Photo-a-Day  (Friday, 8th October, 2021)

Sad about the (diseased?) tree having to come down , but fascinating to watch the men at work. Starting from the top and working the way down. It's almost a feat of athleticism. I have seen a few doing the operation practically on my doorstep. Some beautiful trees brought down just to make room for cars! Very sad.

If this was my tree I would leave some of the trunk so that I could put a owl box up on top of it, and maybe some smaller boxes lower down for the tits.

He’s a Lumberjack and he’s alright. Monty Python lives on.
I cut down trees, I eat my lunch
I go to the lavatory
On Wednesdays I go shopping and have buttered scones for tea.

I have always hated seeing a tree cut down. I realise it has to be done when there is disease present, or danger, but when they are cut down, as the ones Veronica has seen, to make room for cars, it is so sad.

I agree Veronica, it's always sad to see trees coming down.We had to take one down years ago,but we left some of the lower part for the birds,as Mick suggested.

My neighbourhood has preservation restrictions on deciduous trees, it’s ok to chop conifers down and I have a conifer stump for bird feeders which is now looking very tatty after serving it’s purpose for over twenty years.

Irene you wouldn't be complaining if you had a tree in Abram that your husband parked his car under, which also got full of pooing pigeons.

Gone from Heavens, roof and sky,
shadow's veil, sunlight's eye,
season's witness, weather's play,
passing footsteps, night and day,
rings of growing each born true,
each year older, mine like you..

Irene, in Shangri-La Shevington all the Pigeons wear nappies provided by the Parish Council.
They are known as Pigeon Poop Pants, Pigeons for the use of, and they come in three sizes namely, Small, Medium and Buzzard. They have the divel of a job getting the Buzzard size on.

DTease, that's cracked me up! I will be chuckling all day about that! I bet Dolly (Veronica) is having a good chuckle too! I had just put my make-up on and my mascara has run with laughing.....I look like a panda but it was worth it!

Do you know Mick you have always got something to say.

Anne - Warning- Its certainly not OK to chop down or indeed prune conifers IF they are the subject of a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). TPOs can be put on both Deciduous and Conifers if their amenity value is considered high enough. You also need to note that TPOs can be placed on areas of woodland as well as individual trees, and that you also need to seek permission for ANY work on Trees within a Conservation Area.

Its VERY important to make sure what the status is of a tree before doing any work on it as it is one of the rare parts of Planning Law which is subject to Criminal Law - as Distinct from Civil. If prosecuted a Magistrate has the power to impose a fine of up to £25,000 per tree and if the courts think the offence is serious you could face a criminal charge in Crown Court with unlimited fines Although these are extremes they are not unknown. Its a serious issue.

That lumberjack just shouted down to his mate, well look at this, “” I can see Mick’s house from here.””

I like your thinking re: the owl box Mick.
I really like owls...in addition to this, I'm also very fond of robins as well, also, too.
In fact I like all kinds of avian critters , but my all time favourite must be tits.
I really love tits....
..Ooh! Err ! Missus....
Don't worry, this won't be published.

Witness the awesome power of reverse psychology .

John G, you don't know how right you are with that statement, the 'arborist' as he is known, is looking straight at Mick's house from where he is.

Carolaen…. Thanks for the advice, different rules for different areas look to be the thing. The trees in my garden along with neighbours trees have been plotted and surveyed and as I said conifers are excluded from any form of protection. Thanks again.

Anne Just to make clear for wider benefit. The Tree Preservation Order (TPO)"rules" are not different for different areas. The legislation is the same throughout the country. What will vary however is what specific trees are protected under such orders. In many cases a TPO is placed on a single tree usually because of its perceived wider amenity value. such a Tree might be a rare species or a very good specimen. In other cases groups of trees might be the subject of an Order or even specific trees in a general area of woodland. In all cases the protected trees might be deciduous or evergreen. Incidentally not all conifers are Evergreen Larch and some cypresses are deciduous.

The only safe thing is to look at the actual order (Local Authorities have copies of the maps) which will show which trees are protected. It may well be that in your case the survey indicated the trees needing protection were deciduous but this is just chance.
the other thing to look out for as I said is to be aware if your porerty is in a Conservation Area. If so ANY tree will be automatically protected unless the local authority has specifically excluded them - which they ofetn do, Again they have all this information on maps for inspection and will advise for free. Searches on property sales also must tell buyers if any trees on the land are covered by TPOs

Sorry to be pedantic but a (small) part of my day job for over 30 years was undertaking site visits on proposals to cut down such trees and recommending to the Government Minister whether to give permission.

If that tree could speak it would be screaming in protest at its own execution. According to a tree expert on the Monty Don programme last night trees do have a language and they 'help' each other through the root system underground. What a shock for the tree to be left with nothing but a stubby trunk, stripped of its dignity. The oxygen that it gives out helps humanity it's not there just for decoration. I don't think I could watch a tree being cut down after seeing the programme, even if they are diseased and have to be cut down.

