peds

Scary to read to be honest, I've been stung in the past with no problems but not for years now. A bee 4 years ago, no idea before that. I hope that increasing sting allergy thing isn't contagious! I'm allergic to imported Chinese farmed snails, closes my throat and eyes. The first time we found out it was quite scary, the second time it happened was pretty damn funny.

Could there have been a concept of a plan?

Are you using loppers or a saw? Make sure it's nice and sharp! For taking a branch off, identify where the finished cut will be as others have outlined above, at the branch collar, but make your removal cuts a little bit higher up the branch... just a few inches, not much. Make a slit from below, about 20-30% through the branch, taking care not to pinch the saw in the gap with the weight of the branch. Then start cutting again from above, about half an inch away from your first cut, either closer to the tree or further away, it doesn't really matter for you at this stage (they do actually behave slightly differently, but we'll save that for the next episode). The branch will snap off cleanly when you have cut 70-80% of the way through. You now have a tiny little stub with no weight on it next to the branch collar, which you can easily snip off with minimal damage to the rest of the tree. As for taking a stem... how many stems does this yew have, and how big? If they aren't huge, you can cut it in a similar way to the branch you've just removed, but cut about 60% of the way through from each side, and leave a bigger height gap between the two cuts... maybe a couple of inches. You can then grasp the stem and snap it off easily. But, again... how big is the stem you want to take? Finally, make your finishing cut a little bit below where you took the stem off, angled about 15° off horizontal, and facing the outside of the tree, to help shed rainwater and prevent any opportunities for rot. But yeah... pictures would help.

Righto. Interesting history, thanks. Next question then... how will @kram be making his budget alternative to a hook device? I've got a few shed hooks from Lidl waiting for a purpose, they are rated to at least 15kg... one of those'll do, on a bit of blue polyprop, right?

I don't think that makes the difference you think it'll make. Anyway. It'll be an interesting situation to watch develop.

Haha, takes up less space on the back of a harness I suppose...

Care to give a vague description for anyone who hasn't seen it, or would it be lost in translation?

I don't do enough fencing to make a dedicated aluminium tool worthwhile (I did tap in half a dozen ad-hoc sycamore stakes yesterday, cut from the tree just felled, and stapled the existing wire to them, to replace the blocking effect the two dearly departed trees provided behind a long-rotted barbed wire fence) but I wonder if you could add a little aluminium block, either to the head of the sledge or the top of the post, to win the same effect. It is annoying how a steel sledge can chew the top of a post a little bit, despite careful aim.

Obviously, the video is done in jest... but has anyone tried covering the inner spokes with the same fabric, to prevent the line from snarling up in the exposed metal? As an idea, it has potential.

Aw jeez, that told me. Got any more of those tissues, bud? Anyway, moving on... Fingers crossed Europe can get their collective sh*t together and step up, seeing as the US cannot be relied upon at any point in the near future. After Trump win, French President Macron asks if EU is 'ready to defend' European interests WWW.FOXNEWS.COM French President Macron, one of the first world leaders to publicly congratulate President-elect Trump...

Keeping in mind that as we progress through even the most optimistic models of climate change, we are going to see millions, then tens of millions, then hundreds of millions of people move around the planet... climate change is the biggest immigration issue we will ever face, which should put it right at the top of Dave's agenda. If he really cared about keeping all the brown people with the best food off his doorstep, he'd be voting green at every available opportunity. But shortsighteness and an inability to consider the future consequences of his actions prevents that. I am of course using Dave as an allegory for the goosestepping populace at large. And what a perfect allegory he is! With regards to MTG... kind of hope so, at this point... in for a penny, in for a pound! Might as well make things entertaining, eh?

Buddy, that joke was pretty funny the first time, slightly less funny the next. Shall we just assume the tissues-as-a-response from now on? While you are here, quick question... is Trump your favourite rapist? Are there any other rapists you hold in higher esteem? He must be in your list of top ten best rapists of all time, surely...

Looks a handy wee yoke all right, I had a quick search for any chatter about them on here last night, and lo! This thread appears this morning.

There's a documentary about it on Netflix. Inside Job - Official Trailer | IMDb M.IMDB.COM Watch Trailer | 2:15

He won't see 2026. They'll either get rid of him with the dementia thing, or yet another trigger happy Republican will take another potshot, but with more drastic results. They've voted for President Vance.

Hang on, hang on. Let me check. Edit No, sorry, no photos of my ladder, but I used one to get a rope up into the ivy-covered tree, I swear. Edit: 2 sycamore, first with one half growing through the overhead wire, took enough off the top to pull it under the wire and into the farmer's field. Second one needed a few straggly limbs snipped to protect the cable stay on the pylon, then pulled down away from the wire. Wood blocked up (SMALL stove door specified... oh well), feathery bits heaped up for the woodlice to enjoy. Dogs walked, many sticks to choose from.

Is there a secret handshake as well?

I like your nails.

Yeah, that's... that's not what the article says.

Not sure why you think this is some sort of Gotcha!, because the article explains quite succinctly all of the problems that we, the loony left, have been shouting about for years: Trump's voter base are all idiots who can't discern fact from fiction, who like being lied to about the things that make them feel better, who can't accept that women are people too and it is their own toxic masculinity that scares potential suitors away... Are you sure you linked the correct article? Edit... Did you even read it? This is like Gareth thinking the Jonathan Pie video yesterday was making a point that helps your side of the argument... we are reading and watching the same things, and you seem to be extracting an alternative meaning from them...

Mate, how could anyone forget the sound bath!

Too busy, we have our freegan drum circle this weekend.