Paul in the woods

I think they are in Maryland, US. The marks don't look like deer or squirrel damage I've seen in the UK but I've no idea what damage they do over in the US, or things like bears or porcupines etc. So it might be worth asking on a more local group. A bit of a google suggests it could be a bird, a yellow bellied sap sucker or similar?

Google images suggests "Ficus racemosa, the cluster fig, red river fig or gular". Your fruits don't quite match but it's a start. Worth trying google images.

What's the question again? Firstly I'm not convinced the wood sample has lost all it's water as I would expect willow to be greater than 40% water when felled. Perhaps it had started to season before your experiments. Assuming it has lost all it's water then the log was 61.8% dry matter and 38.2% water. 468g of dry matter and 289g of water so a 780g wet log. To get down to 20% moisture you would need 468g dry matter and 117g of water so a 585g log. (To check your numbers just feed them back into your calculation). I think that's right. Cheap moisture meters will only give you an approximate idea as well. They will be dry basis and you'll get different readings depending on where you push the pins in and how far. Just cut, split, stack and leave the logs to get the sun and wind during the spring and summer and they should be under 20% by next winter. (And back up to 30% if we get another autumn like this one with endless rain, mutter, grumble...)

If you look carefully at the roots you may see balls of orange nodules which is how the alder fixes nitrogen (along with a bacterium).

I would have said alder, did it go orange once cut as alder does this. Burns well once dry, quicker than many hardwoods but haves a nice scent if used on an open fire.

I also thought a Viburnum, possibly tinus although it doesn't look quite right for that to me. Anyway, have you looked at the brown specs using a good magnifying glass and good light? A bit of as search suggests thrips as a possibility. https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/glasshouse-thrips

Well, as someone with a few acres of woodland that has plenty of deer, grey squirrels and dormice about the place it's something I think I'm qualified to talk about. One the biggest problems I think we have is the average person doesn't understand woodland or woodland management. I note the Guardian story about dormice refers to felling large trees, but your average Guardian reader would object. Same for squirrel management, not many people seem to like the idea of their cute bird table tree rodents being greeted by gun. (On a serious note about shooting, with the banning of lead shot I can see less people controlling squirrels and more steel shot in timber). The matter becomes worse when I have to deal with officials who don't seem to know anything about the country side other than it's somewhere to dump stuff or play in. By the way, I'm not keen on pine martins as they will take rare birds and mammals and won't limit themselves to greys. (Anyone know if the eat dormice?). And whilst brambles can overwhelm a woodland they do provide food for dormice and seem to be controlled by deer, you just don't want too many deer.

Thank you for all the replies. I probably used the wrong word in pollard as the trees would basically be topped. I hadn't realised the FC guidance allowed 'topping' although I would need to check their exact definitions. In an ideal world I would simply ask my local FC officer but I expect I would be told to put in an application and then have to chase it endlessly. I'm also not keen on completing a management plan for various reasons. Past experience has also taught me to keep quiet. The reason for topping is to get them under the power cables in one go as the power will need to be turned off. I would then fell the rest over a course of a year or two so I'd be well within my exemption. I'm not worried about the trees dying as they've been cut back a few times on one side by the power company for line clearance. There's already rot pockets and fungal activity in the trunks so the trees are not in the best condition, but I couldn't claim they are dying or dangerous. As for replanting, I'll be doing that anyway, but they will be kept as a hedge.

I'm in England, down in Devon. I've only just had my lines cleared and raised the problems with the surveyor but they will not do anything other than basic line clearance now. I spoke to the DNO guys yesterday when they were taking the tree off my lines and they said it's up to me. The problem I have is I have to follow felling laws whereas the power companies are exempt. The DNO guys have suggested the trees are cleared but I couldn't claim they are dangerous.

Thanks for the reply. I've PMed you an explanation to avoid side tracking the thread and appreciate your reply. However, my and other peoples experience down here as a small woodland owners is rather different than up there so a licence app would be a last resort.

Thanks, I must of missed that or forgotten about it. So, technically no but would you undertake tree work on that basis? Or to put the question differently, if someone was to pollard several acres of mature trees at 3m height what rule, if any, would you break?

Simple question, if you pollard trees over 1.3m in a woodland would the work be subject to a felling licence if over 5 cubic meters of wood was cut? Longer question. I have a row of beech and ash trees on the roadside edge of my woodland that were a hedge 100 years ago. They are right next to our electric and phone cables. A neighbouring property has removed a large amount of trees recently and, as expected, this has meant the wind is causing problems with our trees. One took our power and phone out yesterday. Ideally I'd fell the whole row and replant with something more suitable but this will produce well over 5 cube of wood. I would fill out a felling licence app but a previous one has literally been ignored as the local FC office doesn't care about small woodlands. As I would need the power turned off for a few houses then felling one or two trees a quarter isn't a great option. If I could get them all topped at 3m I could get the power off and someone in for a single job, then fell the 3m poles myself over the next few years. Does anyone know if the lopping would be subject to a felling licence?

Not honey fungus, they look more like one of the ink caps such as glistening inkcap, Coprinellus micaceus.

Well, Melomel. Do you have any other favourite mead, or honey and fruit/herb recipies as I've got loads of honey but not overly fond of mead. I've grown sea buckthorn from seed and the plants are doing very well in my woodland apart from never showing any signs of flowering, some must be 15' as well and over 10 years old.

I just replaced the seal on the flue blanking plate and it uses a gasket sold by the manufacturer to seal it or the flue. The gasket is some sort of glass fibre material so it might be worth checking the instructions for your stove.

Round here its the councils that fly tip. As for the original post surely it's a matter of what's burnt? Dry, seasoned wood or smokeless coal is fine but someone burning plastic, wet wood and god knows what perhaps not?

Looks like Hen of the Woods, Grifola frondosa.

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but can you not get your own fault code reader for the EFI engine or would they not show up the faults?

Which had a tendency to catch fire I gather. Easier to diagnose that a dodgy ECU but a bit more serious.

And any dried leaves will smell of toffee.

Have you picked off some of the white bits and looked to see if anything is inside? They might be wooly aphid.

I gather there are a couple of problems, at least things to be aware of, so worth reading through the licencing material. Don't trap or harm natives, don't release live invasive crays and don't use an illegal trap, i.e. one that may trap and kill other wildlife such as otters. (Same thing goes for catching sea crabs and lobsters, many traps sold are not legal and risk killing other wildlife).

Isn't this a problem with the council? Why did they grant planning so close to the tree and why wasn't the tree TPOed at the time of planning? You could door knock to see if anyone saw the people working on the tree but even though everyone will no doubt say they love trees they may not love that one.

Have the gills been pulled free when the piece of cap was torn off?

Depending on where you are in Devon the beavers will coppice it for you... When I've coppiced alder it produces multiple stems but after a couple of years it seems to thin itself and only a few dominant stems prevail. At least the deer don't like it. I like burning alder, and it dries quickly, but it also burns quickly so some don't like it as a firewood. Good for cooking over as it produces a flavoursome smoke.