armybloke

:dito:I vote native to provide our wildlife with potential habitat and fed on all the goodies they can provide

This series of pictures show a good 25mm dia wire rope popping out of a healthy tree and going straight into the trunk of another. I am guessing that this originally was a make-shift boundary fence line that a farmer made and forgot all about it! Amazing how trees adapt eh?

PM inbound your inbox mate. I meant Selborne in Hampshire, and not the famous Zigzag Hill at Shaftesbury for bikers!

Yeah mate don't let this slip just yet. I am off to Zigzag Hill (Sherborne) at the weekend a reknown Beech haven full to the brim with fungi brackets big enough for my daughters to lie across full stretch (why did I not keep the photos from last time!) and forks with 'ears' an African elephant would be proud of. I will post up some findings. VTA has always intrigued me and I have followed many posts on here that would make a fine book should anyone have the time to collate all the knowledge. Oh don't worry Hama I have Shigo, Mattheck and a number of books a collector would pay good money for but you just can't beat a good photo and a slip of information to clarify it all. Nice thread

FREE Wood! Just been to visit a military site we are looking at closing and found a heap of wood being dumped there. I am aware that the pile consists of lime, beech, ash, oak a few conifers, Eucalyptus and various others. The pile started growing over a year ago so seasoned wood will be amongst it. If you want it can you PM me as I will need to provide you with a telephone number of a guy who can get you through security. If you have any further questions post it on here. The access roads are good and will suit a 7.5 tonne or even unit and trailer if need be. The wood as you can see is already chopped to a manageable size.

Wow! Awesome piece of work. That is recycling a tree to perfection.

A persistent little tree!

This thread could get a little dodgy - what has to get bigger? :lol:

But you have now and lets face it a peachy semi-naked butt is always a good distraction!! Took me a while to notice the tattoo to be honest......I scrolled on for ages trying to find the rest of the pictures to go with this underwear advert

Been watching the thread for a while and I'd like to add a few notes if I may. The tree(s) in question appear to be growing in their current form due to light suppression from the neighbouring tree and compaction from the roadway. The root ball appears to be elevated on a piece of ground that slopes away in the direction of the 'lean'. I concur with the opinion that the tree appears in good health and that the problem could reside in the owners head.It looks like it is leaning over and one tree is pushing the other over. But I can not see inside the tree and the VTA is limited by the photographs you have afforded us. Yes there is an anxiousness about its position and overall shape due to the proximity of the building and vehicles. The tree is probably 100 years old. It has taken this form over time laying down wood in a particular fashion to alleviate the possibilty of falling over or being blown over. It will have added wood to provide strength against the wind. When the driveway was laid did the roots get severed and when the building was constructed did the tree sustain damage? All points to consider. I personally think it looks a good strong tree that will no doubt have fused roots with its neighbour for added strength and nutrient exchange, buried its roots according to topography and water and nutrient availability and have a strong trunk to withstand the weight of its branches and leaves. I rambled on for longer than I wanted so now you have a slight connundrum to sort out but you have plenty of advice to give when discussing the future of your trees. In the meantime plant some more trees anyway and increase the photosythetic opportunity to as many as possible!

I have never seen one of them before so I took about 30 pics in all. It is in Bakewell town outside a little cake shop

All this is great info guys. I will make a start by setting down some form of medium to make a trace of footprints then take it from there. A deer management plan to gain extra cash is a good idea too. Thanks for all your help.

Paul C - Yep I managed a trip out there. i put some of my experience on here under 'My Trip to Belize' if you want a look at it. Awesome tour. Good luck in your last 2 years and hopefully a redundancy package is on the cards to make it a little sweet for you!

A few snippets from the Peak District on holiday last week...

Just back from the Peak District and found a few interesting trees....the oak poking out of the rock face is living and happy albeit at a loss with gravity!!

Mesh is about 25mm and electrified! that help? Seems like Muntjac are my prime suspects but are they intelligent enough to keep using the same entry and exit holes each time and not get stranded in there? I have checked for prints but as we've not seen rain in months I am at a bit of a loss. Thanks everyone for comments so far.

I am now managing a 8 ha piece of woodland totally void of deer (I hope) due to a 12ft high electrified security fence. There are badger flaps inserted at intervals around the fence as we know there is a sett inside. The woodland has not been touched/managed since 1991 and is in 'pristine' condition. There is a blanket layer of Bluebells under oak and hazel. I have noticed that the bluebells are being nipped at the flower. I am aware that Muntjac love Bluebell flowers but I doubt they get in via the badger flaps (but open to suggestion) so what else eats Bluebell flowers? Anyone come across this is in their travels?

You beat me to it. I was going to post a picture and ask you what it was. Found mine in the Peak District at Lathkill Nature Reserve.

You'd be very jealous of the new Mann SV Recovery then!!

The Greenfinches have contracted a disease called trichomonosis. A quote from a journal I have read recently - Trichomonas typically causes disease at the back of the throat and in the gullet. Affected birds may drool saliva, regurgitate food, have difficulty in swallowing or show laboured breathing. The disease may progress over several days or even weeks, consequently affected birds are often emaciated. Unfortunately not just limited to finches.....

Yep Glynn is the man. I found a picture from June 2009 in my pile of pictures. Not a very good one because the camera was trained on elsewhere (so I have trimmed it) but you can see the sparse growth behind my bird feeder (which is dead and it is 'planted' post some woodland mgmt job but looks au naturel for my birds). Pics 2 onwards is the tree now. Healthy, flower buds just forming and breaking, lots of leaf cover (probably 50% more), will have some fruit too and the extension growth is very good. All from a sugar solution and a bit of leaf mould.

To be honest I am still in with 6 days left but I consider myself an ex now I have taken the leap of faith!! Head down trooper! If you need any advice give me a shout. I did all this on the back of resettlement. You'll be saving a bit of shrapnel out there I am sure which will top up your education mate. There is a plethora of knowledge out on this forum and a great bunch too - although I have only personally met a handful - the repsonse on any quiery is as rapid as your 5.56 but a little more accurate :lol:

One little addition to this thread if I may I have a small crab apple (Malus sp) in my garden. It looked like it was about to keel over last year. Attended the AA Conf in Manc and a speaker (who's name evades me right now ) suggested a sugar:water mix and a mulch to invigorate the roots and improve growth. With nothing to lose I tried it. I have to say that this has worked a treat. Admittedly it is only on a small scale but the results are quite astounding. If I can find before and after pictures I shall post them on here for you to approve of, or otherwise. I advised a work colleague to do the same on an ailing Prunus sp and his tree has similar results. I realise bags of sugar may cost a few bob but in the grand scheme of all your costs it has to be worth a go? (rhetorically speaking) A personal well done on your efforts Monkey-D , very impressed, and the knowledge shared on here by all has already been passed on to a 'horty business' to try some of your tricks of the trade on garden trees. I shall keep you posted. Thank you

The world is your oyster! Go for it mate and best of luck out there. I am sure someone on Arbtalk will look after you while you are out there