that western society has lost contact with its natural ecology and our relationship with our own ecosystem has been distorted by artificial creations. This disconnection is contributing fundamentally to our influence on the changing climate and how the earth is reacting to the overpopulation of humans running riot over its surface. Getting back to the thread, I think our relationship with the other animals that we share this planet with is indicative of our personal engagement (or lack of it) with the natural environment. I think it is not a matter of scientific fact or fiction as to whether animals feel emotions such as love, because this is something that will always be arguable. However, I do believe that it is important that they are given the appropriate respect with consideration to the possibility that they do feel emotion, because we cannot prove otherwise…… and that this should be regardless of whether they are pets, pests or food….. ..
  10. BatiArb
    And here is a little more for the committed amongst you..... From 'Mans best Friend' to who knows where....... In no particular order .. 0. Radical Nature & Nature Has a Mind of Its Own _ Christian de Quincey.doc 0. Global Mind Change.doc 0. Consciousness- Thruth or Wisdom - Christian de Quincey.doc 0. An Integral Theory of Consciousness.doc
  11. BatiArb
    Well for those still following this tangential thread, I thought you might like some further light reading...... 0. A New Paradigm of Counsiousness - Peter Russell.doc 0. Science Consciousness and God.doc
  12. BatiArb
    I maintain an open mind, although like you I have difficulty accepting the ideas of people who maintain a conviction that it all changes in 2012. No the change I refer to is that of an understanding and appreciation of what consciousness really is, and the realisation of what it means to live in an in-formed universe……. The revolution is one of human relationships with each other and our environment in which we live, that includes other animals, plants, insects, microbes and so on….. Growing up in a scientific family I take more from science than religion, but having said that both my parents are regular church goers, and that despite the fact my father was a teacher of fungal genetics in the school of botanical science London University…… For myself, I am still reading philosophies, theories and hypothesis, and it is amazing how so many of them are working their way around to the same ideas yet from different backgrounds…. For your interest I have included just a short list of books I have recently read……although as for how much I have managed to absorb is another matter……some of them I am still working through…….. Parallel Worlds: The science of alternative universes and our future in the cosmos By Michio Kaku From Science to God: A Physicist's Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness By: Peter Russell Quantum Shift in the Global Brain: How the New Scientific Reality Can Change Us and Our World By: Ervin Laszlo Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything By: Ervin Laszlo The Consciousness Revolution By: Peter Russell Radical Knowing: Understanding Consciousness Through Relationship (Radical Consciousness Trilogy) By: Christian De Quincey Brief History of Everything] By: Ken Wilber The Integral Vision: A Very Short Introduction to the Revolutionary Integral Approach to Life, God, the Universe, and Everything By: Ken Wilber
  13. BatiArb
    I agree, that this is not really the place to start this, but for the record….. For various reasons, I have done a lot of reading recently into Quantum Physics, Consciousness Research, Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality, and believe me we are living in interesting times. The scientific community is aligning itself with religion and spirituality, with the idea that consciousness exists and flows through everything in a similar way to energy…. To say that animals feel emotions is a natural and reasonable normality that can be, and is, rationally argued by an increasing number of academics. I will not even attempt to cover it here, and will do no more than say….. keep an open mind to the evolution in human understanding….. We will soon be asked to adopt completely revolutionary ideas that the human populations has not been expected to contemplate since it was discovered that the world was round and then that the moon and sun did not rotate around the earth……. Something to be discussed over a pint or two..... :beer: ...........
  14. BatiArb
    Well to stir this thread up a bit I though the following article would provide a little more information..... Ivy c.pdf
  15. BatiArb
    What's planned for the day then? Any ideas?
  16. BatiArb
    I like that one……. It takes two to tango…… and I think it is humans that need to learn about relationships with dogs. Interestingly it has been demonstrated that children that grow up with dogs and are therefore exposed to the bugs, that were mentioned so scornfully earlier it this thread, are more healthy that those who life in a sterile human only household.
  17. BatiArb
    I would disagree there having had three dogs and just about to collect the fourth from a local dogs home, you reap what you sow. The quality of the relationship you have with your dog is down to the commitment you give it, if you choose to stand back and not get too attached or emotional then the dogs reaction to you will reflect that. No disrespect to yours because it sounds like you have the relationship you want from your pack and that requires there respect of your place in the home and theirs outside. However, this is not a situation I would be comfortable with, and more to the point I value the almost limitless unconditional emotion (however you label it) that I receive from my dogs. They hold no grudges……..
