Doug Tait

Local company in the news today, Elliot Henderson bought the 19,000th forestry machine supplied by Ponsse, a Scorpion Giant Harvester. Coming soon to a windblow nearby. https://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/news/environment/new-machine-piped-out-4036218

No assumption. Be it in the caravan, her stable or even up on the hill, she was definitely a lass!

I don't keep any but really quite enjoy being around stock of all types, sheep are definitely in the blood. Time off school as a youngster was spent with my hill shepherd uncle, by early teens I was doing lambing etc on various farms locally, then late teens for maybe ten years full time stockman. Loved it all apart from the wages, and although what's been said so far about the difficulties and especially them wanting to die is unarguable, my memories are good ones. Yes they escape but I just remember the feeling of working with dogs to calmly gather back in. Lambing is hard work and can be nasty but my memories are of opening the shed door to let a batch of proud ewes and gangly little lambs out for their first time in the sun, or being swamped by hungry orphans sucking the wellies in the hope of more milk. Winter is hard but they're so glad to see you when you arrive with breakfast on a beautiful frosty morning, once it's been served it goes quiet except the chewing and the odd kick of a trough and you can wander round in tranquility and see how they are. John87, I can't help but feel you weren't really cut out for herding! Edit. My goodness, the memories of one year lambing when I was helped on day shift by a particularly nice 'lambing lass', some excellent recreational activity in the caravan...

Second job was a landslide to clear, someone was very pleased to ride the crane over! MOV_0145.mp4

River work today, first little job was a familiar bridge with flood debris to clear. Amazed how that rootball managed to find its way into the bridge structure, took some careful cutting to get it out. 4th pic reminds me of Rich Rule holding Kira the pup!

Are they type c? I find type C in any brand go at the crotch for fun, not had type A do it yet.

That's remarkable insight. Have you got a crystal ball, or did you read goat entrails? Perhaps you know a wisened old lady who saw the answer through an ethereal mist in return for a Schilling and a small bag of catnip?

Was funny when we arrived at the job at Carter's house, he was sitting on the step grumbling at us and no-one would go near the gate so I went in. He was fine of course, but I was soaked with slobber by the time the lady answered the door! Ran my hand along his back and it was like clapping a pony.

What a great pic Ted, those eyes!

The Police search team have recovered a body from the River Wyre, they haven't confirmed ID at this point but looks like Nicola Bulley has been found.

I know what you mean but from my perspective it's not so much about living longer and more about quality. As an example, if we could ask a modern farm animal which life is a happier one, a lifespan controlled by humans that affords it guaranteed sustinance and medical intervention to keep it 'healthy' while it stands in a shed or field, or the life its ancestor led, I believe there'd be a majority vote for the old way. I'm not saying being a hunter gatherer was a blessed life, it was undoubtedly a tenuous and difficult existence and they still had all the problems that life throws up, but it's possible the agricultural revolution wasn't the best long term course for our species (or others).

There's a theory that I find quite persuasive, that future historians will consider the Agricultural Revolution to be the beginning of the decline of our species and the wider environment. We went from evolutionary well adapted hunter gatherers, living a healthy lifestyle within the natural eco system, involving physical exercise that suited us well and a balanced varied diet, procreating at a sustainable level, to the opposite. A species of slave workers tied in to surviving on a handful of average food sources, desperate for more and more numbers to carry out the endless repetitive labour (which affects our health so negatively) in an attempt to continue supplying the basics our inflated species 'survives' on.

I'm sure I knew her once, briefly...

Been known to use it for cleaning bits inside a car too. There's something very pleasurable about giving a saw a thorough going over in a workshop equipped with good lighting and a compressor.

I bought a house with a TPO'd tree in the garden, please please tell me why it shouldn't apply to me. I bought a car that does a 100mph, please please tell me why speed limits shouldn't apply to me.

Do any of the professional tree people (sorry I don't know what you call yourselves) on here agree that Ivy has recently become the most widespread and threatening invasive plant ever identified in the history of botany and will absolutely be the cause of the end of the world and why aren't you doing something about it!!!!!! No it's probably more to do with you recently retiring from the Faculty which means you go outside now and you've noticed Ivy exists, don't worry.

Not seen it that I know of no. It'd be quite a coincidence that 2 died at the same time and place, have they been hunted for sport possibly?

I read somewhere that bird feeders are like primary schools, riddled with everything going in the community.

Absolutely I'd take him up on his kind offer Les, get the feeling we'd rub along just fine. Although saying that, the time I broke down at Knutsford I was working in the Cotswolds and staying in a tent in the bosses family garden due to covid, not sure I'd risk it again now that I know I should've been paying council tax there too...

You happily think you are, but I've just told the council and you're about to get moved on!

Well the Services during lockdown weren't a very appealing place to be for any length of time, and the dog wasn't particularly impressed. If I happen to find myself stuck there for hours again you may get a PM!

I'd think you'll be right. My mates wife inherited the family paddock, just a few acres and a stable block with a lean to for storage. The folk renting it did nothing, place was a mess with fences down, broken gates, the 'grazing' was waist high with thistles and ragwort, the metre wide space between the back of the stables and boundary wall was filled with muck because the muck heap was overflowing. They got their marching orders and my mate and I sorted it out, I got a stable for storage and we made the lean to into a workshop with a compressor for maintenance etc. Wasn't long before the rumour locally was we'd kicked them out to start an illegal business fixing cars, then the threatening letters from the council started. Fairly obvious the previous tennant was suffering sour grapes, seems you've been caught in a similar scenario. All I know of Cheshire is Knutsford Services, had a long, long wait there once for the RAC to take the pickup and I home to the Borders, that was a drawn out journey! Hope you enjoy Cheshire in peace.

Hope you're left in peace this time.