Dropped a death sentense on a 300+ year old maple today.
I did my yearly walk through the park at the castle with the owners, pointing out the hazards that I have found.
That maple is most likely one of the oldest here, ( Acer Pseoduplatanus is not a native species) and was brought home from France by one of the present owner's acestors.
It has a bad case of Dryad's saddle Polyporus Squamosus that has been ongoing for a while.
Now it has finally got to the point where it has to go. Lots of side weight over a much used lawn.
Tough call to make, but at least we have gotten to the point where I don't get any arguments when I tell them it is final.
There is a lot of ripple in the first 2 feet of the log, if it is not totally hollow, I should get something for the lathe out of it. Silver lining and so on.
Spent the afternoon looking at a job removing vegetation ( Bushes, small trees) from a protected bog for the Forest service (Always good to see my tax dollars hard at work, especially when I can earn some of them back).
It would be a perfect job for a high line, but no-one here has one, so we'll just have to hire some grunts and carry everything out. Even an ATV will bog down ( Literally) in there.
Bit of a shitty job, but the money is ok.