Daniël Bos

Cheers Tony:thumbup1: So... does that mean it would have been present but harmless at first and is now acting destructive on trees because they are so weakened by the change in their soil level? It certainly seems to me that all the trees affected are quite busy dying. As a side question, if I lay an effected stem, and completely sever the affected wood but leave a strip of clean wood, does it have more of a chance or is it basically toast?

As above I suppose. I'm working on a hedge that seems to be suffering from a quite extensive invasion. It's not had the easiest life so far as it grew at the top of a ditch which got filled in. When the ditch was filled very little consideration was given to the hedge, and in places the soil level is over a foot higher than it was before. The fungi seem to attack from the roots up, as affected stems are more affected the lower down I cut them. They affect the trees from the inside to the outside, when slicing up an effected tree, the affected wood is dead centre. It gives the most beautiful purple/pink/red -ish colouring to the wood where affected but the wood is brittle and feels dry. It's affected hawthorn and blackthorn (at least symptoms are identical but only fb found was on blackthorn). I've noted several bits where blackthorn was effected for a few meters, but the haw on the same stretch not at all but reckon this is probably due to the blackthorn being all one tree that's suckered? Sorry for the poor quality pics, I hope you can still help a little as the owner of the hedge would like to know what to do and what the prospects are. I know not a lot about fungi, and only have found one fruiting body on the hedge so far.

So you offered less service than you do normally and feel like giving up when it was not appreciated? Don't get me wrong, I feel for you and your desire to be at home by the fire but if it's a service you offered and he pays for? You're home now I expect:biggrin:

It was merely to demonstrate how laying a hedge changes the density at different levels in the hedge and thus affects airflow. I could have explained it better perhaps, it was late...

Done.

I have three saws that come out with me every day, A 2003 ms180 Fantastic little saw, only supposed to be light hobby-duty but lasts and lasts. Few niggles with the oiler but easily and cheaply sorted. Always starts 1st pull. A 2006 ms210. Ok, but does not punch above it's weight as much as the 180. Had a few issues with the tank breather and air filter but again cheap or free to fix. Always starts first pull A 2011 Husky 346xpg. Great saw, but has had more niggles than the other two in their 13 years of service combined. Takes a few pulls to start sometimes, oil cap is crap and choke/stop/start lever will probably break, looks far too flimsy. In short, age does not mean that much, anything from 2000 on is reasonably up to date and should be hse ok. Just decide what you want/need and take some time to find a good one. Even then it's still a matter of luck as much as maintenance.

No, a blue 75 estate, cost me £1250 4 years and 100K miles ago, I love it. You're quite right, as usual Ted. It's just that he's the best customer I could ever dream of and he'll probably sort it. He's not left me to deal with the situation but I'd like to be prepared for the woman though as the customer needs to stay friendly and civil with her because they have a court-case coming up and he wants the job done before that. Good idea, thanks. Will he be allowed out on bail you think? It's about 350 meters of rough terrain, heras would cost a fair penny I fear. I don't have or use a chipper. I normally can leave the brash for the customer to deal with, a quick sweep with a loader and a huge bonfire at completion is usually the easiest for them and me.

The wind-effect is more pronounced in old hedges than young ones. As old hedges tend to have very little or no growth low down. Like I said before, the looked crowded but not unhealthy. I know nothing else about the woman but what I saw and what I've been told by my client:sneaky2: If I thought there was an issue with animal health I would not hesitate to take action:thumbup1:

you drink wine? sissy:lol:

I used to agree with you on reproduction. I now believe that if I can bring my children up to be a force for good thing they'll be worth the risk. I admire your stance though. I fully agree with you on the train issue, just can't be bothered to keep putting the same argument up over and over again. Keep fighting the corner of reason:thumbup1: you're doing well.

The pic is from an different hedge, just to demonstrate how the wind moves through a standing hedge and not a laid one. The green area is not where the frost has been trampled, it's where high windflow through the hedge, forced up, over and down through the bottom of the hedge has prevented the area beside the hedge from frosting up. There were no animals in that field.

I'm Dutch, and although my command of the English language is quite reasonable, occasionally one comes across a bit of jargon like that:biggrin:

The shelter from the hedge will be much better when I'm done with it. Laying a hedge makes it much denser, letting much less wind through. Bad picture, sorry but this explains it better than I can. The further section has been laid. I know horses a bit, have owned horses for about 20 years. I like horses, It's horsey people I cannot stand. Worm burden will simply be countered by silly amounts of worming paste by the ignorant masses.

:lol:

For those worried: The quagmire part is where I need to be working, not the whole field. The horses have plenty of dry ground they can be on, they just seem to choose to walk up and down the boggy bits for 8 hours a day to make sure I have maximum inconvenience:biggrin: I'm sure they'll also be fed loads of that dust-extracted, bio-dynamic, organic, pro-biotic, lefthand-woven, imported hay that horsey people seem to think their animals need. They do not look underfed, just crowded. If they had looked in bad health the RSPCA etc would have been there after I went to look at it this afternoon. I suppose the conclusion is to try and have a friendly chat prior to commencing work and try and sort any issues she may have. If that fails and she's fit I'll try the roll about in the hay approach:biggrin:

You may be right, I had considered insisting someone other than me erect a fence the required distance away from the hedge to give me a safe working area. This may well be the most sensible option.

As horses can be quite daft about fences it would have to be electric tape or similar I think, but I'd have to find a way to make sure the energiser and battery are tamper-proof and secure. It would take me the best part of 3 weeks work so a quick "in-and-out job" is out of the question.

He wants it done asap, willing to move some other work we'd planned for this year to next year to make space in the old diary.

You could be right, she could make me tea all day.... Or she could make the job hell.... I think I'll put some extra clauses in the quote re losing time dealing with her etc. oh, and you forgot "4:My eardefenders have an inbuilt radio, I'm not nodding at what you're saying, I have some excellent tunes on on the Ipod":biggrin:

If that's all she wants I'll happily grind, strop and polish is for her:thumbup: I'm looking for a way to diffuse it somehow though, I've worked under protection from armed guards in a previous job and it's just not funny. If I can find a way to keep her sweet it'll be smooth sailing.

Ok, thanks. Still available in the Netherlands then, a standard one would come to about £260 inc vat delivered to the UK, depending on exchange rates.

I've seen 192 "carving saws" for sale, are they in any way different from a normal 192? The bar, chain and sprocket will be different, but anything on the saw?

I do wear a Kilt, commando style but not normally when hedging. You reckon it'll help keep her friendly or scare her off?

I got asked to quote a hedgelaying job by one of my best customers. The guy is good for about half my winter-work and I've got him booked for some work for next winter already as well. He's a thouroughly decent bloke, and pays on time, (he even offered to pay in advance). Trouble is, the hedge is along a field he's rented to a horsey lady:sneaky2: Her tenancy is up, but she's refusing to leave as she has nowhere to put the 25 or so horses she keeps on the 5 acres. They seem to have got to a dead end in face-to-face comms and going to court. Now he's asked me to lay the hedge going around the field as it'll improve the overall looks (neglected quagmire) and prove some of his good intentions to the court and the village (ashwell, rutland) For me to do the work I'd need to be in the field though, and keep the horses at least 20ft away for their sake and the piles of brash I'll create. My main question is, how do I avoid hassle from the horsey-lady? All normal common courtesies will be applied ofcourse so no need to tell me to be polite and friendly, I always am:sneaky2:, but have you any other tips for keeping her off my back? Thanks, Daniel