raker

Try and keep your habbits the same.I had tea before going into work.breakfast when i got in(i`d wake up hungry at about 10 if i didnt anyway).Lunch when i woke up.I never took heaps of grub into work on nights. Getting to sleep in the day.Its easy to overlook the fact that you might be too cold to get your head down and lie there tossing and turning.If you`re married or whatever, they are not there in the day so that bit of warmth is absent.I used to throw an extra quilt over the bed or use one of those electric blankets that run on tickover.Slept like a log most of the time. Unplug the phone.If you dont have double glazing or live on a busy street, stuff some foam plugs in your ears.Use thick, dark curtains. When you finish your last night, stay up.Keep yourself busy during the day, get some beers in for the evening, and let yourself fall asleep on the sofa.Gets you back into a normal sleep pattern again.

It can be about connections with people.It can be handy knowing local farmers and using their dump, but not everyone does.Knowing several farmers, they are not always interested in money.They want something in return instead. I had a superb barn and yardspace a few years ago and didnt pay anything for it.However, i shot his rabbits and other pests, and i did all his gate clearing, and treework.Most of the time this was a blinding arangement.I didnt need to do anything.Every now and again, they might call in that favour, and it needs to be done.Busy or not.For no payment. The guy passed on so i lost that. I had a mate the other day.Gamekeeper.Could i dump a couple of loads of connie branches for flushing points on the shoot.No probs.I know him cos hes a mate, and this is through beating through the season, and helping him out every now and again. I play the long game.Sometimes i put myself out at my expense to help someone out, or postpone something, cos i know when i need a favour back, its there, and i can dump some brash or whatever, burn something.

A few years ago when it was just a sideline i said i`d clear a mates building plot of a mix of dead elms and live rowans.Most were leaning the wrong way so i was roping them in the right direction.Held onto by a mate. It was going great, but i was getting cocky.One of the trees i had previously discounted as it was out of my ability.It really needed climbing. Threw a rope into it, and set to with my saw.It sat back on my saw, and the mate was shouting in panic.It was wanting to fall into a garden with a trampoline and shed in it.Both of us pulling was to no avail. Fortunately the plot was next to a sportsground and some lads playing football came over and saved our bacon.Cringeworthy to be honest. The only other time was a big conifer i was cutting and chucking.It was over a wooden deck and i`d said leave the brash while i drop a bigger branch on it expecting it to land on the soft end.It didnt and punched a hole through it. Injuries: had a cheap multitool in my pocket that i was fed up with having to open up the whole thing to get the knife blade out.Decided it would be ok to leave it in the bottom of my jacket pocket.Forgot about it, and it stabbed me when i bent over to pick something up. Glued it with superglue, and said to my lad not to tell his mum who is a nurse.He did as soon as she came in.Needed stitches really.Healed well with no infection though:thumbup1:

I dont like to be judgemental, as i`m not jonny on the spot.However, i looked at a similar tree for someone i knows parents and quoted a `mates rates` 200 bones.Chipped and ringed.All left on site for their benefit. His Dad `hit the roof` at the price and said he had someone doing it for fifty quid. Its all relative.I`d look at 250-300 notes for such a tree.I would think its bigger in person with a lot of brash to remove and maybe a couple of other issues not readily noticeable.

Stihl ms230c.A mates saw who does turfing.Not well looked after, and it was bogging as though no fuel was getting through. Broken chainbrake handle.Sheared off on the right of the saw.Red hot because someone had tried to overcome the stuck brake. Replaced that, but the saw was still not running right.Checked the fuel line.No filter, and no end of bits had made their way into the carb. After a clean out its running well.

Cs 100.It cost a bit, but its spot on for getting round the back of peoples gaffs.I think it will pay for itself quite quickly.We do a lot of tree stuff as well though, its not just gardening.Theres a lot of smaller chipper/shredder type machines on ebay.You might not want to buy one off there, but it gives a good idea of whats available.Some type of chipper is the way to go.

Its an expense, but i rent a bit of barn and yardspace at a mates farm.Its all chipped through a small chipper then sold as mulch, chip etc.

A dcs 230t for thirty quid off a boy that works at the tip.Non runner.New carb rubber and its a superb lightweight climbing saw. Two lawnflite mowers and a husky 266se.One of the mowers has only a couple of cuts on it.The other needed the cables adjusting, and the husky needed a carb flush out. 575 bones for the lot.

