Trailoftears

Wow,now that's a handsome devil 👍

Absolutely,again,given the size/variety of materials/temps are good,You've now created a little World,an ecosystem,a varied community who are all bent on feeding and living harmoniously in an incredibly efficient manner.Whe you think about it the last thing they want is some lunatic with a pitchfork laying waste to their painstakingly constructed World!

As to turning (he shudders at the very Idea). Assuming you roughly know what your at-dimensions/materials etc. Picture this scene of domestic harmony.Its Saturday night,Your wage-slavery stint is done.The work boots are off and you lovingly cradle your 3d tin of lager within your horny hands,she who must be adored and humoured is on her 3d large glass of pinot grigiot (the 3d glass seems to help kill the awful aroma emanating from your wool-rich clad feet). Little Johny and Mary stare avidly at their smartphones/tablets and are blessedly quiet.In the background the large T.V drones providing a moving background to stare vacantly at.In short-all is well in you and yours World. Suddenly,Your house is ripped from it's very foundations,a massive rheumy eye glares at you through the window in a malevolent way.Suddenly the whole dwelling is sharply turned upside down then back up-several times.Not content with this,this massive alien entity shakes the whole entity back and fore rather like a recalcitrant ketchup bottle.Well,by now the booze has gone for a burton,the t.v. is history and leaving aside the manifold broken limbs all round,it now falls to you to gently remove state of the art tech hardware from your children's orifices.

* counter! 😳

Good Compost making is rather like your diet/sex life-variety is the spice of life.Over-indulge in just one facet/component and it becomes both tedious-and all too soon-couner productive too 😉

This what I slightly feared,Concrete bays/turning with low loaders.Turning!The horror-THE HORROR.He walks away shaking his head sadly whilst brushing an inadvertent tear from the corners of his eyes.

You sir,are obviously a philistine. 😳☹️

You sir,are obviously a philistine. 😳☹️

Those little black plastic jobbies are really efficient possibly because most are black,so presumably 'cook' the contents really quickly.The flaps for emptying are pretty crap-but at least give you a view of the stage of breakdown.I just lift the whole structure off and go from there when its time.

And as to hedgehogs-which struggle of course-leaving aside the road carnage.I know of only 2 animals that are effective killers-tho there are possibly more.A terrier will watch and wait,as soon as the wee creature eventually re-opens its body,they pounce,again and again etc.The best killer tho is the badger,I work at a property with a huge network of setts,its fairly routine to walk the woodland paths and find hedgehog skins inverted and tossed aside like discarded banana skins.Whilst I'm not into the lets kill badgers coz of tb gig,They are like us-opportunists/omnivores.Curlew /pheasant/duck nests-all eggs gone.Really big lamb bodies in the woods completely beheaded-they just take the Brains-best bit.They dont mess about!

I'm starting to rant here-but if I spend 20 odd mins on my knees painstakenly planting say,100 lettuce/salad plants at a customers then find nxt morning they've been scoffed by adventurous,bold molluscs-I'll not be a happy bunny-in fact I'll be something like an extremely pissed off were-bunny,and slug pellets will be used albeit sparingly.Ive been schlepping around gardens/veg patches for many/many moons-I've yet to see a single bird/hedgehog imbibe them.On the other hand, I've picked up literally dozens of broken-knecked birds outside conservatories.Not noticed any popular movement to start ripping out the pvc monstrosities yet tho?

And of course,this IS the issue with being environmently friendly-everyones into it until their ethics collide with their pockets,wants needs,etc. I look after a few mansions/farms etc with extensive grounds.Many of which have extensive gravel drives/turn arounds etc.Some owners mention their ethical concerns with me 'spotting' these hard surface areas with glyphosate treatment.So here's your choices then,would you like me to spend my entire morning visit on my hands and knees (in an effin rage)and I'll not be back matey/or shall I call up my extensive team of victorian urchins who given a shilling an hour will fall to this menial task with much gusto?Or,shall I spend 10 minutes spotting your gravel areas which will keep it clean for approx.A month 🤔🙄

Still-tho its not entirely fair,I DO think its up to us 'pro's to attempt to educate them-they know the score ok-and dont wish to look 'uncool',they know-we know its their issue-not ours tbh,I find its easy enuff to shame them.My line is-do you really WANT to make 4 or 5 barely fluffy helpless Song thrush chicks starve not 5 metres from your kitchen window?Do you,Do you REALLY want that to happen-honestly? 🤔

Absolutely,you respectfully point out the 'recommendations',which most customers 'get',on the other hand some of my customers completely freak out seeing an inch of growth on their usually extensive privet hedges.Its like the 'omg-there's yellow blooms on my lawns',the day after you've just cut them!O.c.d issues I fear-how DARE stuff grow 🙄

Never mind the rats nest aka the covid 19 thread-lets get REALLY controversial here-how do you do yours-turn/not turn merchant?Ideal size?no.of bins? Grass in/noway? Bring it on....

