difflock

I can not bring myself to read this article.

Quite the right place for it too!

I honestly see no difference between rats or foxes as prey animals, but I do not buy into the nonsense that hunting with hounds is the most effective or efficient way to kill foxes, which would be lamping with a rifle. Also large numbers of horses plundering about through the countryside has its drawbacks, it always did, but back when the Gentry mostly owned the countryside and were also the RM etc, it was "different". Times have changed.

To slightly change tack, I have really really enjoyed watching YouTube videos of dogs being used to kill rats in and around decrepit farm buildings and from under the modern movable henhouses/pighouses. A proper days crack.

I agree with that analysis. I also have deep misgivings about nurturing livestock for the pleasure of hunting it to death/blasting it out of the sky. I have the same misgivings about restocking fishing waters for paid anglers, or the catch and release policy, which must amount to repeated torture. I also loathe and detest the provactive and carefully filmed and edited antics of the hunt sabs. Most of these activities are driven by too many humans and not enough nature, simply because of too many humans. Edit: Perhaps odd(but not really having been very distressed at seeing a working abbotier as a 14-15 year old), that as a livestock farmers son, I applaud the recent developments in culturing or growing viable meat substitutes in factories. Perhaps then there will not be such a reliance on factory produced pork and chicken, where the poor birds are referred to as "crops" and treated as such. Also the conundrum of the intelligence of pigs, and pigs being seen merely as a foodstuff by most, while at the same time most would be abhorred at eating dogmeat, with dogs being of similar intelligence to pigs. Grass fed cattle or sheep, at least get some life, prior to their slaughter, and if grazing marginal uncultivable grasslands or rocky/boggy mountain pastures, a win win on all counts. Marcus.

Not wanting to start a new thread, but after clearing a fallen tree across a local road, I refitted the daughters monster Clearview stove. And the flue is "pulling like a train". Then on the way home at 22:00 to found another bigger tree down across the same road, and then when we got home a well shredded dog(probably due to a wind/thunder/lightening induced "spat" that got outt hand) that needed to be taken to the vet. She is still at the vet awaiting some stitching. So I was clearing the tree after 23:00. Wot an exciting day! N.B. More overgrown bushes than trees thankfully. Images.

I will be curious to see how the couple of acres of Sitka that was clearfelled 10 or 15 years ago and near instantly sprouted very closely spaced Lodgepole Pine from dormant seed develop as they mature. It really seeds and grows like a weed in the rank moss.

A typical Lodgepole Pine of ours. And a somewhat more pleasing mound of Spagnum moss.

The first bracket were a proper bollacks! Nowt but crumbly lime mortar/plaster requiring thumb sized softwood plugs, fortunately both still within the width of the bracket. The second bracket were near as bad as I caught the rounded corner of a black basalt stone and the drill "wandered" off line, for the second bottom screw hole. The other two brackets were both centred on sound basalt stones in line with every hole(and see below) There were 2 retired tradesmen present keeping me right, and one offering up quite perfect sexual innuendos rather out of kilter with the ecclasticial setting, and wi the clergy standing nearby! Anyway "got her done". Hypocrite that I am, I don't "do religon", but hey, iffen it keeps the wife happy, all is good. P S. The wife spent 3 months of 7 day weeks, and fairly solid hours per day on these. Having been handed the bare skeleton of sketchy prefab work that needed considerable rectification(which darnt be mentioned!)

I might just treat you to my beauitfully displayed "Tate Gallery exhibit" of scrap-that-might-be-useful-pile outside! I belive "a slowly gestated organic installation" best describes it.

Well spotted Khriss! I intend to move a lot of stuff-that-is-not-needed--but-too-good-to-throw-out-and-might-be-useful-one-day up to the 1/2 lofts, which is why I put them there. This winter, honest. Cos I need to get room for a 2 post car lift.

See images.

Snug as a bug in a rug. See images Oddly I had to modify the Kerpan log splitter, by cutting off a very deliberately placed stopper lug that prevented the hydraulic cylinder from being collapsed more than say 400mm, and I got near as much again, which was sufficient to get it in below the low eaves of the shed. This factory arrangement has perplexed my since I bought the splitter. Like why was this stopper lug welded on where it was.

Two "tapestries" btw. Photos tomorrow. See image of brackets. These started as a couple of manky looking bits of very overvarnished hardwood that I picked out of a pile for dumping. First time I used the wee router for a task like this. I found it very satisfying to produce something useful from such discarded material. Hidden keyhole mounts to the rear. I can only hope the Church wall behaves itself tomorrow morning.

