peds

Well you have to really, we can't manage a goose and a ham between 8 of us. We'll need all the help we can get. What are your plans?

Celebrating our first Christmas in our new house this year, we are expecting all three sets of grandparents for the big day, including my folks staying with us for a week. On the drive from Warwickshire to the west coast of Ireland two days ago, someone made the wrong decision and drove into my parents' car. The car is a right off, but both humans and both dogs were uninjured, as were the occupants of the two other cars, so things could have been a lot worse. The police on scene made it clear that one party of the three involved were responsible, so hopefully insurance shouldn't be a headache. They usually split the drive to visit us over 2 days to make it easier, they are approaching 80 so you can't blame them. They put their time in over the decades, driving through the night and crossing Europe in a single push, so they are allowed to slow down a bit now. To save time before Christmas though, I'm waiting to board a flight to England so I can drive them over in their second car. Leaving at dawn tomorrow, six hours through Wales, 1410 sailing from Holyhead, another 4 hours across Ireland, and we should be back home by 10pm tomorrow. They've been living the high life in a Travelodge near Oswestry for the last two days, so they'll be glad for the change of scenery. Anyway it's not so bad, if the other car had hit 90cm further back then there'd be a hospital involved at least, and probably worse. So you can't complain. Merry Christmas one and all, hhope it all goes well.

Absolutely could, yeah. And drop zone is grand, either side of the fence. Track mewp definitely sounds tempting now though, I'll look into it.

It would, wouldn't it. I think they go for about 750euro a week from our local hire place. Might give them a shout.

Ah, I'd not be hiring anything except a chipper as usual. If it needs needs big kit, it's a job for someone else, and they are welcome to it. One or two cuts might be optimistic, but the drop zone is good either side of the fence so it wouldn't be a job for the secateurs. I don't know if the slightly-bigger virgin trees at either end of the row (which could be left alone, remember) are skewing the opinions on this, but the trees in the middle don't really seem like a big deal. This is on the west coast of Ireland, where we just haven't got many big trees. There's a fair few to deal with in one place, of course. Not trying to be Billy Big Bollocks here, as I'm 100% a mediocre climber at best compared to many of you on here, but if I'd be happy to do the same number of trees of a similar size but spread out over more jobs, the maths kind of works out the same if they all happen to be in one place. It might be a case of doing half in one session and chipping it all, then doing the other half and chipping that. Thinking about it earlier though, I do actually know another local climber who works solo who I could reach out to and see if he wants to split it. Depending on what the team with big toys quote when they go to see the job in January (hopefully), I might get in touch and see what he says. Like I said in my first post, I appreciate all the opinions being shared, thanks for your replies.

For carving the turkey.

I agree, it's worth what it's worth, I priced accordingly, and I discussed with the guy why he might be better off getting a team with modern equipment involved instead. Who knows, maybe they'll come back with a number significantly lower than mine and I can go back to tidying up Mrs Miggins's apple trees. There's been chatter on here in the past about where the line is on a job for when it's worth getting big kit in, when it doesn't make financial sense to do so, and why the owners of that kit wouldn't even bother turning up to quote for a job because they could be making more elsewhere in that time. I'm not going to bother looking for the the threads, maybe someone can remember them.

I mean on my own, no groundy. It's no big deal usually, just stack it clever as you go and drive the tracked chipper right up to each pile at the end. Big pile for 20+ trees obviously, but there's access both sides of the boundary fence (two neighbours are sharing the cost), and more than enough space to keep it all. I'm friends with a guy I share work with occasionally, I might get him on board later, but his wife is currently in hospice so that's a big question mark.

I'd not sub it on, I'd pass it on. I like working alone, I keep my own time and don't have to think of anyone else's schedule. I have kids to drop off and sometimes pick up from school, so there's occasional late starts, half days, all of that. Anyway, 14 medium and 6 small trees on one job is the same as 2 medium and 1 small tree on 7 different jobs, except you don't have to deal with 7 different clients which, obviously, is sometimes the hardest part of it. The client knows it'd take a good few days, I'd not be putting a caravan on his driveway but I'd be there a while. What would you price it at? Either for your own setup or (go on, humour me!) as a single climber...?

