Stereo

Thanks for more comments / tips. Kent, that sounds awful. Good job she's got you around now. I've got nothing like that really. Back in 2003 or so we did lose our first baby and I suppose I've never really got over that. I'm so lucky that I've had 3 boys since who are all fine when so many never get to that place. I know I am blessed but I can't ever shake that feeling in the hospital. I think that's when I hit the booze to be honest. Fast forward to trying to wake up out of this booze thing and I find a new level of reality. I spose that's it. All those fears I put away with a bottle or 2 I now have to face. They are just fears, not reality. I need a slap. I've got the world at my feet and I would rather go back to bed and moan on a forum. Jesus.

Mole Valley do it. Quite bendy. I've been told that it loses it waterproofing after a while but that maybe BS. I've looked at it for building chicken houses but it's expensive compared to ply and I worry about it breaking down after a year or 2.

I think the life skills thing is good. Not wanting to sound like a dick but I have been down a few times and have been able to go and get a job, no problem. May not be amazing. delivery driver or whatever but everytime I've started at the bottom of Totnes fore/ high street, I've had a job by the time I've got to the top. A lot of the guys / gals are bang on, they just can't express it. I know what to say to a prospective employer because I've been one and I know that all you want is a safe pair of hands who will knuckle down, not crash your van or steal your stock and get the job done. 99% of people will do just that. But it's getting that across to your prospective employer which is a skill I have and many don't. So I think that teaching people how to approach people and speak to them is really valuable. Let's face it, as an employer, you are crying out for quality staff. I always was. It's a crying shame that many of them are probably on the street or going to food banks because they can't get across how good they are. So, yeah, give people a break sometimes. Take a risk but make it clear there are no second chances. You might just strike gold.

I would say Toyota but I had a pajero 7 seater and it was fantastic really. Kind of miss it now. Little heavy on fuel for day to day but probably because it was auto.

Thanks all for your comments. The humour is fine. The dreams seem to be an extension of what has happened. Like the worst thing. So, the other day I lost some of my rare breed hens to a fox. Bad but not life ending. That's life. So last night I had some weird dream which started off with me finding one of them and developed into some mad story where the chicken farmer next door (there is none in real life) had stolen all my birds and then his crazy dog had eaten them. Then there were other people and my brother worked for him and eventually told me his name was 'Staddon'. I don't know anyone called Staddon. Anyway, the whole thing escalated and all my rare breed hens got mixed up and stolen or let out or eaten or something and it all ended up with me being in a nightmare, out of control situation and my business in ruins. There were people coming through the hedges and busting down fences and birds everywhere. This sounds nuts I know but I put a hell of a lot of work into my rare breed poultry and make a few quid out of it. So to have it all torn apart is hard to take. The stupid thing is that it still affects me after I have been up in the morning and seen that they are all fine. Gave me actual stress today which is totally stupid. Hard to explain and that is just one example. There are other scenarios. I guess I'm just more awake than I was on the booze and need to learn how to deal with that. The thing is that the dreams are so real that I have to constantly confirm what has happened and what has not. Fricking nutcase.

I'm not going back on the booze as it was starting to ruin my life day to day. Feel so much better and more positive now and not like I'm slowly killing myself. Just hacked off that there seems to be a price. Like you say, it's like it's in HD. Maybe I need to see someone. I've tried all the herb tea type ideas.

Welly boots will stink and smoke, Pallet wrap your flu will choke But tyres treaded or tyres bald Will keep away the winter's cold. Burning tapes and DVDs, Will cause your ecofan to seize. A gallon of petrol in the grate, Will put you in a terrible state. But tyres white or tyres black, Will warm your aching back. Plastic bottles, tubs and spoons Your neighbours will complain of fumes But tyres old and tyres new Will finish them off with acrid plumes.

Uh, I hope you all don't think I'm a tosser or anything but I've got something going on which is impacting my life, so to speak. I cut down on the booze big time a while back as it was getting serious so now I get to bed early and get up early, usually pretty fresh, without the old hangover feeling. So, pleased with that. But, I get these fking dreams that are so real and usually bad that I wake up in a bad mood. Sounds stupid but I can't shake it some days. Can be anything with me or my family or something random but it's so vivid, it's like I lived it. It's like I get post traumatic stress or something similar (obviously nothing like folk who really have seen bad stuff). I know it's nothing real but I feel like I've been through it every night. Starting to think I would be better off drowning it out again. Any ideas / remedies that are not out of a wine bottle? Anyone else get this?

Turned cold this week Jon. Winter in the air all of a sudden. Hoping for a dry week next week as I've got a quarter acre of dead standing elm to bring in. Should keep me warm for a couple winters. Best firewood you can get if your splitter is up to it.

