Matthew Arnold

On a site we have recently taken over i did a very basic tree survey. I check from base to crown al the way around the tree (where possible). I know ihave put thtis pictures up but my colleagues would like a second opinion. The tree in question is a Quercus robur with a pair of large Inonotus dryadeus brackets at the base. It is within easily falling distance of a fairly busy residential road. The green space that borders the tree is a well used play area. It has a ditch that is approximately 20 years old (so not exactly old in comparison to the tree) running next to it. Each year the ditch fills with water and the small lane that is bordered by a line of trees floods also. We have had several tree offcicers out from all of the relevant local authorities and our head county council tree officer. Due to the proximity of the play area they have suggested thinning but we did the rubber mallet test where the fungi enters the tree and there appears to be a cavity inside. The butresses on the high side are much thicker and denser than those on the ditch side. Is this a sign that the tree is trying to keep itself upright? If so would balancing be appropriate or full removal? We have several old mature oaks on the site. The majority of them are in good order with maybe a bit of deadwooding and limb tidying here and there. We also have 3 large dead wood habitats all of which are standing and are used by bats and woodpeckers on a very regular basis. I have attached a couple of pictures of the fungi and the tree showing the proximity to the road and play area. And the die back in the crown.

The snake is a Grass Snake. Adders have a black diamond print down their backs. Grass snakes have a yellow collar along the topside ofthe body just behind the head. Adders are quite dull and are generally found on sandy/ dry areas but are quite adaptable to their locations. Grass snakes prefer wetter areas and are quite shiny. I recon that the Grass snake in the picture is about 3 years old.

I havent got any pictures unfortunately but we had a large Turkey Oak fail next to 3 25,000 volt power lines. The member of the public said it was a limb so we brought the lil saws but then realised there was a massive hole in a line of three 280 year old oaks. No sign of rot in the base or root system. And it wasnt windy. It was very strange. If it went the other way it would have flattened about 30 cars behind the bank.

Weve had the tree officers and 4 tree surgeons look at all of the trees that had defects and fungi and the oaks will be reduced and balanced. The pair next to the road are going to be kept as habitat pollards so if they do fall over it will pretty muc be just a stub rather than a massive crown blocking the road. The field maple has been condemned and will be felled completely. We will be doing the easier bits and a very slow coppice regime of a pair of 1000 year old Ash coppice stools. We have a nice big section of hazel hedge to lay this year.

Yep. Its the brand new seats from the new Defenders. We had them done in Black Mondus/Span. The seats came with new runners and the front seats had covers thrown in for free. They also put in sound proof matting as well.

Yeh i read his post but we have three spaniels. i don't think a tipper would be suitable. lol

The seats are from the brand new Defender series. so they are extremely comfortable

Lats Tuesday my dad and i collected our new Land Rover Defender 110. We are both keen sportsmen (i.e shooting, beating, off-roading, etc) so we needed a vehicle sutiable for the purpose. We sourced the vehicle from Rudkin Vehicle Services and gave them the wish list for bits too be added. We had it fully upholstered (due to seats being rusty and the foam falling apart) by Exmoor Trim. We only paid £7070 for it ( that includes truck and bits). Feel free to criticise me for putting it up in a tree forum but i am sure you will find it a lovely example of a P reg.

Met the boss this morning. Checked the tree and its neighbours. The slightly fuller and thicker one to the left is also hollow but less so. But he has already given the go-ahead to drop it. He will be the one doing it sadly. I shall hopefully get a video put up on here showing its demise. He has already booked it in for next week.

We would hopefulyl leave somesort of habitat in its place whether it be a hollow stem or somthing similar. We have had woodpeckers nest in the trees next to it which is rather cool.

The main reason for waiting til winter is coz of the stupid pigeons nesting about 15ft up. but we wil probably only wait about 2 weeks then fell it. or knowing my boss, fell it to make it safe then clear up later thus removing the hazard.

We have been keeping an eye on some trees on a riverside site that floods atleast 4 times each winter. We strim (carefully) around each tree so we can see any fruiting bodies or weaknesses around the base. One of the Poplars hasnt been strimmed around all year due to a very active Hornet nest. We knew they were coming from the tree but not sure where. As the weather hasn't been at it's best i thought it would safe to go and check the tree as we check them every 3 months (a bit extreme i know). Unfortunately i found out why the hornets were liking the tree. A nice big cavity with a hollow stem. When i tapped the tree it does sound like i am tapping a drum. So it will be coming out this winter as the footpath it is next to is used on a very regular basis.

lol. i forgot to add more pictures last night. The split in pic 6 is very fresh (still had a litle bit of sap seepage) but i have a picture that has quite possibly the most obvious split on it. One of my colleagues thinks it can be braced. I couldnt beleive it. And i have an image of a fungi that we have alot of on our site growing on Blackthorn and Plums but i cant find it in any our fungi id books. It causes white rot and brown rot. Any ideas?

Whilst doing a check on a new peice of land we have just started to manage. The site is mentioned in the Doomsday book. I found some rather nice mature oaks with some less pleasant fungi growing from them.I know one of the fungi growing off a pair of oaks is Inonotus dryadeus but i am not sure about the rest. As we have found these fungi we have informed the relevant local authority to come and survey the trees ASAP. The pics show the fungi/ defects and proximity to roads and houses. The defects are fairly obvious but there is an oak with what looks like the start of a split running from the base up the trunk. I apolgise for the large number of pictures.

It is scary. If they did get caught they would have been let off with not even a slap on the wrist. As they wouldnt have been able to prove they were our bits of kit. Apart from the security stickers we have just inside the air filter covers. And the security pen markers on them too.