Hello all, I quoted for a job yesterday as a single climber with absolutely no big machinery, and I recommend to the fella that he get in touch with at least one other tree firm (I recommended someone) to see what they'd be asking if they were to do the job with mewp, tree shear, and big chipper. My usual work is more peripheral and smaller stuff, I get it all on the ground then hire a chipper for a day at the end for cleanup if needed. There's nothing tricky about this one, there's just more trees to do in a single push, so obviously it'd take me on my own a hell of a lot longer than a team with all the toys. I told the guy that there's really no cheap way of doing it, and I'm just wondering if he'd actually be saving money to get a bigger crew in. All sycamore, he wants them cut back HARD, pretty much to totem poles, say finish at 6 or 7m. Most have been done before 7 years ago, to slightly higher than he wants them this time. There's 14 bigger ones, 6 smaller ones, and 2 bigger virgins at one end plus a single virgin at the other, that may or may not be included in the job, as they aren't in the way as much. If you see what I mean. Access for machines is good, as long as you are kind to the neighbours lawn. Timber is to be left for firewood for the client, chip can be fired straight back under the tree. Any opinions appreciated.

Nice. Put on of these on the drill and you could run a 24" bar on it. ...for 30 seconds.

Looks handy that, good suggestion.

I'd think that the grass blades would be pretty useful for chop-and-drop of willowherb, chickweed, hairy bittercress etc., on veg beds that don't get regular enough attention that a stroke with a hoe would be an easy job. Just looking for things to make life easier for a 78 year old.

Anyone got any time on the HSA 25/26? I'm thinking of getting one for my mum for Christmas, hoping the grass attachment would be useful for weeding vegetable beds mostly. Any opinions on it, other than manscaping?

The forgotten back corner of the garden is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're going to get. Ah right, an embedded Christmas tree stand. Might leave this stump a bit higher then.

Yeah, course. We aren't philistines.

Ah jeez, I think the fella can distinguish between some serious professional advice and some good-natured commiserations over the behaviour of what is clearly a Grade A bell-end neighbour, especially when the first sentence of my reply designates it as such. I'm sorry my, admittedly, rather crude reply got your knickers in a twist, but maybe you shouldn't put such a high expectation on everything you read on the Internet, which is a famously varied and occasionally smutty place. And embarrassed by the arb industry my foot, I speak not as a representative for our exalted profession, but for no-one but myself, as someone who was lucky enough to move around a lot in my younger years and has lived next door to psychopaths, angels, and everything in-between. So when someone says that the first line of action from the other party is a couple of aggressive letters and a whole can of legal worms being opened instead of a concerned-but-amicable word over the garden fence, yeah, I'm going to take sides pretty quickly. To the OP, I'm sorry if my suggestion didn't fit the mood of the situation as you are currently experiencing it, and I'd like you to know that I don't genuinely believe that pissing through your neighbour's letterbox will bring about any significant resolution to your problem. But I suspect you already knew that.

Ah, lighten up.

I was at my kids' school Christmas fair on Friday, someone was selling three sticks of holly leaves for a fiver, for making wreaths and such... I'd knocked over 3 medium holly trees literally 3 hours earlier, probably totalled thousands in lost revenue. Absolutely kicking myself.

What a beauty, lucky to have a tree like that in your garden. I can't offer any specific advice on the tree situation, but keep in mind that if you wee on a plate or a baking tray then freeze it, you'll have a handy disc of frozen piss that can easily be dropped through your neighbour's letterbox in the middle of the night, whereupon it'll melt into his carpet. Good luck!

I don't climb very often, and I tend to just assume all my kit is still in the box when I go to use it. I did have a vague recollection yesterday morning as I was tooling up of using my saw lanyard as an emergency dog lead at some point in recent history, and not remembering where it went after that. Never mind, I'll just use this dog lead instead, an offcut of an abused and trimmed mountaineering rope. Barrel knot on the handle, overhand on a bight for clipping. Does just fine.

My wife was born in Germany. She's Irish. Edit Yer man MacGowan there used to play in the pub she grew up in, whenever he was out on the west coast. All the stories about him are true.

Because you're allergic, or because you're scared they pissed in the kettle?

The tape might survive outdoor use, but those handles certainly don't.