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... the sky is baby blue, and the just-unfurling leaves ...
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dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 20 1:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

i hope you are not alone in that analysis and course of action

re really big trees, they are a specialist thing

my definition of medium is that with the cheeks off and a little beaver work i can drop it on a hinge with one last cut of my longest bar which is about 26" of useful cut

i spose that would be about a 3' to 4' diameter trunk
pretty big for "medium" but manageable

tis the tall pencils that bother me, the tops fall off and the bottoms kick

big old ones can be surprising, finding a void in the trunk while felling has the potential to get very exciting rather quickly

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Fri Oct 02, 20 7:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Perhaps you ought to consider some heating in the winter Gregotyn. I agree with the extra covers and hot water bottle at bed time, but you can get rather chilled before going to bed.

Electric chain saws are useful in certain circumstances and are far less trouble than petrol ones. I saw a lovely little one the other day that might be useful for the sort of thing I do. It only has about an 8" bar, but is almost like a pruning saw. Ideal for cutting odd rods that I use for besom handles and things, so I might see about getting one.

As you say, the big trees do need a specialist to cut them. Apart from anything else I think you need an extra part to a chainsaw licence for them.

The big old beech tree that came down last weekend needed some tree surgeons, as it had to be tackled from above in the interests of safety. Son did a fair bit at ground level, but he doesn't do climbing, so we got our pet tree surgeons in to do the job.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Oct 02, 20 1:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

re tickets, iirc if you are agricultural and on your land anything goes that your insurance company will accept

due to lack of continuous use mine needs refreshing should i wish to use it for a job(i dont) or get business insurance
knowing how to be fairly safe and how to fettle the beast was what mattered to me, and i am cool to potter on other folks trees on their insurance

medium is a very flexible concept but i am not daft enough to try large unless i really needed to

my favourite drop was a 12"/40', slenderish birch in a wood, it had been killed by a fire and was on the meeting point of 3 paths so had to lie down before it fell down

with anything that is "individual" i like to take a while doing eyeball and place a peg to aim at

dropped it on the peg to within 6" vertical/horizontal length and within2" or a fraction of a degree in direction

did that with a webley general purpose knife(large), less than a foot of blade but they can beaver away at a tree rather well i am an amateur using beaver style but it does work if one is careful

it has a lot of scope for going badly wrong

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Sat Oct 03, 20 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

A friend of ours worked on of our coppice coups that way. We got him to cut high as the stems he cut were inclined to split, so we could finish them low with a chainsaw. We still call it 'Beaver Acre'. He went down to Devon soon after, and there were reports of beaver activity on the riber there....we were never quite sure.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sat Oct 03, 20 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    


gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 20 9:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I do have heat in bed in the winter, MR, up to 4 hot water bottles when really cold, otherwise I am outside working or delivering and shopping, which keeps me warm. If I get cold I add another layer or work a bit harder. It is a great life meeting lots of people and having no serious commitment to them, except to help keep them warm with wood!

I have to admit to meeting a woman locally who is very good company, but I have yet to take her out anywhere, but if I don't ask she won't know! I met her in here-the library-where she was doing her ancestry with some man on the next pooter and she was not only born in the same town as me, but also in the same road! Powys council offer a service for finding out who and where you were from "ancestrally wise". Regrettably mine was done years ago and I appear to be a black sheep! After a family tree which took my family back to Macgregors in the 1600's, in NW Scotland, to the 1700's and to Wolverhampton via Suffolk and Sheffield!

I have just been given some stones which are not wanted but heavy, I can only carry 1 at a time at the most from her back garden to the pickup. I took the trailer first time and found it too hard to reverse uphill to where they are going. So I am now just doing the pickup, which gives me recovery time between loads.

Firewood going like mad right now.

We have had a major upheaval locally, I don't know if I have said so before. There have been a massive influx of tourists to go up a mountain, driving, which has caused traffic troubles. A local man said that the waterfall had been "Blessed" and now every Muslim from the Birmingham area has felt the need to go an see this water. According to a local it is the owner who said it was blessed. Indeed that may be true, but the traffic mayhem was amazing to the point the police had to come and sort it out with barriers. However one of the locals gave a field up and allowed parking at the rate of £5 a car and took over 2K I am told, on one day! Most of the cars were big Mercs, BMs and Volvos! These traffic jams all took place opposite where I used to have my shop in the village, before I bought the holding I watched from the other side of the road where a friend now lives. Made all the local press folks happy! Got to go!

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 20 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

proper craggy island

thinking of which i need a decent frame for my father ted first edition stamps from o' connell st

i am not a stamp collector or dealer but i am a father ted fan and 6 quid seemed a small investment in a bit of history

A it is funny, B it is even funnier if one worked for the diocese in a technical capacity for 5 yrs
a few of the reality stories are beyond anything on craggy island, nuns and chemicals

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Wed Oct 07, 20 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It might be worth while asking the lady out Gregotyn. She might like a bit of company too, and you could have a good talk about your old stamping ground.

My father did his family tree, which shows us up as small farmers and not a lot else. Sadly there is a gap, but looks as if the family were doing that sort of thing right back to the 17th century. Nothing in particular, but then not the poorest of the poor either.

