the village idiot

Thanks again! from the Confor website it appears that they are referencing the good old 'go to work if you can't work from home' line, and they have not as yet got the govt to rule that forestry is a key industry but are working on it. Pallets have been deemed essential. I'll keep a close eye on it as things are changing so quickly at the moment.

Thanks ESS, I produce firewood rather than strictly biomass so will have to check out where I stand. My only work colleague has been strictly quarantined for 12 weeks due to his daughter's heart condition so I am working alone in a wood with no public access. The Wood adjoins the property where I live so no travelling and I live alone. I'm presuming it is OK for me to continue but waiting for totally unambiguous guidance from govt.

Where did you find out that forestry has been given key industry status?

Now I'm more confused than ever.

I agree, the advice is not at all clear. Hopefully they will issue some more clarification.

Would that not make a mockery of the whole thing?

Pretty sure it means you can't travel to work unless you are a key worker. Even if you work alone.

Stick the kettle on, I'm coming to stay for a few weeks.

This next few months might help to give people some idea of what life might be like under a potential new system like Universal Basic income? Developments in AI and automation are destined to decimate the jobs market as much, if not more than this virus. A bit less money coming in, but more time to focus on other rewarding activities. My personal work routine won't change very much as I am effectively self isolated in the Wood.

Second is curmt leaf fungus, and the little blobby thingies Badhamia spp maybe 7/10 for effort, 0/10 for accuracy.? 1 point for Clitocybe, although if you win I'm docking half a Toffee Crisp for spelling. All photo's taken by the lovely Juliet, our ecology advisor.

I'll give you half a point for red stemmed bolete taking you to 1.5. Number 5 isn't Scaly cap. You're doing well though, these are hard.

Yup, trooping funnel is spot on. Be careful how many you give away though before getting to three. I have a ridiculous rule where anyone can use the correct answers of others!

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I had no memory card in the phone. It's not that many pictures so I'm not terribly bothered. I will dry the phone out for a few days and try it again. In the meantime here's 5 more fungal fruiting bodies photographed in the Wood. 3 Toffee Crisps and a packet of gobstoppers to the first person who gets 3 out of 5.

Miraculously I did find my phone on the forest floor. I can only put this down to Divine intervention. Unfortunately The Almighty didn't see fit to also protect it from the snow and the rain. Totally kaputzen. I've lost the photos I have taken recently but will endeavour to take some more and post some updates soon. If anyone fancies another round of 'name that mushroom' (with mind blowing prizes) I can certainly oblige?

Thanks Mark. I'd be a bit surprised if it ended up that far North but it could have taken a funny bounce.

Thanks Michael, 10 out of 10 for staying power, and glad you enjoyed it. There will be more updates. I have been taking a lot more photos but managed to lose my phone today which will set my posting back a bit. If you could all keep your eyes peeled it would be very much appreciated.

£100 billion is an awful lot of money. That's £100,000 every single day for 2700 years!

That's jolly decent of you. Thanks very much!

? I'll give you that. 1,2 and 5 Full list is: Amanita pantherina, Panther Cap Calocera viscosa, Jelly Antler Cortinarius uliginosus, Marsh Webcap Gymnopilus juonius, Spectacular Rustgill Laccaria amethystina, Amethyst deceiver Can you PM me your address and I'll send you your curly wurly's.

As wise man once said: " The path to wisdom is trodden late, Curly Wurly's come to those who wait" Kit Kat Caramel (1256)

? I'm going to keep you in suspense until the end of the weekend in case anyone else wants to have a go. A multi pack of Curly Wurly's goes to anyone who can guess three or more correctly.

Good on you for having a go! I'm rubbish on fungi and only know these because I've been told. You got Amethyst deceiver (number 5) so you can feel very chuffed with yourself about that.

Sorry Giles, I've been neglecting my duties.? Just been felling trees for the past little while so not too much to report. I also tend to post in splurges, I'm sure there'll be another one along soon. 2020 will be the year of ecological recording. We have got many different surveys planned to record birds, mammals, plants, insects and fungi. I'll be sure to post all the results up with plenty of detail about some of the more interesting finds. Just as a little taster, here are some fungi fruiting bodies photos taken in the wood last autumn. See how many you can identify. 5 more to come once you've got all of these.

Oh yes, silly me!?

Hi pelerin, Welcome to the forum and thanks very much for your thoughts. You make a very valid point. It is not necessarily a clear cut decision whether it is best to sell the resource as cordwood or split product. It will depend very much on each person's individual circumstances. In my case I am extremely fortunate to have a co-worker whose wage is covered by woodland grants and the woodland owner and does not come directly out of the product derived revenue. This is highly significant. We roughly double the sale value of the wood we cut by processing it over the summer. The additional costs of doing the processing (labour, machinery, sundries, income tax) are more than covered by the increase in value. That being said, the profit is not large and a creative thinker might well find that they can be more profitable spending their time on another activity and selling the wood as cord. We enjoy doing the firewood and haven't yet found a summer activity that we would prefer to do instead. I am not at all bothered what someone makes financially from the firewood once it has left us. If they are happy and we are viable then I am happy. We don't really think of ourselves as a firewood business. We are woodland managers with firewood production being one of our activities. Regarding VAT; my turnover is less than half the VAT threshold but I have registered voluntarily. My two main firewood buyers are both VAT registered so it is not an issue for them, and it is very beneficial to claim the VAT back on any purchases I make.