Big J

No, not at all really. The odd bit is, but on the whole no. It's just really heavy. You think it's still wet, but it's just dense.

The sawmill I am contracting into at the moment cuts/processes exclusively Scots Pine. About 57,000 cubic metres last year, apparently. They pressure treat almost everything they cut and rate it for 20 years durability in contact with the ground. The pressure treatment only permeates the sapwood, so the heartwood must be naturally really durable. It's maybe worth considering though that Swedish grown pine is considerably slower grown than UK sourced timber. It's even notable that pine grown locally to us (in the SE) is faster grown than the premium grade stuff that they buy in and process from the middle of Sweden (Dalarna). Either way, it is really surprisingly heavy and dense compared to any other softwood I've dealt with, and once planed, is quite beautiful too.

Haha! I'll take the same route again in the morning and see if he's there again.

I've actually seen fewer boar, but for some reason never counted them. I guess once you start counting, it just sticks in your head. They really are deeply impressive beasts - just enormous, and move in a perculiar way compared to other large mammals.

I'm not a massive fan. I tend to find it a bit dry. Also, there aren't that many moose really. The wild boar are a pest and dig everything up, and there are thousands of them. I prefer to see the moose alive in the forest than eat them. I've seen 35 moose in 33 months of living here.

Haha! I've butchered deer, rabbits and pheasant before, but I don't much enjoy the process. I have a hunter in the village from whom I buy beautiful cuts of boar in bulk for 50kr (£3.80) a kilo. It's not worth doing it yourself when it's that price!

A beautiful and chilly cycle to work this morning. A big, chunky wild boar was by the road, 7km in. Yesterday it was a moose, just a few metres from the road. It's like playing wildlife bingo. Sadly, they are next to impossible to photograph as by the time you get your phone out, they've slunk off back into the forest. You'll have to settle for a sunrise photo instead.

The only left of centre mainstream party in the UK at the moment are the Lib Dems. Labour are a touch right of centre, Reform are hard right and the Conservatives just try to morph to wherever they feel they might be able to pick up votes. Gareth, you cannot be seriously suggesting that you are centrist in your political outlook? I've got no idea where you live, or the community with which you interact. Perhaps in that context you are centrist, but in the political spectrum, you are one of the most unashamedly right wing people that I've interacted with here on Arbtalk; a forum that is right leaning anyway.

Being outspoken and outraged about the direction that Trump and his merry band of yes-men are dragging America in is entirely justified. I don't have time to list everything, but it is not hyperbolic to recognise that America is sliding (quite rapidly) into fascism. Trump et al are consolidating control over the legislature, the judiciary, the educational system, immigration, the security services and more. I would not be surprised if there were major obstacles to the 2026 mid terms actually happening and honestly, I'd be surprised if Trump gave up power in 2029.

Blue skies and sun after a light frost today. It's been incredibly sunny and rain-free for the last 10 weeks or so. 12mm precipitation and last month saw 180hrs of sunshine, which is pretty similar to an average UK summer month.

I raise the point simply because it's been raised many times before. Hopefully, this time you'll remember. If you get basic aspects of language wrong, it undermines the credibility that you seek to build. I know I'm being a patronising prick, but sometimes it's called for

It has been pointed out before and I hate to be a pedant, but please learn the difference between your and you're. You're is an abbreviation of you are. As in you'(a)re. So in a sentence: "You're an arborist" Your is a determiner, as in belonging to a person or people. In a sentence: "Your chainsaw is over there" In the text of yours that I've quoted, it's as if you're asking if Dave is claas. Not an unreasonable question, given the expertly chosen sawmill in the background, but you see my point. 😉

Do you have the same dealer as Trump? You smoking the same stuff as POTUS is the only explanation for that kind of willful ignorance. Tarriffs in all circumstances increase the cost of goods. Americans import more than they export because they like cheap stuff and have built their economy on the idea of acquiring more cheap stuff. If the government is applying an import tax on everything that comes in, it's not going to get cheaper. The US has one of the most overvalued currencies and highest cost of living in the world - they aren't going to be able to produce goods that can compete with imports. China for example - if the importer has a final cost of $100 for a toaster from China, over $30 of that is tax, going directly to the US Treasury, which Trump will give back directly to his cronies, in the form of massive tax cuts for the top 1%. It's really pretty simple. Trump loves two things. Attention (which he is getting lots of) and money, which he is squeezing every last drop of out of his presidential office.

What you're referring to as fjords would be in Böhuslän, and to say they are fjords is a bit like going to the Cotswolds and declaring them mountains. Regardless, your statement about the tarriffs not affecting me or my community was patently incorrect. And I believe that this policy of Trump's will very quickly collapse as every strata of American society turns on him as prices sky-rocket and the value of their pension pots collapses.