Billhook

Thanks David

Some Poplar managed to find its way into my Ash log box and having been stored in an open fronted shed for a couple of years developed this foam like fungus.  The Ash is not affected.  It is just as though someone has covered the wood with a thin layer of expanding foam, never seen it before, what is it? 

Yeah, Leicester, Birmingham, Newcastle, big cities but Spalding Tulip bulb auction hall with tickets at £1.00!!

In 1961 the population was only about 15,000 rising to 25,000 in 2001 to about 35,000 today.  Compare that with the populations of those cities which were well over half a million a piece

Bet you’ve never been there!

36 minutes ago, PeteB said:

I stayed at the Brooklyn Hotel in Leicester after a game on new years eve as a special.  It is on the site of the old De Monfort Hall which had some big names through it in the day. But, by and large, all these smaller spots have gone!

At least most people have heard of Leicester and know where it is, I cannot say the same for Spalding, bet most. people would have to look it up on their phone!

8 hours ago, Stubby said:

Can I pop your farming hat on for a second ? Round here , on the chalk , its usually barley . Crops are rotated of course but predominantly barley . Thing is there seems to be an abundance of oil seed rape everywhere this year . Is the price per ton expected to shoot up come harvest ?

Probably because it was drilled early and was established before the rains really came down and had its head above water especially over chalk hills.  Cannot see any particular reason why it would make more money since there is so much of it

Wheat and Barley however another matter and if this goes on the poor buggers trying to put their potatoes, Spring Beans and Barley, Beet and Veg in will be really suffering 

On 28/03/2024 at 08:09, Whoppa Choppa said:

Absolutely batshit bonkers. Had heavy snow last night which actually settled followed by lashing rain and storm forecast now .Never ever known anything like it. Was looking at some statistics; we've had here almost 2/3 of the years annual rainfall already - in less than 3 months. October thru December '23 were the wettest in 30 years. And February and March this year the wettest ever recorded. Crop yields this year approaching apocalyptic failure.

With my farming hat on, I too have seen nothing like it in over fifty years of farming.  Wheat fields decimated and hardly a Spring crop sown.  My Miscanthus contractor has not cut even one acre anywhere and he covers a large area in the North.  Pools of water, mud everywhere.  Approaching Cuckoo barley territory now. Cannot go in the woods without making a filthy mess and even winching logs out from the roadways has the same result.  At least managed to bring enough logs back to the yard to process under cover.

Just found this advertisement.  Spalding is only 40 miles away but in those days that was a big deal .  At the age of 13 parents were still very much in charge and the idea of letting your adolescent kid go to a hippy festival with many things to lead him astray was out of the question.  Too far to bike with my knackered single speed cycle.  I would be surprised if any of you lot made it. Stubby perhaps??

Just look at the line up, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and Pink Floyd were way down the order!

Thanks for the replies 

The wood came from some large trees and had been seasoned for about three years so there was less resin but it was still quite heavy.  Little bark and quite stringy on the outside of each log. I felt that this stringy layer burnt fiercely and may have coated the remaining log with a black ash which subdued the fire 

The air vents were fully open, normally half shut down for Ash and Sycamore once the fire is going 

I think it is good advice to mix it with the Ash and Sycamore 

I know this topic has been on the forum several times but just wanted to share my experience and wondered if any of you had the same

We took down some very large old trees with 20-30 inch diameter logs that we split into firewood before Covid (New date term. “BC” so 2018 BC!). 
So very dry and very stringy after splitting and a mountain of bits which are useful kindling.

Been burning them on our Aarrow Stratford boiler.  Normally we use Ash and Sycamore which both produce plenty of ash in the ash tray and both burn hot

However we were surprised to find the Leylandii only produced about 3/4 of the heat of the others in spite of seeming to burn well initially.  However after a period of time they became very blackened and I suspect that this coating slowed the burn.

Amazingly there was no ash at all left after a whole day and night, with the Ash and Sycamore we usually fill a bucket

I thought there would be enough resin in the wood to make it burn hotter but perhaps this had disappeared over time

Anyone had a similar experience?

18 hours ago, GarethM said:

I wonder if Australia is more left handed, just thinking of all those prisoners we sent were actually just lefties deported to an island where the water flows down the sink that's in tune with there spac handedness.

Too right (left). Cobber!

The main point as Peds will agree, and not about measles is that left handers are dominant in the right hemisphere of the brain , so left handers are the only ones in their right mind!

2 hours ago, AHPP said:

£90 a tonne. 

Blimey, is that the current price of wheat?  I blame the Russians!

3 hours ago, peds said:

As a leftie, both politically and dexterously, I always try to shoehorn my own sinister agenda in wherever possible. 

 

Leftiness has been repeatedly observed in squirrels (handedness, of course... we all know that squirrels are famously fascistic in their political views), who reliably use one hand for picking up nuts and the other to manipulate it, every time. I wonder what percentage split of the population would be.