Best oak is stuff that has been left in the field for a few years and then brought in the shed for a year. Best thing about it is that you don't have to worry about it deteriorating, it just gets better and then needs a final dry. I tend to ring it thin and chop into 'bricks'. The problem I find with oak is the lack of embers, it just seems to go to ash if you leave it too long. Great firewood but needs a long season and mixed in with something like ash or syc to give you an ember bed. Or softwood is fine too. I'm currently burning all the junk that was left soaking on the deck last winter. I just chucked it all in the shed, mud and all in feb and am now chopping it and burning it. Some is rotten, some is furry and disgusting but by god, what a load of heat. I haven't even started on the proper log pile yet.

Thanks all, I can't get up close to it for a while but need to comment on it.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.4135627,-3.722245,3a,75y,157.9h,109.44t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sapBBbBuaInTH_WxgeY7_7w!2e0 Big fir /spruce tree in the middle.

I live on a farm so would assume that eggs come under an ag product sold 'at farm gate'. Maybe they would look at Logs differently. Best to just have a go and see what happens. You ain't going to jail for flogging stuff off your garden. Worst that can happen is some arse shuts you down.

Cheers mate. Missed this when you posted. I don't have any timber down at the moment. Trying to work out how to drag it out of the wood. Maybe we'd can hook up in the future.

Isn't it a fact though that a well seasoned log will dry out again quicker then a freshly felled one? Kind of irrelevant to the discussion but once you have your logs properly dry, it only takes a couple days stacked somewhere warm to drop the MC right down again which is different than a freshly felled log. That's my experience anyway.

I did get that and maybe. At the mo I have more time than money though so just need to knuckle down to something.

What's the going rate for a net of logs these days by the way?

I guess, then at least they can compare with the garage forecourts. I hadn't thought of kindling. Got a mate who needs an old softwood plantation cleared. Might be worthwhile.

I used to buy a few logs off a bloke in South Brent in old fert bags or some such through an honesty box system. Seemed to work OK and they were decent dry logs for when you ran short or only had wet. I do eggs myself in the same way and people around here are fairly honest. So, with a 5 acre wood with a good few fallen ash etc., a surplus of chicken feed bags and no cash in the bank, I was wondering if this is a goer? What would you charge for a standard 25kg sort of feed bag (the sort you would put on your shoulder, like a bag of compost or whatever) of logs? I suppose I need to do some calcs and from my own experience of hauling logs up to the house in these bags, you get a good few more short ones in than long ones, unless they are the perfect length of the bag. Might be a handy bit of extra winter cash although I don't have enough logged and seasoned this year, unless I get on and build my planned brash / chip fired turbo kiln.

Might be a ladder and a few days job then. Good luck.

A bit of maul action in the woods is always good for the spirit but back in the shed on a rainy day it's a vertical splitter all the way. I've got a cheap Clarke one and it seems to bust anything. All at waist height so no picking up the split logs and can do up to 1m billets which is good for alder and stuff. I love it to be honest. Very quiet and powerful. I'm sure there are faster machines out there but I can get a days worth of split logs in 3 minutes so that's good for me.

Consent has not been given yet. I'll have to look at the plans to see if the trees are there. I've spoken to our district councilor tonight who says it's in hand but I doubt that stops them being felled tomorrow. It may end up being a condition of the plan but still they can fall over anytime between now and then. I repeat that I don't think the farmer has any intention to fell them but I don't know for sure and have the residents asking me questions. Might be time to give him a call tomorrow and sort it out sensibly. Put some minds at rest. I'll take his word if he gives it.

A member of the public (not me) has applied for a TPO on some oak trees on a green lane where there is a nearby planning application which may make them 'inconvenient'. There is no sign that the applicant wishes to fell the trees at this point. I don't actually think he will to be honest. I always thought that the authority had to be out in 12 hours or something once a TPO was applied for? Not sure where I got that from. We have had cases in our parish where whole areas have been felled and a TPO placed on the stumps (oak, beech, syc, ash etc. )! Too late in terms of the original tree although protects the regrowth which to be honest is never going to be as spectacular and more suited for continuous coppicing etc. . We had a recent planning application where a very old and very notable oak was not on the finished plan. It is still there and a TPO has been applied for by the Parish Council but it seems nothing is in place to stop anyone felling the tree tomorrow. Finally, the PS was really just to say that I'm a country lad and appreciate that to get timber products, trees have to be felled and if it's sustainable, that is a very good thing. Didn't want to come across as a....not sure what. I coppice trees on my own land for fuel with wildlife and conservation in mind and have building related plans for some of the bigger SC, Syc and Oak, with a replanting program to match. Just didn't want to sound like a nimby townie.

I have to attend a meeting tonight and it seems that our authority may be dragging their heels on TPO's which have been applied for. Does anyone know if there is a mandatory time limit by which the tree officer has to respond if a TPO is applied for? We know it only takes well under an hour to fell a 300 year old oak. It seems here it can take many weeks for anyone to even notice a TPO application. Any guidance or links would be greatly appreciated. PS: before anyone asks, I'm all for woodland and forest management and good use of sustainable timber but this is a case where a developer 'might' be looking to lose some pretty mighty oaks for no good reason other than convenience.

Perhaps getting something from the mortar? I also think cut a bit more of the stem so it's fresh and get it into a pot of something.