Conor Wright

Maintenance history is more important than overall hours. Plenty of nice smaller machines out there, you may want to consider forestry guarding if travelling over stumps.. Same explorer 70 could suit? Nimble and reliable.. prone to oil leaks though, can be found cheap at times. Fiat 80 90, some had reverse drive. Could be a game changer with a forestry trailer. Db are a workhorse, many are rusty now but still mechanically sound. Others with better knowledge will be along to give you some more details!

I'd try flame weeding if you're totally against using chemicals. Salt may work but it will probably come back again.. it's incredibly persistent. Expose the rhizomes as much as you can without chopping them up, they like that the little bast.. anyway, we used, and still use flame weeders on my brothers farm. Virtually eradicated a serious dock problem, helps sterilise the soil too, so when you plant there are less critters to nibble your seedlings.. also when you introduce beneficial bacteria and nematodes etc theres less there to attack, eat or compete with them. For your needs a camping gas bottle and gas torch should do. If being wholly organic doesn't matter, glyhosphate is the best option, grow a green manure there for a year after if you're concerned about consuming food straight after chemical application.

It was practised for some years to "speed up ripening" faster ripening varieties have reduced the need for it and it's been restricted in the last number of years, banned in Austria and may well be banned here too in the coming years.

Suddenly it feels small!

A respectful and balanced post. I'm not excusing the wrongdoings of either side, nor would I. I'm a lot younger than you and grew up hearing more about peace talks, marches and sporadic violence. I can only imagine what it was like on the ground 20 years before that. It's all too easy for somebody to kill for their country, not quiet so easy to knowingly die slowly and painfully for a country you believe in.. Had the hunger strikers been British soldiers held in an (for arguments sake) Iraqi prison and refused to cooperate/recognise their captors and therefore died for their country they would be heroes. Not so for sands and co. Unfortunately for them the IRA made too many monumental fuck ups to ever be considered an army or any sort of force for peace or unity.

Does that come under pet insurance? Be careful, insuring a non existent unicorn may just be insurance fraud.. best get a donkey and stick a strap on to its head just in case they come looking.

Theres still space in the back of the jeep! Nicely packed in though.. 16ft or longer?

Strange. In the 40s around Germany there were surely army officials betting on just how long it would take some prisoners to die of starvation too, I believe that history recalls the general British public,and army, for that matter had a somewhat different view, or was the holocaust a laughing matter too? Comments like yours can undo a lot of hard work, upset families and loved ones of those involved and show a level of dehumanization and racism which belittles those in the army that serve with honour and respect, both for their own and for others. In general your posts are of a high quality. Don't let yourself down here. Any man who has the courage and discipline to die for his country should be shown some respect. ( to die solely for ones belief in a God I feel is somewhat different) You wouldn't question the bravery of a soldier shot in war, would you make jokes about him being a sandbag with boots? Doubt it. Would you bet on how long it took him to bleed out? Yet when a man is willing to take his own life because he believes in his country he becomes the butt of a sadistic joke. You might just miss the likes of Sands, withering away in his cell, killing only himself when the Islamic fundamentalists are blowing themselves up outside your childrens schools. As for Marcus' comment.. you live there, you know talk like that benefits nobody. Plus, it's such an old joke it's practically died of starvation itself. I guess I'll wait for the barrage of abuse now.

Big lump of maccie, took a slice of it with the alaskan and just managed to get it on the little mizer! Nothing exciting coming off it.. destined to be 3x3s

14 inch on mine but came with a 16, wouldn't go much bigger.. its quick enough cutting and light, but by far the most troublesome modern saw I've owned. Very nearly chucked it over the fence the other week. Not 20 mins back from the dealer (again) and it's bogging. Getting weary of stihl dealers too.. Changing it for an echo seems like a good idea.

Just Ireland is it? It works both ways. Majority of professional thefts around here are currently being done by northern Irish gangs. Jeeps, plant, tractors etc. Being broken for parts and shipped over to the UK. Smaller stuff is often local knackers selling to other knackers.

Unbelievable dedication. Literally hanging by their fingertips.Really liked how Tommy came back down to the traverse. He could have just kept going.

Just had an idea.. bait the scum.. get old chipper, empty oil tank, fill with explosives, some nails too.. for extra punch. wire through the ignition.. leave down the road from nearest well known site. wait for bang...

Good point. There's as good a chance that its chipping away in the next town over as there is that it's been taken out of the country. Given the circumstances of the theft I doubt it was stolen to order. More an opportunistic crime. Hopefully it takes the hand of whoever stole it.

That looks like a better version of what I've got, does it throw out the line if you get caught up in brambles or snag a twig?

Yes but carbon dioxide is the one we are being taxed on. So nothing else matters. Steak is nice too.

Shame really, at his age I'd already bought my first ride on mower.. if a 13 or 14 year old went into buy one now they probably wouldn't be allowed! I did have to get my old fella to buy my first saw at 15 though. I hope it works out for both of you, log bagging can be therapeutic in it's own way. He might like it.

He may be a person well worth training up and going that little bit extra with, a little kindness may be all he needs.

Two of us, one bagging, the other tying and stacking as well as fitting the empty bags over the chutes can do 50 bags at our leisure in an hour. 60 plus if the pressure is on, as low as 30 if we bring a bottle of wine out to the shed! On my own I get about 30-35 an hour.. so let's say an energetic and eager 14 year old can match that, in the region of 20-25p a bag would be appropiate?

We have a few bits in the ground in the tunnel, beans, carrots, courgette, onion and shallot sets alongside overwintering garlic, broccoli, cauliflower. One bay is ready for first early spuds. Tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, marjoram, parsley, sage, lemon balm, thyme, peas etc all in trays. Have the outdoor beds covered in plastic over winter, this will be removed in the next week and prepped as a stale seedbad for spuds, onions, brassicas parsnips, carrots etc I do the donkey work, bringing in muck and compost, ploughing ridging etc My better half does the actual plant care, seeding and watering. If it was all left to me they would probably die. Will take a few pics during the week.

Loma k50? Like a chipper but with hammers, not knives. Obliterates leafy stuff and can handle dirty wood or timber with nails in. Leaves green wood stringy though.

Did you look at the "poleSaw" range? Ttm800 or similar may suit?

It may be worth something to a collector of such items. You could try selling it and using the money towards a more powerful, newer engine for the sawbench?

Plenty of blackthorn flowering now around east galway. Roughly coincided with a drop in temperatures. Yesterday was the first day in two weeks our bees did more than a couple of hours flying. Last time they were out was before any noticeable amount of blackthorn had flowered.

Have a few loncin engines on various machines. Seem reliable. Have had no failures. Unless you go for a silenced one it will be loud. Remember hiring a sip gennie a while back, smooth running and not too noisy, can't remember which engine it had.. probably a Honda.