I haven't been to the woods yet this week as husband and son have been doing log loads. I hope they might get time to do a load for me to put in bags soon, then I can carry on with them. The people have been working on the pylon too, so some wood we want to get for a new idea is uncollectable at the moment, so may have to wait a week or so.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 20 10:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Oh yes, I will ask her out at some point, but I don't have reason to rush anything, too much to do at home. But I have seen her daily as she has given to me a lot of big stones suitable for stone walling and my plan is to sell them, and take her out on the proceeds, we'll see. Her sister lives in Llanrhaeadr, where I used to live before buying the holding. The sister what brought her up here in the first place. We have several things in common swimming, the library, Alsatian dogs and our background-Walsall. As a matter of interest does anyone know the value of dry stone wall stones?-in case!
However it is a giant step to commit to someone at my age and get out if it goes wrong! Her house is picture perfect inside, everything is immaculate. In my case It stays where It falls until I have to search for It again. Basically I have far too much for my 4 bed house and buildings, when I spend my time in the fields and wood shed doing exactly as I want, when I want and now, most of the time.

Going back, you mentioned heat in bed, MR, surprise, surprise I cannot find the hot water bottles! I am not ready yet for them, as I am still only in one sleeping bag, doubled when it gets cold and bottles added as needed!

Worrying for me dpack is I don't remember Father Ted-except I have heard the name!

I am off now for a look around.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 20 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

re walling stone it depends on quality and quantity

good uns that are enough to do a job in one batch are quite expensive.

a few will do bits in a rockery etc, it takes lots for a wall

the price is between road stone and dressed blocks/paving/edgings etc

a tonne or so is for the gardening market, a wagon or several is for the specialist wallers
I would ask my chum re current uk prices etc but he has moved to Minnesota and taken his walling skills there for loads a money

5yrs back it was in the hundreds per tonne for good wall stone

agricultural quality for a strong wall is cheaper

fancy for gardening gets the best prices

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 20 7:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Judging by your opposing attitudes to the house, perhaps a long term commitment might not be a good idea, but no reason why you shouldn't go out together on a 'friendly' basis.

Judging by the clear nights we have had recently, I think you need to go hunting for your hot water bottles, as it could be starting to get cold soon. Better to know where they are now than not have them when you need them.

We went out to pick up some timber yesterday and had all sorts of trouble. It is in a position the large tractor and forwarder can't reach, so had to take the little one. To start with the tyres on the forwarder were leaking, then the steering went on the tractor. It is a point of weakness with those tractors, so husband managed to get it settled again to get it back to the yard, and is going to wire it into position.

I went on to have a look at the tree that went over a fortnight ago, and the bridle path is now passable with a lot of timber and wood stacked in odd places and a huge pile of brash. Husband and son then cut me some bagging logs, so the end of the day was spent putting logs in nets.

Addition; Cassandra has got the grant for the improvements on the village hall. She posted it on FB yesterday.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 20 9:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

good news about the hall grant, i looking forward to hearing how it develops.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 20 2:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I will give thought to the stone and may get excited and have a go for myself with added "compo" as an insurance on the roadside wall, thankyou for the comment on the stone, dpack, I have about 6 tonnes, but that doesn't go too far as you can imagine. I took it for 2 reasons for hard core under a shed I am preparing the ground for, or to sell on if there was enough to justify it. I have a couple of wells on the farm as well as in the back yard so I may set the stones round one of them as a "feature" for a future selling point! It would do a rockery feature for someone with a sizeable lawn! I am waiting to see if there is more to come yet, but wanting to get prepared ahead, in case.
Every stone was heavy, range half, to one and a half, cwt or at my age heavy; my guess is about 5 tonnes total, plus the little "fill ins" about 2 tonnes.

I am not sure what is happening with the times here in the library now, but we are not in, in the morning, but I think next week is Tuesday. I will have to wait and see. This stuff is good enough for a garden and would do an imaginary well, with some left over, and I would add the proverbial roof and winder for a suitable "townie sale" and with the right money I would build it well, as a well-(pun)!

Not sure when we are back in library, ttfn!

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 20 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

at that sort of size they are top end of the value market

it does not seem like hardcore for a shed

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Sat Oct 10, 20 7:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

You could go mad and make it a working well if the water is good enough quality. That would add the 'off grid' crowd to the potential buyers in the future. As Dpack says, I wouldn't use the good stuff for hardcore, just the fill in.

I will ask Cassandra to keep us up to date with the work on the Hall, but I think the grant was only agreed a day or so ago.

It seems traffic is more or less back to normal round here as accidents on our major road over the last couple of days have caused major delays throughout the area. Son got caught up in the jam caused by a bus catching fire and closing the road the other night and was there for 2 hours. Both his wife and the cat were rather hungry by the time he got home so he is in disgrace with the cat who doesn't understand these things. Yesterday a lorry managed to close the road the other way by comprehensively blocking all 4 lanes. It was a large artic and somehow managed to turn on its side at right angles to the road. Took hours to clear it.

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