WoodMouse

Im in London right now, so very close to the college for the courses. I'm thinking about moving out further. Depends really where i can find land to base myself. 5-10 acres of woodland which would be suitable for my plans, i.e. somewhere with a reasonable covenant or none at all. Will have to speak to forestry commission. I hope to buy woodland, set up a dwelling and with an extended seasonal license i should be able to love there. If i keep pigs to control the understory and use part of the site for producing charcoal, firewood, roof shingles, round wood beams for houses etc it creates the need for someone to be there permanently. I hope it would work, obviously being a tree surgeon/arborist would prove that im interested in looking after the wood, and not just buying it for investment value and leaving it to go wild. When i say Commercial Diver in the Caribbean you probably have quite a glamorous image. But most the time i was in water so silted up with mega yacht poop that i couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Scraping wee sea beasties from the hull of a billionaire arms dealers yacht. We did have interesting jobs, repairing armored cable in deep blue water was ace but few and far between. Same with courier work, it's the best job in the world wizzing down country lanes in the summer. But most of the time you'll end up walking round empty office blocks late at night in the pissing rain looking for a security guard to drop off your last package from a 14 hour day. I try not to have any preconceptions, but I'm sure it's no walk in the park. I love being in nature, and i miss the adventure in an office. To go from almost losing your life three times a day on average (I'm serious, no health & safety in the Dutch Antilles) to sitting in an office, i just don't feel alive. eZ Muchas Gracias

Thanks man! Yea, i bet a tree sways much more than a mountain. I seem to have it in my mind that tree climbing would be safer, no falling rocks. I guess falling branches are just as deadly, but i would expect landslides and rockfalls to be a more common occurrence than a falling bough.

Thanks Pooch, i'll need it. Thanks Stubby, thats nice of you to say. Tipping truck with chip box, good advice. Im thinking that the chipper would be must, i guess pieces suitable for firewood or charcoal making would need transporting away. And i guess if there was good lumbar you wouldn't want to cut it up, oak say. I'd like to be able to transport and store/process allot of this wood too. What sort of setup would you suggest here. I've been looking at those little crane arms and the trailers. Reasonably, i could probably afford one of the smaller ones. Could you see a return on this investment for producing round wood for timber beams. Or would i be better to just get everything taken away by people with trucks and stuff? thanks

Wud up Arborphiles. I'm currently 34 and I've become disillusioned with the whole office malarkey, and I've decided that id like to start an Arboreal business. I don't have much experience with trees, except CDT at school. Craft, Design, Technology. Ive been in the Caribbean for a few years working on boats, so good with ropes and knots. Not much experience climbing, although a recent visit to a climbing wall i stunned the instructor by whipping up the wall lightning fast just using my arms. Seems my slim athletic frame is quite adept to climbing as when i reached the bottom he couldn't believe it was my first climb. "do it again, but only use the blue ones" he said I got almost to the top, and was finally taken out by a section that required me to swing from one block to the other using just my fingertips, i fell. Still, the guy said it was impressive, and that i had potential to be a good climber. I've also been a scuba instructor/commercial diver and a motorcycle courier. So i think I'll be OK outside in the wet and cold. I would continue to dive but perforated my ear drum, Anyways, thinking of going to Capel Manor College and doing all the courses. From what i can see this could take me a few months to get sorted. chainsaw, felling, climbing etc I was thinking to start out, for a one man operation id need, the usual PPE, Climbing gear, Saws, a chipper and a flatbed truck. There is potential for more plant equipment as the enterprise grows but im thinking about starting with this and seeing how i go. Hoping to get involved with everyone here, learn share and grow with the community. Please forgive me if I've said anything drastically stupid, I'm really new to this and will never feel that anyone's being critical. All advice welcome. Kind regards WoodMouse