Baldbloke

Strangely enough, I too now have a wood lathe. It’s still virginal as inherited it from my late father in law. Just got to find time to give it a go.

When we moved to our present home 11 years ago we had two elm trees. They both had space to provide a beautiful canopy. About five years ago we noticed that all was not well with the previous full canopy starting to look more like the top of my head. I cut down the second dead tree yesterday. A real loss of one of my favourite trees.

No, it wasn’t too special. No real figure (and no burrs) and very wet in the middle. Although there’s a high stump to take down yet if you’re interested? I used to take a lot of dead elm down alongside a burn/stream and that had massive burrs. Some 4/5 ft in diameter.The guy that took them said he’d give me what they were worth after he’d done his bowl turning. Never heard from him until I bumped into him at a trade fair with him selling his burr elm bowls. Got one 10 inch diameter bowl for about 5 ton of stump burrs. Kind of lost interested after that.

Dead elm near the house

Ok. Rising sea levels have been happening for millennia, and not since we’ve been burning fossil fuels.The English Channel was a vast woodland and dry plain once.

Absolutely. I’m not in denial, but like to hear all sides of an argument. I’ve even invested over £100 k in renewables.

It came with the video. They’re American so you have to excuse the supposed use of English[emoji12]

I know he’s got an annoying voice but his graphs and arguments should open a few eyes Amazing conspiracy theory on climate change. I always thought there was an anterior motive to make money out of something

Presumably hunting? What would they be after? Water voles?

Never seen a grass snake up in Angus, but seen plenty of Adders up in the Angus hills. A friend’s kids used to play a game where they competed to see how many they could capture and put in an overturned concrete drainage rings. I believe they managed 22 in one spring morning, including one they placed in the footwell of my car. I felt it brush against my leg as I drove away. Got out of the car in a very convoluted posture. [emoji3] I lived in Kent for three years and spent most of my time in the woods hunting rabbits with an air rifle. I remember seeing a snake slither under a log and realising it was a Grass snake, lifted the log and grabbed it only to get bitten between the thumb and index finger in the webbed bit. Thing wouldn’t release for what seemed ages.

Personally never seen anything I’d definitely say was supernatural. But.. I used to be a fishing ghillie on an old sporting estate with castle and three private graveyards. We used to fish at night for seatrout from beginning of May until August. Only started after it got dark but nights are short in a Scottish summer. I had about four miles of fishing to look after so there was a lot of strimming of paths and trimming of trees. One young lad of about 16 was a part of a group of 6 fishing for the week. Sensible lad. Since he was the fittest I showed him where to go which was the most remote but promising pools to fish. I went with one of the older gents to a dam some mile upstream of where the young lad had to go. The lads best chance of some fish was a round shaped pool surrounded by cliffs with one narrow access route in. Out the same way. At the neck of the pool was a rock promontory from which he could fish. The walk to the pools are down well worn paths through beech trees about 150 years old and lots of Rhododendrons. So while standing alongside the older gent at the dam we suddenly notice a figure at the other side of the dam. It’s the young lad who staggers none too quietly across the dam wall. When he gets to us he’s shaking and in a bit of a state. He’d got to the main pool and clearly spotted a chap out on the promontory in the half light. He’d looked down to get down the two foot drop to access the promontory and looked back up to see no sign of the visitor. I asked him for a description of the bloke. He perfectly described the previous ghillie who had died four years earlier but who he’d never met.

Brilliant book for a tenner[emoji1303]

Can you explain? As a user of Glyphosate I’d be interested in viable alternatives.

Welded up some 1/4” plate to hold my shotguns and rifles about 20 years ago. Had 3 semi concealed heavy padlocks with overhang on the doors. No bugger would get in without oxy/acet. Moved 10 years ago and the local tosser stipulated a cabinet made with a BS no that you could lever open with a screw driver. Sure, it’s bolted to the granite back wall and screwed to the floor, but it’s as effective as fuck all

Believe they tend to quote Telegraph and Wireless Act or some such thing which supposedly gives them access over the easiest way for them. Still need to either annually pay you a “Wayleave” payment or a one off larger sum, as long as the service isn’t solely to your property. Buggers did the same to me across my back garden without even an apology. I kept accidentally catching it until they got sick of me and erected four poles out with of my property. The odd shotgun round through them creates merry f*** too[emoji23] I now live elsewhere and take an annual payment for a number of electric poles and overhead wires. Either continually sabotage it and deny knowledge, put up with it or get onto their wayleave dept to get something back. Do nothing and nothing will happen plus it will be deemed as acceptable [emoji1304]

Still got some amazing sunrise and sunset photos from 45 years ago. Unfortunately only had an Instamatic 100 in those days[emoji3]

I bought two virtually unknown makes that did me for ten years and still work. One’s a bugger to start from hot and both don’t have the comfy ergonomics of a Stihl. The second hand Stihl lets me work for two or three fills without too many aches. The others not so. Haven’t used the others since[emoji1303]

I’ve been thumped in the face a couple of times too. Not a great experience.

Yup, tried them but those I’ve tried aren’t interested unless I’m in business, or get all our house/vehicle business (NFU)

I’m interested in this thread too as a small landowner without a business but related to the ground. Also if I’m cutting elsewhere for firewood for my own use. My concerns relate to open access in Scotland, my boundary trees, and risks while taking down trees on neighbouring properties. Where and who is likely to cover me (without a related business) for third party risk?

The op doesn’t mention where he’s from. In Moray I’ve given up on hens as we have too many pine martens which can easily climb anything. Even with concrete blocks covering the entry the bastards were able to lever the door tops open to allow ingress.

Surprised he didn't include catastrophe, financial meltdown and cliffedge too. Good to see him referring back to imperial measurements ?

You want self governance and yet by pushing to remain in the EU you will never attain it, as you will be ruled and regulated by foreigners even more remote than those you detest in Westminster. Middle earners are already taxed by the Scottish Government at a higher rate than their English counterparts. The recent pay rise to paramedics and nurses was immediately lost because of the devolved Scottish tax allowance. None of the oil companies you mention are Scottish. U.K. farming exists through subsidies and not by making a living through world markets, and banks on the whole are carrying a scary amount of toxic debt, which if called upon (again) would truly fuck us over. Most wind turbines are manufactured abroad. I have one myself. That leaves whisky. Good luck with running a country on that.

Can’t quite get my head around needing so called Independence from Westminster but to remain in the EU. To my mind that would be anything but so called independence.... Maybe a it’s just an anti-English thing or needing the assurance of being one of the 27 because your scared and know you your country as a truly independent country would struggle. And to base your argument on possible carbon revenues when every civilised country is trying to get away from such usage is the argument of simpletons. Is it really a generation since 2014, and wasn’t there a promise to respect that first attempt at such a vote for that period of time?[emoji12]

A burnt away exhaust valve face can certainly pump out a bit of blue smoke too[emoji3]