  18. BatiArb
    No I would trust the loyalty of my dogs any day, but although I hold no prejudgements of other humans, their reaction to my dogs tells me a lot about them. A dogs loyalty, respect and love of the pack leader (whether that is you or the wife ) it totally unconditional. Dogs do not do “… I love you but……”
  19. BatiArb
    Oh that brings back memories...... This is what was left of my Land Rover when I picked up my first trailer. I rolled it once in the road and then though the a hawthorn hedge to land the rightway up in a farmers field, with trailer still attached to the back. Not something I wil forget, although having said that I cannot rememeber everything that happened.
  20. BatiArb
    I did hear that they had an issue in the oak woodland down at Merrist Wood and that someone from Alise Holt was looking into it. As for research references I could not say.
  21. BatiArb
    Yes, I thought it might be this one you were refering to. We undertook some exploratory work on this tree as part of a demo for the LTOA. Only part of the root system was exposed for inspection, but it is the section that is included in your photographs. See series below:
  22. BatiArb
    Root damage while undertaking a root investigation using compressed air is clearly an issue that requires careful consideration by the operator. This is why it needs to not only be an arborist undertaking the work but one that has appropriate experience of the equipment and root morphology. The pressure of air coming out the end of a tool such as an AirSpade can average at 125 psi, which is the pressure at which air will penetrate skin, so it is more than enough to cause damage to the bark of trees. These tools must be used with respect and consideration, although they are invaluable at providing us with the ability to undertake root investigations that are not practical with traditional digging equipment such as spades, they are not without their limitations. Used appropriately an effective root investigation will tell the operator a lot about the condition of roots affected by decay fungi and de-compact the soil around them as well, which improves root growth post the operation. Given that we now have the availability of thermal imaging to undertake an initial inspection before disrupting the soil environment I would certainly look to do it first as suggested in my earlier posting and then follow up with the AirSpade to target specific trees that we find an issue with.
  23. BatiArb
    Yes, this is a reasonable summary, but I would caution that there is no evidence either way and it could still be that Collybia is able to contribute to the death of cambial tissue. However, it would also seem logical that this is more likely to occur on trees that are stressed and unable to maintain healthy cells in proximity to the growth of a decay fungus. The stimulus for the growth and living processes of any organism is the presence of oxygen and this will have an influence on the ability of a fungus such as Collybia to colonise the dead and dying wood of a tree. The tree is also maintaining a balance within its living system and its growing conditions and physiological health will dictate its ability to sustain water saturated cells within its sapwood and central core. To link this to another thread, the presence of water within the tree, held in both living and dead cells, is an integral part of its thermo dynamic functionality. This is effectively how thermal imaging works because it allows us to see and interpret the thermal functionality of the tree and therefore the proportion of cells that are maintaining hydrological integrity. http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3560&page=2 Where cells have lost hydrological integrity, and therefore started to dry out, there will be an ingress of oxygen. Combine this with the presence of a decay organism close to or within these cells and there will be a natural progression to cellular breakdown……. We can now observe such things using thermal imaging cameras and dysfunction within the root system can be seen clearly because it affect the functional flow of water (and therefore heat) through the trunk above the dysfunctional sections of root system. With consideration to the trees you are describing within your woodland I would suggest that it would be productive to undertake an inspection using thermal imaging and then follow this up with a more detail root investigation of the trees that are highlighted with significant root dysfunction.
  24. BatiArb
    There are is certainly a consensus that it appears as if there are two different forms, and there is some work being undertaken at the moment to determine whether these are actually distinct species, or just different fruiting forms. There are various hypotheses as to why the different forms occur, but I am not aware of any confirmation as to the answers at this time. As for your final question, yes please post more info and photographs if you have them.
  25. BatiArb
    I hope the following series of drawings will illustrate the progression I described in my earlier posting, and at the moment they form the three stages of root system development which I have observed. However, there are many variations on this theme, especially when you consider the locations where trees grow, such as on slopes and banks. There is also definitely a fourth stage when trees are in advanced maturity and the tree is recycling itself in a big way with a fibrous root system under the base of the tree, which could be directly linked with the decay fungi, such at that observed in the Grifola root exploration described in: http://www.arbtalk.co.uk/articles/biomechanicaloptimisation.pdf

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