Billhook

Good to hear about the plover, not seen one here in Lincolnshire for years Buzzards were the final nail in the coffin I think Are you seeing a lot of foxes, badgers stoats etc. And how is your rabbit population? I see that you are not that far away in Nottinghamshire

Sounds a bit messy, all that melting firstly to put it in a tin then heated again to use it?? I do not think I have enough candles kicking about and if I bought new ones it may come to more than an approved product?

To follow on from my mammal shortage thread, just gone down the main farm track over a mile and a half and passed three pairs of Partridge ( Frenchmen) as usual running along just in front of the car which is their way of guiding you away from their young, but there have been no young anywhere, same with pheasants. I suppose it is not surprising with all the Buzzards, Sparrow Hawks, Red Kites, Kestrels, Carrions, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies around. The lack of mammals should have helped them a bit. Have any of you seen Pheasant and Partridge young?

Sycamore will slightly discolour but also spalt if left on the ground. I leave sycamore for 2 years then slab the lot. Not great for building. Elm can be used for construction but to be honest most of those logs have too many big knots in to be any good for any building. Last picture is firewood, next one up not construction worthy. Next one up looks to have shake and ring shake. Cut into big beams around the faults. Next one up good construction timber. Next one up slab the lot. You can resaw into 4x2 etc once seasoned around faults. 1 Next 3 slabs all the way. Top one I think will give you good construction timber. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for all that good advice James and I would appreciate the figures you have for the lap board adjustment settings.

Would a good layer of factor 50 suncream help perhaps or some other barrier cream before going strimming as it is too much going out in full protective gear in the hot sun. Wait till it is overcast and cool I suppose. Never knew about the sun activating the juices, another feather in the cap for Arbtalk. thanks

I would expect a bit of frothing around the mouth. How about a bite from a stoat, Do they not administer a coup de grace on the neck severing the spinal nerve? Strangely the rabbit was behaving just like this stoat in its death throes

Hello Rabby Rabby, I've a lovely piece of lettuce for you here Rabby, no response. Now that is what I call a dead rabbit!

Not a scaremonger! Why am I lying here shivering with fright! But thank you for that knowledge Fairly sure there was none of the Giant Hogweed, but maybe there were some small plants growing unseen. I see in this Irish article it is called "The Strimmer's Disease" https://invasivespeciesireland.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/giant_hogweed-DARD-updated.pdf

Young Magpie knocked itself out on the cabin window. Thanked me by biting my finger.

Canada Goslings doing well IMG_1292.MOV

Thanks for that, sounds like good advice

That is one thing I have not done which I should have. What do you use to seal the ends What do you think about the Sycamore. I suspect it needs dealing with sooner rather then later.

Good to see a Tree Sparrow. We have actually had more Tree Sparrows here over the last few years and I have not seen a House Sparrow until this year when a pair have nested under a tile in out conservatory. Very friendly and not bothered about me going in and out to bring in firewood.

Yes, I suspect both but I did not know Cow Parsley could do it. Very hot day would not have helped as I presume the skin pores are more open. Seems to be going down but I notice that people are standing well away from me outside thinking that I must have some kind of pox!

Due to the money I have saved last year ( no eating out and no drinking!), I decided to splash out on a planer, a sander and a lap board maker for the Lucas Mill 8 inch cut. I already have the slabber which I have used to slab some Evergreen Oak and some Ash into three inch slabs about 30 inches wide which have been stacked and sticked for a couple of years now I would like some advice on the best way of tackling these trunks in the yard The first four are the Elm which had been standing dead for at least two years. It is four feet at the base ending up at three feet Then at 5 and 6 there is a Sycamore about three feet in diameter which was blown down in a storm and has been lying there for a year. Someone suggested that I should have cut it up earlier to avoid deterioration 7 is an Oak that snapped off in a storm, 8,9 and 10 are Ash and 11 is Evergreen Oak ( very gnarly and twisted) I was going to take the first third out in boards with the circular saw so I could see what the log looks like before slabbing. Is that a good idea or would you just slab the whole trunk? I intend to build a large wooden shed with lapboard sides in the yard and really only want to make five or six tables so there is a lot of wood needed for the shed Is it best to slab these logs as soon as possible or better to wait a while? What is the ideal thickness of slab? Is it obvious to plane the slab only when totally dry? I presume Ash will dry much more quickly than Sycamore or Evergreen Oak. Is a year an inch still the perceived wisdom? What is the ideal distance between the sticks when the slabs are stacked for drying?

