On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:52:20 +0000, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


You wouldn't be thinking of cutting down an American Chestnut, would
you?

Well, I thnk it is. Maybe I should have the Extension Center at UCONN
come and look at it before I remove it.

I didn't realise they were that rare - I've got two of these things the
yard next to the house with the runaway tree.

And I'm pretty sure they are American Chestnuts.

I'd call the Extension Center, just in case. Or:

http://www.acf.org/find_a_tree.php

If they truly are American Chestnuts, they are probably blight resistant,
and the pollen might be of help in cross-pollinating resistant strains.
While you and I might not be around to see them, there looks to be a
future for the "Redwood of the East".

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 05:58:52 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:35:00 +0000, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:

This tree has been annoying me for a year.

I'm normally a tree loving kind of guy, but losing that tree is quite an
improvement.

Yeah - I was surprised at how much more open it looks now.

Then again, I didn't expect half again growth in one year. Although I
was researching this type of pine and I guess it does that - one
minute it's six foot tall and well shaped and the next it's tree gone
wild.

Next up - a 60 foot chestnut.

Maybe next year. :)

The house we moved from 7 years ago (now my daughter's house) is next to
some old cranberry bogs that had not been used for years. About 10 years
ago I was walking on the bog and plucked about 6 little pine tree saplings
that were only as high as my knees. The "trunks" were about half the
diameter of my little finger. Just for kicks, I dug shallow holes on the
side of the property line, planted them and forgot about them.

They are all about 50 feet tall now.

Eisboch

Eisboch wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 05:58:52 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:35:00 +0000, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:

This tree has been annoying me for a year.
I'm normally a tree loving kind of guy, but losing that tree is quite an
improvement.
Yeah - I was surprised at how much more open it looks now.

Then again, I didn't expect half again growth in one year. Although I
was researching this type of pine and I guess it does that - one
minute it's six foot tall and well shaped and the next it's tree gone
wild.

Next up - a 60 foot chestnut.

Maybe next year. :)

The house we moved from 7 years ago (now my daughter's house) is next to
some old cranberry bogs that had not been used for years. About 10 years
ago I was walking on the bog and plucked about 6 little pine tree saplings
that were only as high as my knees. The "trunks" were about half the
diameter of my little finger. Just for kicks, I dug shallow holes on the
side of the property line, planted them and forgot about them.

They are all about 50 feet tall now.

Eisboch



Had you gone to the right high school, you would have realized they are
not pines. They are triffids.

A triffid can be divided into three components: base, trunk, and head.
which contains a venomous sting.

The base of a triffid is a large muscle-like root mass comprising many
thick tentacles. When dormant/docile, these tentacles are rooted into
the ground and are used to draw nutrients, as with a normal plant. When
active, triffids use these tentacles to propel themselves along at a
moderate walking pace. They are capable of moving faster over open
ground. Triffids' roots/tentacles are sufficiently articulate to allow
them to climb stairs, and strong enough to allow them to push through
fencing. They are not, however, prehensile enough to allow them to use
tools.

The trunk of a triffid is several inches thick and resembles a sprouting
leek. It is thickest close to the head and the base, and tapers off in
the middle. A triffid's neck can range from a few feet in height to
around two metres. It has leaf-like foliage where it meets the base of
the triffid.

The upper part of a triffid can be referred to as the head, although it
does not contain the usual sensory organs associated with an animal's
head. It consists of a brightly colored, hollow, flower like aperture
that resembles the top of a Heliamphora or Darlingtonia californica. The
head houses a triffid's sting. The flower also contains a mucilage type
liquid which is seen ensnaring insects, although other purposes are unknown.

A triffid's sting is a flat paddle-like appendage on a flexible stalk
that protrudes from the head of a triffid like a stamen or tongue. When
attacking, a triffid will lash out at its target using its sting,
primarily aiming for its prey's face or head, and with considerable
speed and force. The sting leaves behind a distinctive rectangular welt
with linear cuts running along it. Often traces of dark green triffid
venom are visible in the wound.

Triffid venom is fast-acting and can fell a victim almost instantly. In
the 1962 version, poison was ejected in a gas-like spray from the head
of the triffid.

In the wild, triffids move slowly and apparently at random. They emit a
slow, hollow low-pitched clicking sound -- in the TV series this is
shown to be achieved by beating their bole-like lower section with
special 'sticks'; protuberances seemingly there for this purpose. Their
'calls' can carry for a considerable distance. Triffids remain docile
until they sense the presence of potential prey. At this point, a
triffid's call will become faster and louder and it will home in on its
prey through the path of least resistance until it becomes close enough
to attack using its sting. Wild triffids may also wait for prey and
ambush them.

Typically, triffids will push against any barrier between them and their
prey. A lone triffid will have little impact on most barriers, but a
large herd can bring down even a strong fence. Once its prey has been
stung and killed, a triffid will approach and wait to one side with its
roots in the earth until the body begins to decay. When the flesh has
partially decayed, the sting will pull flesh from the body and lift it
to the head in order to feed. It is necessary to wait for decay, as the
flesh on a freshly killed body is too tough for the sting to pull apart.

