janey

An increment borer is only the best tool for increment boring. I am neither pro or anti it myself, but you cannot say catagorically that it is the best diagnostic aid for every tree and every situation. Well, you can say it, but you'd be wrong

There's an interesting little lecture-ette on Vet' Trees on the Weds, so I think I'll try and get to that at least.

In 20 years time, when he's laying on the shrink's couch reliving his darkest episodes, I think you are going to have a lot to answer for!

As always, good pictures. Walking the kids is a seems to be a great excuse to indulge your fungi hunting ulterior motives

Try to remember that in our fragmented society, you are quite possibly the only person that your customer has spoken to all week and they are desperate for a bit of human contact. Thought you were 'just' an arborist? Now you're a part time social worker as well. Stick that on your CV

Taking photos of people taking photos of fungi? I fear you have slipped into the wrong side of OCD my dear What's "The Vet" up to these days? I've been looking out for his obituary as I have heard so little about / from him .

DDD - dead, dying or dangerous. If it's not imminently dangerous, then you will still need to go through the usual submission process. Whether you immediately go ahead with the tree work or are curteous and give a 5 day notification, photos are an extremely good idea because if there are any queries about the tree's removal, the onus will be on you to prove your case. TO's are no different from any other clique: you get your good'ns and you get you t*ssers. You have to take pot luck and hope you are dealing with one of the professionals

But surely if there is a need for a fungicidal sealent for using after you have taken your sample, that kinda negates any arguement that increment borers are still ok to use on trees to be retained? This idea seems to back the case for non invasive tree inspection.

If a tree is genuinely DDD, then you don't have to even notify the LA, although this is strongly recommended, and you certainly don't have to wait for written consent. On a slight tangent, the tree owners will still have to provide a replacement tree for a DDD removal, unless they have specific permission not to. It's well worth getting to know your local TO's/Planners, as a quick 'phone call can often work wonders with getting the necessary paperwork pushed through the system well within the 8 weeks.

Not going to this one . Finances, and to a certain extent, distance, means that I'll be missing this years knees up in Manc land. From past experience, it's a great place for networking, but I have never come away from there feeling as though I have learnt anything new (Other than student bars are suicidedly cheap and I really shouldn't drink quite so much).

If you want to do that to your woman, than you obviously have very poor taste and chosen the wrong woman to be in a relationship with Or you have very strange hobbies?

I can see this as more use in forestry rather than domestic tree work, as you'd end up having to either flush your saws depending on what work you've have that day or running two sets. Not something most of us can afford. As you say, it's something that can just as easily be sprayed or even painted on to stumps. Nice try though

Pets... Vehicles... Kids... They all take your time and money, so I can't see much difference in them myself, other than you don't get sent to prison for locking a motorbike in the shed for a few weeks when it's p'ing you off

A bit more of an update from the FC: > Subject: Proposed GB Protected Zone against Oak Processionary Moth > > > Colleagues, > > The Forestry Commission submitted a proposal to the European > Commission for a possible listing of Thaumetopoea processionea (Oak > Processionary Moth - OPM) in the Annexes of Council Directive > 2000/29/EC in April this year. This, if approved by the Standing > Committee on Plant Health, would effectively establish GB as a > protected zone. The Commission identified a number of issues that the > Forestry Commission needed to address. One of these related to the > extent of the known infested area in London (which would of course be excluded from the protected zone). > > The Forestry Commission has identified the following London Boroughs > as being within the four kilometre exclusion zone: Brent; Ealing; > Hounslow; Hammersmith & Fulham; Wandsworth; Richmond Upon Thames; > Kingston Upon Thames; Merton and Kensington & Chelsea. > > I am writing to you to formally notify you of our intention and to > invite your comments. > > Yours sincerely > > Stewart Snape > Deputy Head of Plant Health > Forestry Commission > Silvan House, 231 Corstorphine Road > Edinburgh, EH12 7AT > > Direct Dial: +44 (0)131 314 6172 > [email protected] > Forestry Commission GB

I saw an interview and preview of the program on the BBC morining news the morning before the show was aired. I think I made the right choice not to actually watch it, from the clips that I saw. It was so predictably sensationalist and lacking in facts - good for TV ratings but bad information for the general public and very short of a balanced approach.

I would've changed the ending so that they all lived happily ever after

Must be the way they're brought up. I blame the owners

"An appeal to the Secretary of State must be triggered by a decision issued by a council in response to an application for consent to cut down or carry out work on a protected tree, or by that council’s failure to issue a decision within 8 weeks of the date on which the application was received." Right, that's me learned proper. Which is really quite worrying as I know from working in various LA's the frequency that TPO decisions go past the 8 weeks, mainly due to ridiculous workloads. Hence my confusion Now, back to tree roots

Not just any old topping, oh no, they are EXPERTLTY topped. I'll give 'em my bank card now. Gawd, I HATE that phrase. It just about sums up all things p....., er, whatever the PC alternative word is.

But that wouldn't make good headlines, would it? Re the Planning consent times, I know it's 6 weeks for the S211 notifications, but I thought the 8 week TPO limit was a guide, not a legal requirement? Sigh, guess I'm going to be reading my Blue Book this morning

Must be all these super intellectual types you share a forum with rubbing off on you

Check out the reading list requirements for the PTI. If your not already familiar with most of them and their contents, then you know you're going to be in for a hard time with this course. Although it's only 3 days, this may be misleading as it's assumed you already have a very good knowledge of tree hazard assesments, boimechanics, legal framework etc etc.

And after all that, you were right in the first place. It is indeed Chicken of the Woods.

Dunno . I always forget to change my camera settings and end up having to be patient and wait ages for my piccies to upload. Are yours taking a long time (in which case, go and make a cuppa) or are they not uploading at all?

You mean, you don't know what that is??? Shame on you. It's soooo obvious