 

So that's an interesting question about the flint tools, at what point in our history did the 50/50 split start to unbalance... was there any significant degree of physical persecution to the extent that the lefty gene became more rare, or was it mostly just social pressures that swayed the scale. It's only in the last few decades that leftiness has become tolerated in schools, I'm sure some of the more distinguished members of the congregation will have memories of their left hand being tied behind their back at school, or maybe even a lick of the cane...

 

Being left-handed, I found it tricky enough to get to grips with using a chainsaw at first. Solved that problem by just putting the chain on backwards. 👍

In a huge generalisation if you are in a crowd and shout out “Everyone here, follow me out the door “ most right handed people will just follow whereas a lot of left handers will say “hang on a minute why?”

All through history as soon as armies were formed you needed conformity of weapons, bows and swords and shields had to be right handed and you could not have an ordered line of troops standing to attention with Peds and Billhook poking our neighbours eyes out with our weapons.  Same goes for muskets and rifles all right  handed.  
The way we write from left to right, the way pens are made

And so left handed children were forced to be right handed which caused a lot of stammering which I do not hear these days

in more violent times people were put to death or burnt at the stake for being witches.

Even today half the world condemn the left hand to wipe the bum and not bring food to the mouth or shake another’s hand

So we are where we are because of war I think

What has all this to do with measles!!!

13 hours ago, peds said:

There have always been people on the spectrum, there have always been bendy genders (of most observed species), there have always been albinos, there have always been lefties; all in roughly the same proportion of the population since humans became humans. 

 

Allergies, though. Loads more of those around. 

You leave us lefties out of it!   when they studied flint tools they found it was nearly 50/50 left and right handed.  Only when the Romans and other war like people started to call us sinister just because we would not obey orders or follow the crowd!

Did not know that, perhaps more kids parties are the answer?

Seems to be a lot of talk about it at the moment and the reluctance of people taking the jab 

I am three score years and ten now and when I was young instead of jabs we were sent to children’s parties and caught most diseases like mumps, German measles and chickenpox when we were about six or seven years old .  Unfortunately I never caught measles at that age but succumbed at the age of twenty with a very high temperature and much discomfort. Luckily I was very strong and fit so no lasting effects but I would caution those with children to have the vaccinated.  It is a shame but understandable that people have lost their trust in vaccines due to the Covid jab, but i would feel much more confident with a well tested vaccine 

My father took this photo of me!

Wonderful Woodchuck log roller behind!

Just been testing my new MS251C

with easy start to relieve my poor arthritic wrists.  Game changer for me. 16 inch bar made light work of this Ash ready now to be split with the “Lockdown home built processor “ still going strong after several mods

It would lift one this size but I only have a photo using forks

On 31/10/2023 at 07:56, Cosmiccrofter said:

Has anyone used a silage grab on the loader to lift logs, obviously it wouldn't be much use on very large ones, but those 12"-15"?

I bought a clapped out Sanderson muck grab and fitted some cone adapters for the Matbro.  It has been much abused and much welded on the grab but the tines are strong.  It is really useful for picking up large heaps of brash by tilting it forwards and dropping it down vertically on the heap with the grab wide open before grabbing at ground level 

Anyone had the misfortune to sit on one of these?

London on red fire ant alert after deadly species found in Europe

WWW.TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

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Entomologists warn invasive species which has killed 80 people in US could enter UK through ports

Just sitting here by the lake and there is another big black cloud heading this way…….  I’m off!

Just had the mother of all thunderstorms last evening in mid Lincolnshire.  In all my seventy years I have not witnessed the like.  First one came with usual black cloud and that feeling you have with the pressure change.  It was quite severe then the skies cleared to reveal blue sky and powder puff clouds so I thought I would venture down to the lake with the Matbro to do a bit of brash clearing with the muck fork.

As I went down the track there was a line of silvery cloud in the South with a lot of vertical lines, but since it was fine where I was I continue on…… big mistake!

I thought for a moment Putin must have launched a new secret weapon and the thunder and lightning were continuous for about half an hour and I felt very vulnerable in the middle of the farm so I turned for home in the middle of a load of crash bangs.  I thought that I am sure I am ok as I am in a Faraday cage but it did not feel very safe and then the torrential rain was so much the wipers couldn’t cope then the hail started!

Made it to the barn and sat there until it dispersed.  So into the car and back home and another black cloud on the horizon , surely there cannot be three but sure enough bang crash again.

Anyway good test for leaks in the roof

Just going round now to check for tree damage 

6 hours ago, nepia said:

Are you telling me Home Alone 2 isn't true to life?

 

Nooooo.......

Never watched that film.  Are there a lot of pigeons in it ?

We walked along the High Line old railway today where they have done a fabulous job of both preserving the old line, creating a peaceful walk with great views and resting places as well as planting up the edges with interesting trees and plants that are not just plonked there but well tended

In  the Uk I would expect to see squirrels and pigeons and sparrows particularly hanging around places where people are eating but nothing today.  Perhaps they are all following Tom Lehrer’s advice