the village idiot

Yup, the problem is their very high number of capitas. We are long past the point where people can choose to act independently. We need to be forced.

I think you'd be surprised. The science on human induced global warming is now unequivocal, and even the most conservative projections are dire. We know what we are dealing with.

Yes, China and India are by far the biggest problem at present. Do we have the right to stop them, arguably no. Do we need to stop them, yes. I heard someone comment that the fact that China is effectively a dictatorship could be beneficial. If the Chinese leader's ego could be prodded into seeing himself as the key player in saving the planet, he has the power to very quickly change the course of his nation. This would make a huge difference. There is some hope. If we can hold the temperature rise to 2 degrees the results will only be catastrophic.

So... Absolute best case scenario from here on out is a 2 degree increase in global temperature. The fallout from this 'best we can hope for' future has been officially designated as CATASTROPHIC. If we carry on pretty much as we are, we are looking at a 4, 5 or even greater degree rise. Insert any word you like to describe what this would be like, as long as it is far worse than catastrophic. We are on course for damaging our planet, and the creatures on it, beyond all recognition. I'm not sure we have quite grasped the magnitude of this challenge we face. It really is THE issue, but we give it relatively little thought. Is it too big a thing to properly conceptualise? Is it too far removed from the day to day concerns that we fret over? Are we going to accept being told to stop doing a lot of the things we feel we have the right to do? Is this existential crisis best tackled in closely affiliated groups of nations or as individual countries looking out for their own concerns? All thoughts gratefully received.

Well done that man!?

Could be climate change, could be something else. I was surprised they appeared so far North. Keep your eye out for Toucans.

Any idea why the numbers seem to be increasing Mick?

Do you have to be quite so chipper openspaceman? This is supposed to be a downbeat thread.

Fantastic!

I'll be needing some pics of it with some big butts please I can only find the one at the moment.

They do have a plug, they just don't like you using it! The winch connects to the tractor battery.

Here's my log arch. Needs 50 horses to pull it but it will shift anything that fits through the uprights.

High forest is certainly a valuable habitat in itself. We leave some select areas as non-intervention in our Wood. It is worth pointing out though that something like 50% of Woodland in the UK is unmanaged. Very few have woodland TPO's. They are especially good for bats, some birds and lichens and fungi but they are relatively barren. The majority of the wildlife that would inhabit them are adapted to the seasonal felling cycles that took place in most Woodland up until the second world war. They struggle to cling on in dark unmanaged Woods.

You'll do well to find anyone selling wood in the way you want to. You could try starting at £100/cube and keep dropping until the customer's face unwrinkles.

Ah, you're thinking of selling in 4ft lengths?

Where are you? Are you planning on selling to the end user? Are you planning to season the wood.

Measure the height and the depth of your stack in mtrs, times them together and then times that figure by the length of the stack in mtrs. This will give you the volume of the STACK in cubic mtrs. How much split wood you get out of the stack will depend on the diameter and straightness of the lengths. There are probably people on here that can give you some rules of thumb.

Spot on! It's all about managing light levels. We have been hitting some areas of the Wood I manage pretty hard. In the 6 years I have been there we have already seen the return of Nightingales, Hobbies and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, along with a burgeoning array of wild flowers, butterflies and a mind boggling mass of other insects. It's wonderful to work in such an environment. The Wood is managed explicitly for biodiversity. The resource generated as a result of the interventions pays me a living. We only take out a small fraction of the growth that the Woodland puts on in the year. It is a truly sustainable project.

I hear ya', and would agree in most cases. Woodlands are a bit of an anomaly as a habitat in that they can be 'improved' by human intervention. It might help to view the 'resource' aspect of it as a very welcome bonus.

Possibly, I'm not sure once you factor in all of the insects and fungi etc. You are talking about an almost complete change in land use though. I think the OP is interested in what he can do with his Wood, keeping it as a Wood. Correct, but with a bit of consideration you can change the 'instead of' into an 'aswell as'

You can significantly increase the biodiversity of a Woodland (if you wish) with sustainable intensive management. Nature has no 'agenda' when it comes to biodiversity. A woodland in lowland UK or France, if left alone, will eventually become Oak high forest. Lovely, but relatively low in biodiversity. The Woodland with the highest recorded biodiversity in the UK is Bradfield Wood in Suffolk. It has achieved this by being the only UK Wood that has been in continual intensive (coppice with standards) management since the 1200's. Good management of Woodland is a win-win. You get to harvest a valuable resource and create a more varied habitat for beasties and leafies.

One of the shoot syndicate in the Wood I manage was upset that I was felling Oaks. He said that they represented our country's heritage, that the British Navy had been built on the back of them. Go figure!

Yup, Mine doesn't really get any use now as we have changed our MO. He also built me the most outrageous log arch. This gets a fair bit more use. Oh, and a tipping trailer.

I've got one of those too. Had Tim beef it up to take 3 ton.

Only the ones bread in captivity. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.