From what I've seen-all good stuff.My' unde the radar' stuff.Band-The national,album,'the first 2 pages of Frankenstein', particularly the alcott/Alien/your mind is not your friend.

Mein Gott! This is like masterchef on steroids.Call me a lowlife,But homemade coronation chicken does for me-sniff!

I agree,there does seem to be a bit of sniffiness about rotatech chains,in my experience -its absolutely fine.Bloody hell,its getting to the stage where occasionall users just 'dump'their chains when blunt!Tiz wasteful tho,when you get say,10 odd resharpens out of a chain? If I MUST put 25" chains thru 20 plus big tree stumps,I feel far happier using cheaper chains. Heck, I'm telling porkies (again),the performance kit was 1 bar,1 rim sprocket and 3 chains-I forgot,they were such good value,I bought 2,1@£80 then 1@£60-it seemed silly not to at those prices.But perhaps the interesting point that EVEN on a 16" bar the unspoken admission from Stihl was that the the torquey ms261 could be better.The gauge was still 1.3mm but the bars were q.narrow nosed and light,the chains were picco super rapid,so fairly aggressive with a pitch of 3/8 l.p.,with I think,a lower tooth number than the usual setup.So I think that qualifies as a gentle semi-skip setup to maximise performance? 🤔

Everyone's favourite hooligan?

As an afterthought-olearia will 'flower',but if you are familiar with the horror that is ragwort-you will get a hedge with a horrid white flower akin to ragwort.If you want a coastal flowering hedge with (generally)coastal hardiness-go escallonia Macrantha-quick growing too and 'proper' flowers.

Griselinia is a GREAT choice,a lovely granny smith rounded leaved hedging subject.A 2 ft spaced single row is generous,or go a 3ft spaced double row.That gives you insurance,in that the outer line will take the 'hit' should you get a really proper salty or severe winter.These are known as 'New Zealand privets'hardy on the coast generally,but no guarantee of surviving say,-5 over 2 weeks of severe winter conditions.Yes,Olearia would work,and arguably 'tougher'-again,a N.Zealand 'shelter belt' plant-but see Griselina as Cinderella compared to the ugly sister!Go Griselinia for sure.I would say 5 ft is the minimum to keep Griselinia happy at-if thats your TOP acceptable height-increase your plant spacing-to be kind.

I think this has been the 'informal' rule in uk Gardens for the last 2 seasons now.1st of March-31st July inc.Regarding both routine hedgetrimming and particularly heavy hedge topping-conifer reduction etc.Whilst its inconvenient and costs some work,at the end of the day,most people who work outside and enjoy the privilege of enjoying our desperately troubled landscape and enjoying other people's private outdoor landscapes too have learned to live with it plus have the wit to understand the reasoning behind it? Also,it falls to us 'professional' landscapers/Arborists etc, to educate the general public too.Its a pain from a monetary sense,but its needed tbh.However, there's a certain amount of issues too.I would traditionally cut back a privet hedge twice per season-the first biggish cut,say mid June,followed by a minor cut mid/end of Sept.The unfortunate truth is that now-you are making a massive cut-say first week of Aug now.Its a hedge's worst nightmare and will both stress/weaken them. Its akin to shaving your lawn down to 1cm from 15cms-it aint gonna end well tbh.

Heck, I'm telling porkies (again),the performance kit was 1 bar,1 rim sprocket and 3 chains-I forgot,they were such good value,I bought 2,1@£80 then 1@£60-it seemed silly not to at those prices.But perhaps the interesting point that EVEN on a 16" bar the unspoken admission from Stihl was that the the torquey ms261 could be better.The gauge was still 1.3mm but the bars were q.narrow nosed and light,the chains were picco super rapid,so fairly aggressive with a pitch of 3/8 l.p.,with I think,a lower tooth number than the usual setup.So I think that qualifies as a gentle semi-skip setup to maximise performance? 🤔

Indeed,and I do take your points on board.I derive a lot of enjoyment from following Donny Walker who services plus ports 'proper loggers' saws.,leaving aside his obvious skillsets and a lifetime of experience on all brands of saws,also points out each brands issues/problems without fear or favour.Also, he's philosophical and f.a.f. tbh.Worth a watch for anyone who hasn't come across his words of wisdom.

They are old stock now,but if you can find one-Stihl used to offer a kit,only in 16" for the 260/261.2 picco 3/8 bars/2 rims plus 3 picco super chains as a performance kit,they were sub £80 when I bought one,so really good value.Tho the bar was a standard rollomatic bar it was the same weight as the light 04 bar.