Due to the money I have saved last year ( no eating out and no drinking!), I decided to splash out on a planer, a sander and a lap board maker for the Lucas Mill 8 inch cut. I already have the slabber which I have used to slab some Evergreen Oak and some Ash into three inch slabs about 30 inches wide which have been stacked and sticked for a couple of years now I would like some advice on the best way of tackling these trunks in the yard The first four are the Elm which had been standing dead for at least two years. It is four feet at the base ending up at three feet Then at 5 and 6 there is a Sycamore about three feet in diameter which was blown down in a storm and has been lying there for a year. Someone suggested that I should have cut it up earlier to avoid deterioration 7 is an Oak that snapped off in a storm, 8,9 and 10 are Ash and 11 is Evergreen Oak ( very gnarly and twisted) I was going to take the first third out in boards with the circular saw so I could see what the log looks like before slabbing. Is that a good idea or would you just slab the whole trunk? I intend to build a large wooden shed with lapboard sides in the yard and really only want to make five or six tables so there is a lot of wood needed for the shed Is it best to slab these logs as soon as possible or better to wait a while? What is the ideal thickness of slab? Is it obvious to plane the slab only when totally dry? I presume Ash will dry much more quickly than Sycamore or Evergreen Oak. Is a year an inch still the perceived wisdom? What is the ideal distance between the sticks when the slabs are stacked for drying?

Went strimming down by the lake, nettles, brambles, cow parsley and meadowsweet. A day or so later came up with these red blotches, did not feel anything, no sting no itch but now three days later they have become bigger and are itching Have put some anti histamine on i know it was the strimmer because I hold it left handed and all the rashes are on the left side of my neck and throat where my shirt was open. I thought that it might have been some hemlock but I have not seen any

Today as I drove down to the end of our drive, this rabbit was behaving in a very strange manner, it started to twist and turn and leap on the spot. I pulled over to photograph it but by the time I had started up the video on the iPhone it was dead It looks completely healthy and is not emaciated like the haemo ones I have seen, it’s eyes are healthy and I can see no swellings anywhere

I did see somewhere that the fairy liquid on the end and blow test does not work very well on die back Ash, presumably because the fungus has blocked the capillaries, so it may be that this stops it drying properly. I have not had any issues with using it in a wood stove which is burning well without shutting the air down for overnight, but have not used it on an open fire yet.

June the efffing fifth and we still had to light the Aarrow Stratford last night as there has not been quite enough sun to work the solar tubes which normally heat our Summer hot water. No wonder they changed the scare headline from Global Warming to Climate Change!

Not showing birds but bird nest! This old cast iron Edwardian post box was in a lay-by in our hamlet but one year, some time ago, the wooden post supporting it rotted and the Post Office took it away. My father complained and demanded its return. I welded up a metal stand for it and we put it by the back door, really for the paper man and other non PO stuff. As the years went by new postman came along and took it to be the real thing and active, so we just posted all our mail there, which was handy Now not in use for several years I discovered a new tenant, a Robin. cast iron home, safe as houses! (With a lockable front door as well)

Wrong again K

Very late Brimstone about a week ago and two Orange tips today. Very late but thankfully a whole load a insects have appeared, some bees, wood wasps, drone flies and midges

