Andrew Gale

Strawberry tree Arbutus unedo

Now that's what I call a ladder.........

Quercus ilex or Holm oak/evergreen oak. Natures good at throwing up variations to the expected norm. Look at the small acorns and use that in the ID also

Diagnosis of Ill Health in Trees does attribute Armillaria mellea to Sequoiadendron and the staining does resemble that associated with A. mellea I would normally expect to see staining lower down but it does look high up the stem? Whether this is A. mellea it's difficult to tell without spore prints

I can't add much more than Doobin's already said; if you've got the gear, dip your toe and see what happens. If you take the plunge just remember it's going to be tough for the immediate future so holidays and such like might have to take a back seat. But I wish you all the best.

And I've just eaten........!

Or don't do fast descents?

I'm currently using Yale Blaze 11.5mm; I haven't used the zig zag that much as I'm pretty much retired from climbing but used it today on a big cedar climbed inspection and it worked a treat.

No advice I'm afraid but my grandfather kept racing pigeons and I have such fond memories of watching him call them in with. He was a crack shot with the catapult and dried peas on the factories cat that used to stalk the birds to. I also remember vividly the birds rush out of their boxes when we used to release them from the top of Bury Hill in West Sussex for their flight back to Wood Green in north London; thanks for the trip down memory lane. Sorry I couldn't help...........

I read an interesting article a while back about countries who can't produce enough food to sustain themselves. China are now buying up vast tracks of land and farms in Australia as they don't have enough space/usable ground themselves; they are also heavily financing parts of Africa for the minerals. The article went on to claim that a number of the smaller Asian countries can't produce enough food themselves already leading them to import pretty much all their food; this has also resulted in an investment in roof top farms......

I use a Field Smock made by Country Covers and I've not had a problem with it. It's not the lightest of tops so it only really get brought out on the wet winter days but with just a T shirt on underneath you can wear it on a slightly warmer day; it's not that cheap either, but I've had mine for a few years and it was a lot cheaper back then. It's not too cumbersome and I had them make mine it little longer in the arm to allow for reaching as I hate having jacket arms rise up. It has a hood that can get in the way a bit but you can roll it up (somehow) to make a larger collar.

It's all down to personal choice; I can't add much more to what's already been said. I use a 5m lanyard and have a 3m New England wire flip line for dismantles. I carry to loose end in a small bag on the back of my harness; clean and tidy. One piece of advice I would proffer though is to keep your lanyard on the opposite side to where you keep your chainsaw and pruning saw (if you carry both together); that way when you lower your saw on the tool strop (on your harness) or replace your pruning saw, there's little chance of snagging the rope.

I use the Japanese style tripod ladders with the adjustable legs and they are by far and away the most versatile set of steps I've owned. I wouldn't bother with the non-adjustable as there aren't that many occasions when you're on a perfectly flat ground. I've got three sets, 2 x large (about 12 rungs) and a smaller set (about 8 rungs). We have had a problem with a set though when the individual leg snapped at the point where the chain attachment is; we know bolster that area with padding to reduce the risk of damage.

Anybody watching Utopia at the moment? World wide mass sterilization introduced by a shady group through a fake vaccine for an introduced flue epidemic to reduce world population numbers and reduce the pressure on fossil fuels and the earths resources....

Another for A. saccharinum

When I taught I would say that, as a rule of thumb, 'place the saw on a level surface, take the chain brake off, hold the chain with a gloved hand and pull the chain; if only the chain moved, it's too slack, if the whole unit moved then the tension was somewhere near OK'.

Sounds about right, maybe a tad on the high side. Depending on what they actually quoted for in terms of stump level will depend on what they do with the stump; if they stated in their quote to leave the stump low, it means just that, left low.... What did they specify was happening to the arisings? Left on site or cleared? Regarding the bits left, as Jim said, couldn't really comment. My only comment would be to recommend to your friend that in future all quotes are written detailing exactly whats going to happen with what, then there's no ambiguity when it comes to the spec.

If it's the real biggies you're thinking about, I thought about the very same thing a few years ago and decided the weight of the compressed chip etc would be too much; plus the time in between emptying could result in a serious 'block' of chip having been generated and almost impossible to get out again. There are of course the smaller units that may work.

I saw a program a while back about European bees being introduced to Japan to increase honey supplies; suffice to say they didn't stand a chance against the Asian hornet. However the Japanese honey bee, although rubbish at producing honey, has nailed how to deal with an Asian hornet, they simply gang up on it, and I mean literally ON it, and vibrate their bodies to bring the temperature up to about 48 degrees (I think) and said hornet dies; however Japanese honey bees die at about 49 degrees-ish so they have to depart pretty lively or they die too. Bloody clever thing this Nature.......

I've never used the X rings so I can't comment but they do look very good from the video clips I've seen. Rope wise we use a mix of Yale double Esterlon for the bigger diameter ropes and a Marlow braid for the smaller diameter ropes; I've not used the Sirius rope so again I can't comment. Certain ropes will work better with more acute angles that the X rings will produce and others will work better with the block set; again my rope selection is somewhat limited so I can't really comment on kit outside my experience.

Looks like goat willow from the photo's and the 2ft a month would definitely fit with the species vigour

That's just awful, sorry to hear that.

I filled up with fuel the other day and as I entered the shop to pay an old guy staggered towards me, using 2 walking sticks, and almost fell as he left the shop; I caught him and suggested he got assistance, at which point he grabbed my arm and said 'Tanks, I'm the blue car over there'. So being a decent chap I walked him to his car, a distance of about 15m, which took about 2 minutes during which time he told me that his ankle doesn't work anymore hence the walking sticks; I suggested that maybe it was time to hang up the driving gloves and he said 'no young man, I'm in an automatic so that's fine'. The fact that he could barely walk didn't even cross his mind. I put him in his car, walked to the shop, paid for my fuel, walked to my car, put my seat belt on and drove away before he'd even got his seat belt on. Now I appreciate that young or old, we can all drive carelessly but surely common sense must prevail and one must get a medical when one reaches a certain age! I believe you need to re-apply for your license at 70yrs old so why not then?

If it's simplicity you want, then I don't think you can go much wrong with a dead eye sling, whoopie sling, a small lowering block, a number of slings of differing sizes and a handful of steel karabiners; for friction control use a type of capstan (there's a few out there). I would also suggest you purchase The Art and Science of Practical Rigging by the ISA; very useful with loads of good diagrams. I'm sure there will be loads of other options made available to you by the other forum members but this is what me and my guys use for every day lowering; we do bigger stuff and have bigger kit to accommodate that but for simplicity I think the a fore mentioned works very well.

Hi Stephen, that sounds fine; always a tricky one when new ideas come along mid design mode.