Been using one a couple of months now and its been a very reliable efficient machine.

Husky 266se.Picked it up last week with a couple of lawnflite mowers.On the face of it, 25 quid as part of haggling. Its been unused for a few years but the chap had put a lot of oil on the bar and brand new chain and drained the fluids.It will fire, but wont run for any length of time.In good order apart from this.Very clean inside and out.Plenty of comp, so i think it probably needs a carb rebuild.

They dont like black and yellow for deffinate.I was in a customers garden the other day with a black t shirt with yellow writing and was instantly attacked by several wasps.Very agitated.One went straight for my leg but swatted straight away.I was with a mate who does pest control and he noted it.Turned my t inside out and they lost interest. Something in it fer sure.

Good choice.I bought the echo long reach recently and its been great.Adjusting the angle on the head is a doddle too.Just a pin and a quadrant to turn it through. Smaller trimmer, i use a husky.Its always been handy and has a turnable handle for ease of use.

All these habitual thieving criminal scumbags want to receive a good news letter.You`ve won the lottery, report to..... Stick them all in a cargo net and drop them in the Atlantic.They serve no usefull purpose.Spend their lives making peoples lives a misery.World would be a better place without them.

Amazing.It must take an unusual type of person to notice the same bird sat in a tree for a long time, then think it needed rescuing.Most people wouldnt notice or would assume it was a different bird. Birds live on the edge when it comes to survival as they cant store fat.They wont fly.They generally feed first light.Digest mid morning to early afternoon, then get on the feed to get them through the night. If feeding conditions are poor, you can find the floor of a roosting wood covered in the dead in a morning.The type of person who would ring the fire brigade or rspca about a bird in a tree would have a heart attack. Shocking waste of money.

I`ve got the Stein x2`s, and find them comfortable over long periods.Velcro tops and buckle ankle straps.Lightweight, they dont feel cumbersome or unwieldy at at all.The components are all replaceable. Not tried Bashlins so couldnt compare.

Theres a fair few VC recipients burried in Hampshire.Going back a lot of years to some lesser known battles.Presume its Hants you were working. For interest: HAMPSHIRE

Great stuff.Sad that our national heros lay forgotten.

I use: 026,046,064.Covers everything.I do use a little ms180 quite a bit for light stuff, but given the three saw parameter i`d have the 026 as the smallest saw with a 15" bar.I use 18" and 25" bars for the 046 which i find the most versatile.I have a 28" on the 064 at the moment.

Looked at a 40ft pine tree a while back, single stem, not much foliage, but a phone wire running through it.Striking distance of the house and a fence. I said 200, brashings chipped a left on site at their request.Even said i`d ring up the stem.Thought it would be a mornings work. Get a phone call that the womans husband had come home and `hit the roof` at the price and had someone to do it for fifty quid. Good luck with that.

200tdi discovery, and series 2 swb.Disco gets used a lot for work, shooting, towing,family runs out,carrying kayaks.Couldnt be without it.The series vehicle i picked up a few months ago, and just need to do a bit of welding to get it out there.Tax exempt, soft back and i`ve just picked up a cab back to increase its versatility.Shooting off the roof mostly.

Yeah, i`ve bought enough jackets for now, but i might re visit it when the winter weather sets in.

That ridgeline looks a superb shooting jacket.

Decision made and ordered.Really liked the look of the clark for climbing.Purpose made, it should work well with a harness, and make a crappy day at height bearable. Decided its a two jacket deal so ordered the hh narvik too for other things.Really, even though i`m not a great fan of standing out like a traffic cone, it sometimes has to happen.Plus the fact the its good quality hh gear at a reasonable price. Both jackets should see me through autumn and winter in comfort. Cheers for the sage advice.

Liking the look of the narvik and the navy surplus new and unissued which seem really good value.Cheers for the input chaps.

Yeah i know Eddy,and they can be very good, but i`ve got a few sovreigns to spend and sometimes i want to get in character and look a bit proffessional depending on venue.Some customers dont like the off duty squaddie look. Like the look of that Clark steve.Very good spec.This might turn into a two jacket deal by the looks of things.