CALGARY Is Police Brutality a Racial Issue simply because the Media says so? Mark Meincke Published 11 months ago 9 minute read For the first time in my lifetime, there is finally a topic that has garnered ubiquitous agreement; George Floyd was murdered. Absolutely nobody is challenging this assertion, and the cop who killed him along with his uniformed accomplices are almost certainly going to spend a long time in jail. George Floyd’s murder was the spark that lit a powder keg of frustration, pain, and outrage which has exploded across dozens of cities worldwide. His death has been interpreted as proof of the long-held, media endorsed belief that Cops are hunting and killing Black people, as if it was a sport. Canadian news outlets parrot their American counterparts by repeatedly referring to the killing of Mr. Floyd as, “the RACIST murder of George Floyd”. With relentless repetition, the “racist” murder narrative has easily convinced most people that the cop, Derek Chauvin killed Mr. Floyd, at least in part because of his skin colour. Although no evidence has been presented to suggest that Chauvin had any history of racist comments, or associations with racist organizations, the conclusion by the media has been nearly unanimous. In criminal law, for a crime to exist, there must be two main elements: Actus Reus, and Mens Reus. Actus Reus is the physical element of the crime, or the “act”, and Mens Reus is the mental element of the crime, or the “intention”. The act is much easier to prove than the intention, but the intention doesn’t have to be proven. Intention can instead be assumed based on circumstances and past history. Now that you have a lesson in Criminal Law 101, you may see a problem with the media narrative of George Floyds’ death being concluded as “racist”. Although it’s entirely possible that Derek Chauvin was in fact a murderous white supremacist, at this point we don’t have any actual evidence that would help us understand either his intentions, or his personal beliefs. All we know for sure is that Officer Chauvin’s arrest and control procedures were entirely wrong, and were certainly a major factor in the death of Mr. Floyd. Having a knee on a person’s neck for more than a few seconds is not an acceptable practice in any circumstance. But about those “protests”…. The public is absolutely justified in staging massive protests over the police brutality which caused a man to die unnecessarily. Police must be held accountable for their actions, and change must happen to prevent similar instances in the future. The issue though, isn’t about the protests, it’s about the underlying assumptions being made which are fueling the protests. First, FBI statistics are not supportive of the assumption that black people die in custody more than white people. Though, there are other stats from other sources which strongly support this assumption, it’s difficult to know which stats to believe. Even if the stats did show, without a doubt that black people die in custody more than white people, the only factor mentioned to explain this is “racism”. Did you know there is another segment of society who are just as likely to die in custody as black people? Military Veterans. Since this segment can not be identified by race, religion, or heritage, what possible explanation could there be for Veterans to be dying in custody at nearly twice the rate of non-veterans? It seems like a valid question to ask, and even an important question to ask in order for us to be able to better understand why some people die in custody more than others. It seems there must be more to it than racism, but that’s not a question that anyone seems to be interested in asking. Without the media supported presumption that George Floyd’s murder was motivated by racism, the protests would not likely be morphing into full out criminal riots. When the looting starts, the valid protests end. Adorning your living room with an ill-gotten 75” flatscreen does not honour the life of George Floyd, nor does it provide an argument for defunding the police. By fueling the violence both the media and many politicians have been partly responsible for the deaths of numerous police officers and civilians of all races. Anger over one death has caused the deaths of many others, and that is not an outcome that can be justified. In 2016, Tony Timpa died in Police custody in nearly the exact same way as George Floyd. The main difference is that Mr. Timpa wasn’t arrested for committing a crime, instead Mr. Timpa called 911 for help because he was scared, and having a psychotic episode. Tony Timpa asked the police for help, and within 15 minutes of the police arriving, Tony was dead. Timpa was cuffed, and placed on his face with an officer kneeling on his back for several minutes. Like Mr. Floyd, Mr. Timpa begged for help, said he couldn’t breath, and told the officer that they were killing him. The Cops laughed and joked once Timpa lost consciousness, and like Floyd, they did not attempt to resuscitate him. Tony Timpa happened to be white. The National media showed very little interest in the story, and the arresting officers were not fired, and did not do jail time even though the autopsy concluded the death as a Homicide. The three officers were charged, but the charges were all dropped, and they got off scot-free. If the George Floyd protests are about Police Brutality, then where are the protests for Tony Timpa? Why is his name not mentioned as a precursor to the current situation? It seems that if the accusation of racism can’t be used, then the story will not be run. The media likes it when you’re angry, and they love it when you’re scared. The more frightened you are, the more you look to the media for answers. The more angry you are, the more likely you are to participate in newsworthy protests. Either way, the media wins at your expense. You should be outraged at the death of George Floyd, but if you’re not equally outraged about Tony Timpa, then you’re not really interested in Police reform. Most Police officers are dedicated public servants who are doing an impossible job. I’m not anti-cop in any way. I am however anti-corruption no matter where I find it. Whether it’s in the media, with the Police, within the Government, corruption and abuse of power must be addressed, and fixed. In the absence of good questions, and clear thought, corruption will always flourish. Mark Meincke Author, Writer, Podcast Host Buy the Home Seller’s Bible by clicking HERE Buy “Why not Me?” HERE Meincke Show Podcast Operation Tango Romeo For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Print Report An Issue RELATED TOPICS:FEATUREGEORGE FLOYDMEDIAPOLICE BRUTALITYPOLITICS UP NEXT Black Lives Matter: What would Martin Luther King Jr Say? DON'T MISS Hockey, basketball and volleyball gone from the U of A’s fall and winter to-do lists Mark Meincke Father, Professional Development Trainer, Author FOLLOW AUTHOR MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR ALBERTA / 7 MONTHS AGO Why We Remember ALBERTA / 8 MONTHS AGO Being a Cop has Always Been a Thankless Job CALGARY / 11 MONTHS AGO Why The News Is Fake, And Liberals Rely On Racism ALBERTA Major drug haul; ALERT seizes $3 million in drugs and cash Published on May 13, 2021 By Todayville