Grandad
-
Posts
114 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Classifieds
Tip Site Directory
Blogs
Articles
News
Arborist Reviews
Arbtalk Knot Guide
Gallery
Store
Calendar
Freelancers directory
Everything posted by Grandad
-
Flow is good, we've all had days when everything flows and we'll come down feeling pretty damn good... Then we have days when things don't flow and we feel lousy and frustrated. I suppose I'll never understand these new gadgets until I get to try them. For the life of me though I can't figure out how they tend themselves; how can you pull the tail end through with one hand and not need to hold some sort of gate/cam open with the other hand? Has it got a motor in it? Another thing: "Tend", I've got used to this word but we never had such a word, when did it become common currency?
-
Oh yes I did say wrong!! Sorry, senior moment there but I hope you see what I'm getting at.
-
I didn't say "wrong" I said, "what's the advantage?" Efficient? You mean it saves time or what? True enough, I haven't tried a one handed set up, I'm just struggling to see what advantage it gives the climber? In a climbing competition I can see the advantage of being quicker, but for a working tree surgeon I just can't see the complication and the expense being sufficient advantage.
-
I don't see the big advantage of being able to tend with one hand, what is wrong with using both hands?
-
Best site I've found all year, it's a real pleasure to be able to talk to tree surgeons again after so long away from the job. I almost fancy getting back into it but I can't afford all the new tickets and stuff you need these days.
-
Butler... 31? You can't be serious mate. 31, I wish I was 31 again.
-
What's wrong with a prussik on a flip line? The one I used to use had one, no bother at all. It could be considered a safety feature: if you have a split stem and you are being crushed against the tree you might be glad to be able to cut the prussik and save yourself.
-
Leucistic eh? I didn't see how an albino raptor could survive, this explains it. Thanks. Edit: Thanks too for the links, very interesting, will pass these on to my grand children who are being home educated.
-
Spent the afternoon playing with my grand children and watching my grand daughter swimming. They make life worth living for.
-
Never seen such a big Lombardy pop, great pictures and a good job well done, thanks for posting.
-
Does anybody stop to think: "who is this person who is teaching/training me how to do this particular task, does he know what he is talking about?" When I was working as a practical arb instructor at a college which will remain nameless, I and three others were sent to Land Rover at Solihull to do a winching course. It had been determined by HSE/HMG that training in the use of winches was required for HSE reasons. Anyway, there we were at Solihull, the actual training took about an hour, was very basic and the rest of the time was spent driving a Defender around the off-road driving course on site. After this, I was considered competent to teach others in winching techniques.... Had I stayed on at the college there was a real possibility that I could have been sent out to teach others on the basis of this extremely sketchy training session. Tree surgeon Essex is right, these courses are often a "walk through". It's as much about the money and the power these "qualifications" give "them" over "us".
-
That's a big old boy Matt. Always a little dodgy when they are as hollow as that one; not much left to form a hinge. We went down to Enfield once to take down a Robinia to make room for a swimming pool. I was up this tree and shouted down to the groundie to move something on the ground that I didn't want to damage, he didn't know what I meant so I shouted "what's that brown thing down there?" One of the Londoner builders shouted, "a turd!"
-
Couldn't agree with you more, Gray. It seems to me that most of us have no idea, exactly what is legal, illegal or just recommended by the powers that be. What is more I think this "fog of ignorance" is generated deliberately by said "powers that be". Heads they win, tails we lose. If you worked exactly according to the letter of the law you could wave bye bye to any profit. We are forced to cut legal corners or go under... Read "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand and you will see the political process at work, laid bare. John, another grumpy old man.
-
Albino Buzzards??? Wow, you win with that one Born2trot. I remember seeing a Blackbird with white patches once, never seen a fully albino one though. I wonder if your buzzards have pink eyes? Albinos have poor eyesight, that would be a serious handicap in a raptor and as they do exist, (white buzzards), I wonder if they are true, pink eyed albinos? John.
-
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it, never seen one here before, anybody seen one in the east mids before? Funny how some birds are thriving in places where they've never been seen before. We get buzzards too, never seen them in Leics except in recent years, quite common now.
-
I remember pollarding a line of white willows by the Welland in Rutland right near the Seaton viaduct, this was for the river authority, there were none of these ridiculously stringent environmental provisos as there seem to be these days. We borrowed a tractor from the riparian farmer, dropped the bits into the river and hauled them out with the damn tractor. No clipboard wielding official's butt was kissed at any time. We just went in, did the job and got out again. Edit: Forgot to mention: said riparian farmer burned the brash on site for us.
-
You are quite right of course Paul; it is difficult to argue against the fact that safety must be paramount, times change, traffic volume increases... The thing is though, I can't shake the conviction that safety is only half of it... The other half is all about money and power. Making it harder for small business to survive and easier for big business to establish a monopoly. The costs of all these rules and regs is crushing. Take away the need for people to think for themselves, to be self sufficient and responsible and you end up with a world populated with mindless zombies. Apologies to OP for the derail... John.
-
You used to be able to get an adaptor thing which pushed on to the edge of a helmet, to which you could clip your ear muffs. Folks used to use them on mountaineers helmets. From what I remember they were rubbish, always falling off...
-
When will it all end??? You need a ticket for this as well? Bring back the old days! I need to scratch my butt, will I need a ticket for that?
-
Try glaziers gloves, cheap and you can't cut them with a knife..., could be a useful feature that.
-
Sorry mate, won't be able to make it, have a great day though. John.
-
This: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs]Women In Art - YouTube[/ame] Beautiful for eyes and ears. Or this: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlYeq5f9lqM]Mudcrutch - Scare Easy (video) - YouTube[/ame] Old skool rock, they don't make em like this anymore... Edit: sorry, link no worky, worth a look on youtube though.
-
Damn right! They are an essential part of the team, neither climber nor groundie can exist without each other.
-
Trust in your climbing gear happens spontaneously if you can climb in a stress free situation. If you are being pressured things will happen a lot slower. When I was learning I felt under pressure from a rather impatient boss on the ground. It wasn't until he left us alone and I was helped by a more patient colleague that things came together, it all happened in one day. I stopped being nervous and found my confidence.
-
Who do these climbers work for? I never was able to come down from the tree and just leave the groundies to clean up. It was always come down from the tree and pitch in with everybody else clearing up. Fact is a good climber can quickly swamp even a large gang on the ground, they can't get in to clear while you are dropping branches left, right and centre.