Carolaen, after reading about your 30 year day job I am more convinced than ever that my early years of boozy befuddlement were not wasted after all.

If the tree had ears, it might hear the grass, the plants, the shrubs and the flowers all screaming with excitement at finally having some sun on their backs

Dtease. Thanks forthat. As I said it was only a very small part of the job. I probably looked at a dozen trees a year. However I did learn an awful lot about trees. And rest assured readers the vast majority of trees survived.

The main problem is that most people who want to chop down trees do so because they do not want the maintenance involved of having a tree in the garden eg gathering up fallen leaves. I was once involved in a case where a man chopped down a perfectly healthy and beautiful mature English Elm (very rare after Dutch Elm disease) because he was fed up of the leaves

If a tree is genuinely dead dying or dangerous there is no problem in cutting it down.

In that case Carolean the person shouldn't have a garden. He doesn't even deserve one. All those leaves can be used for compost not only are they gorgeous when the colours are turning they can be fed back into the soil. What about the birds and other wildlife, everything is for a purpose. There's nothing can't be used again, but I am talking to an expert!! I believe if a tree is cut down they have to be replaced again.

It’s my belief that all us humans are naturally born lazy and if anyone says otherwise they have got to explain the need for tv remote controls, or why people spend millions every week on Lottery tickets, or why they would chop down a two hundred year old tree just so that they don’t have to sweep up a few leaves now and then.
Almost everything that man or woman has ever invented as been invented to save him or her the need for hard graft.

I can understand elderly people who aren't as agile as they were though Dtease. A lot of people cover over their lawns to cut out the work and who can blame them? That's not good either as the rain has nowhere to go, that can cause floods. Again people do the same to have space for cars. Planting a forest tree in an ordinary sized garden is asking for trouble. Plus trees have a habit of seeding themselves, I'm always pulling tree shoots up before they get bedded in. It doesn't take long for them to get a hold. It's not easy work with a garden just to keep it tidy.

Veronica, When I used to do these TPO appeal visits they usually fell into one of 2 categories, The first, and by far most common, was the people buying a house with a garden (with a tree in it) for the first time. Typically they has seen the house for sale in the Spring, loved it and moved in. Then in Autumn the leaves fell off and they decided they didn't like sweeping up and bagging leaves etc and wanted the tree (which had usually been there for many years etc) chopped down.

The second type - which I had more sympathy -with were the people who had been living in the house for many years but were getting older, or one had been widowed , and the job of looking after the tree - again mainly sweeping and bagging up leaves was getting a bit too much for them. However even with sympathy the only real question really in considering a TPO appeal is whether such a tree was dead dying or dangerous, and if not it stayed. TPOs -especially in residential areas have usually been made because they contribute an amenity to the area as a whole, not restricted to the individual householder.

Carolaean - some folk might also be concerned that the tree on their property might shed a branch, or even fall, and cause damage to a neighbour's property - for which they might be deemed liable. Quite a responsibility.
I understand that owners of trees with TPOs on them can express concerns they may have about a tree's safety, and the Council will visit, and advise, for free.
Having a tree felled in close proximity to a house is not cheap - around £1k - plus £200 to have the stump ground out... so most people would think twice about doing this.

Exactly Carolean I understand that, a tree that's been there for many years and is healthy shouldn't be chopped down. (As long as it's not dangerous either) I know some people who were fined over a thousand pounds just for thinning out branches. The arrogance of some folk is astounding. The trees I am talking about line the main road going into W/H and there's some very old cottages off the road behind them. Usually the council do come round thinning out trees but it's not happening at the moment. The house live is surrounded with trees and I can do nothing about them. Having said that they are beautiful.

Rev David - quite if the tree is dangerous (or dead or dying) then the legislation allows for appropriate action. However if the tree is covered by a TPO then the onus is on you to demonstrate that its dangerous etc. or you could be prosecuted. Councils should (especially in normal times) be able to send out a Tree Officer (or Arboricultural consultant) to assess the risk or confirm its dead/dying. they may even suggest what pruning works might be needed to keep it safe.

The trouble is people convince themselves that trees are about to drop a branch or fall over (surprisingly few do unless there is a hurricane) and take take matters into their own hands and then wonder when they get prosecuted - as Veronica says in the post above - and fined over a thousand pounds. Trees without a TPO in your garden are entirely your property and you can chop them all down or prune them if you wish . However the whole purpose of putting a TPO on trees is to indicate that they are of value to the wider community not just the landowner, which is why you need permission.

think ozone

All I know is the Woodland Trust dont cut diseased & dying trees, especially Ash with dieback. We have some at the back of us. I think the theory is that new trees will emerge from the diseased ground & will be dieback free...I have my doubts.