Since I got both, I probably prefer the Lodgepole as firing, watching the resinious knots sweat and burn when putting a fresh log on the fire is very satisfying. But Lord God it is shitty to cut, transport and process being twisted, lumpy, contorted, shapeless, sideways growing, heavy limbed and and often broken by the wind if not windthrown as well.

Musta bin raining an they got wet Gov, cos we wuz legal when we left the yard . . .

.....

5.5m long and 8" wide. Not 8' long! I wanted to floor the dining room with this type of board(but plain sawn and to be secured with facemounted brass screws) some 25 years ago and was told it was "impossible" , the timber was not available and even if it was it would be impossible to stop it cupping and moving, which was why such timber was not available.. Still kinda regret I did not presevere, specially since I blagged a 10 or 12' long solid Oak table for this room.

Some o the wile edumacated Greeks, wot we kinda blame for inventing democracy, allowed that democracy was a flawed form of Government because most people, the plebs(or is that a Roman term) are greedy selfish stupid twits who will always make the worst long term choices in favour of short term gains. Or vote for the leaders who offer to make such choices for them. Bread an circus an all that. His wisdom was well prescient!

And did she ONCE mention population growth! So who is lying now?

I was toying with doing this with my billet bundles, forcibly submersing in an old water tank, then measuring the displaced volume. Out of pure curiosity. Haint got round to it yet mind.

I appreciate(and it only took me 45 years, from age 17) I am somewhere on some "spectrum" of abbynormal, in my poor friendmaking/male bonding skills, but apparently better than average injury avoding skills**. To me, entirely untrained as I remain it it CLEARLY obvious that the chain must be kept sharp, and moderately loose, O.K. I only run semi chisel, but I keep it sharp, that way the chain rarely needs re-tensioned and the sprocket and bar last for ever, because I only ever have to "tickle" the log and the saw wants to cut, so no forcing/bruteforce, which allows for better relaxed saw control. I would also attempt to keep my body out of any likely line of kickback, if I forsaw the likelyhood of such occuring. I also always simply and intuitevly understood tension and compression and their effects on a tree or log. BUT I have unfortunately observed "trained" chainsaw abusers who brutally swing on the saw because they could not sharpen the chain, (i.e. they run to the local saw doctor to get the chains sharpened, each and every time) and could not understand that cutting asphalt was a job for a concrete saw, etc etc etc. I have also observed in mute gobsmacked awe some of the sad saws brought in, by both hobby and "professional" users, for attention at the local dealers, WTF! I bytimes had cause to wonder. But I am not seeing the well maintained saws cos those blokes dont be bringing them in for attention. I have also observed blokes that can make me feel downright inadequate with their chain sharpening and saw skills. Which is to say I mostly recognise my limitations. And I have the luxury of not working under pressure or attempting to make money off running a saw, while physically exhausted. Which is a very significent factor in otherwise inexplicable mistakes or accidents Unfortunately Dunning and Kruger were also correct when they postulated that stupid cannot be fixed. P.S. The Army is probably a bit of a contributor in offering young(ish) fit blokes who love working outdoors, the opportunity to "train" as chainsaw operators, for their post Army life. These blokes are not necessairly best suited to weilding a chainsaw, just because the feel like it or imagine they are Gods gifted chainsaw operators. "Two up and bags of smoke" does not always be the best tactic outside of the military. Sunday morning ramble over. N.B. **Injury avoiding skills, yes, I make mistakes, properly fornicate things up and break stuff, and hey I sometimes even learn something from these experiences, but "stuff" can be fixed, or scrapped, my body not so much. Marcus

Jeepers! Iffen I had these problems, there are a couple of local reputable engineering places, who will either do it themselves, or recommend someone better placed to do so. So many spin-offs from "wee Tom" McMaster's boomed and bust Engineering company of about 50 years ago, where his top men all went and set up shop in their particular specialities, be it lathe work, rolling sheet to radius, fabrication or making and mending hydraulic rams, all in the Garvagh and Kilrea areas. Odd how growing up with this background to find other areas are not so blessed. Good luck. mth

I like that, probably cos it looks natural and even tree like, so most appropriate.

Bloody obvious thinking to my simply mind. no free lunches. Simply robbing Peter to pay Paul. Which is why I did not install a ground source heat source beneath our alreadly marginally productive cold dour Northern soil.