slack ma girdle

The tree is still standing after the 2 pre Christmas storms. Ratchet straps are a godsend to reassure the climber . Levels of leaf cover in the canopy is the deciding factor. A tractor and 8 tonne winch is the safest method.

The chain speed on grapple is below 25m per sec, so chainshot isn't an issue.

Here you go @Squaredy a couple of pictures. There isn't going to be enough to make up a lorry load from the windblow, but we will thinning here this winter.

With the simpler ones the trees do wobble about when you shear them, but i have only lost a tree when the dead wood was to brittle to support the tree. If you are going to do alot of roadside trees, then i would get one with an extra grab. Have you considered a grapple saw, a GMT35 would tick most of your boxes

Its about a 50/50 split for second homes, and none of the younger locals can afford to buy a house in Angle, unless they have a job with the refinery. The refinery is only noticeable with sound and smell on a cold frosty days or easterly winds, but 1 in 5 families in Pembrokeshire have some work connection with the refinery. It is going to hit Pembrokeshire hard when it finally closes.

Never managed to sell them as saw logs in the past. The logs will be stacked here Google Maps WWW.GOOGLE.COM Plenty of room for a lorry to turn around in. I am there tomorrow, i will take a couple of photos of what is cut so far.

The bark beatle chambers that are visible, makes them easy to identify, as each beatle has an unique pattern. You will be able to work out whether it was the primary cause of death, or just a secondary opportunist.

We Are just starting storm damage and windblow here, there is definitely saw log in lime and beech. The transport from Angle may be a killer through.

Lime and sycamore

Winching trees that don't have anywhere to go. I am starting to appreciate the power of this winch, to create it's own space. 20250516_095409.mp4

If the tree is producing huge amounts, then leave it alone. It is quite happy, and the bits of dead wood are potentially important habitat for rare beasties and fungi . My apple trees are the most unloved trees in Pembrokeshire with loads of broken branches, dead wood, and no pruning. All fruit prolifercally. Buggering around with a mature tree will just stimulate vigorous regrowth, and become counter productive.

Some trees are naturally lazy at getting up in the spring. See what it looks like in a months time. But looking at the photos most of the other trees are behind fences, so it could be the first indication of compaction/ root damage.

Ash Dieback 😁

Ash's saving grace is its genetic diversity. The woodlands that have been planted with ash have all done very badly, but the seed source will be very limited in genetic diversity, and as a result 80-100% loss. In the wider countryside around me there are still healthy trees. From my kitchen window I can see 7 healthy ash, 10 ash with ADB, but still alive, and 8 dead ash.

The Trametes are growing on the dead wood, and shouldn't affect the living wood. The important bit is where the living and dead wood meet, providing that the callus growth is intact, and separating the two, the tree is probably fine. Same with the buttresses, providing the structural wood is intact, small bits of decay between the buttresses will have little consequences.