A triffid hearing the rapid call of another triffid will become more
active, and will follow the sound. This can result in a lone triffid, or
a small group, quickly becoming a large threatening herd.

Their day is coming.

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message ...
This tree has been annoying me for a year.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictures/The%20Tree.JPG

So I decided to take it down today starting at 0900 hrs - 9 AM to you
civilians.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictu...with%20Hat.JPG

About 1030 I got to this point.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictu...with%20Hat.JPG

Working carefully, I finally got to this point at 1200 hrs - noon to
you civilians - after chipping all the branches and dumping the chips
in the neighbors back yard as he wanted them for mulch and compost.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictures/The%20Pole.JPG

Finally at 1630 hrs - 4:30 PM to you civilians - I finished with the
stump grinder, cleaned all the trash (300 mph back pack leaf blowers
are the greatest invention since the wheel), back filled the hole,
leveled out the lawn and finished.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictu...0no%20more.JPG

At which point I sat on the tail gate of my truck, smoked a cigar,
drank a liter of Diet Pepsi and admired my work.

Tomorrow, I will not be able to move and I'm already feeling like I've
been hit by an eighteen wheeler. :)

I really need to get into better shape.




You forgot to sweep the sidewalk.

;-)

db

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:52:20 +0000, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:47:52 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:40:59 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:32:15 +0000, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:

Next up - a 60 foot chestnut.

You wouldn't be thinking of cutting down an American Chestnut, would you?

As a matter of fact, yes.

It's dead. Or in the last throes of dying. The trunk split in a wind
storm this year - it's definetly dead, done, dying.

Well, I thnk it is. Maybe I should have the Extension Center at UCONN
come and look at it before I remove it.

I didn't realise they were that rare - I've got two of these things
the yard next to the house with the runaway tree.

And I'm pretty sure they are American Chestnuts.

Where I used to live, you have to go to the permit department where
building permits and the like are issued and request they send someone out
to inspect and determine if a tree can be removed. I have nicknamed this
person the "Tree Fairy", because if it's his whim of the day, he will sign
a permit allowing you to remove the tree. This enables you to buy a permit
to remove the tree.

Then he will give you a list of recommended replacement trees that are
acceptable to be used to replace said tree and provide a list of approved
providers of these trees.

Before you place the purchased tree in the ground, he must come by and
check to make sure that the trunk is straight enough.

Our first selection wasn't up to his standards so we returned the tree and
got one that he eventually approved and I promptly planted it in a place
that wasn't visible from the street.

I called for a final inspection twice and no one came out to inspect the
planted tree.

The bark became girdled around the trunk ;-) and I was able to dig it up
and dispose of it as if it was a shrub and take it to the local reclaim
center where brush is shredded and composted so residents can go for free
mulch and composted soil after they provide a current water bill.

The free mulch that I retrieved at that point had cost me $200.- not
including the cost of the initial tree that I paid to have removed. What
a bargain. (note sarcasm)

I will never have to call the "Tree Fairy" again because gratefully that
was the only tree in the yard and we still own the house.

Because I think this is a local tradition, I won't mention the location
because it may awaken the "tax appraisal god" that may seek revenge of
this disclosure to the outside world.

I trust you'll understand.

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:16:00 -0400, RLM wrote:

I trust you'll understand.

Trus tme - I understand. Some politician's brother-in-law needed a
job.

I grew up in a town where there was an Official Fence Watcher.

Paid I might add.

And usually a relative of the Town Foreman.

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:29:14 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
.. .

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 05:58:52 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:35:00 +0000, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:

This tree has been annoying me for a year.

I'm normally a tree loving kind of guy, but losing that tree is quite an
improvement.

Yeah - I was surprised at how much more open it looks now.

Then again, I didn't expect half again growth in one year. Although I
was researching this type of pine and I guess it does that - one
minute it's six foot tall and well shaped and the next it's tree gone
wild.

Next up - a 60 foot chestnut.

Maybe next year. :)

The house we moved from 7 years ago (now my daughter's house) is next to
some old cranberry bogs that had not been used for years. About 10 years
ago I was walking on the bog and plucked about 6 little pine tree saplings
that were only as high as my knees. The "trunks" were about half the
diameter of my little finger. Just for kicks, I dug shallow holes on the
side of the property line, planted them and forgot about them.

They are all about 50 feet tall now.

Part of it has to do with the soil I think. Here at Rancho El Nut
Case, I can grow hemlocks like there is no tomorrow. Pine trees not
so much. Red oak trees double the height and girth of white oak trees
and scrub oak - well, let's just say that I never lack for fire wood.

I've had my "forest" logged twice in the 30 years we've been here and
to look at it, you would never know it. Mostly red oak, some white
and maple trees - although the maple trees are getting a little long
in the tooth and might need to be removed and replaced.

I don't know if I told you, but we have an original "charter" oak here
in town and it's enourmous. It was planted in 1671 - 337 years old.

Amazing.

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:05:20 -0400, "D-unit"
wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message ...
This tree has been annoying me for a year.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictures/The%20Tree.JPG

So I decided to take it down today starting at 0900 hrs - 9 AM to you
civilians.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictu...with%20Hat.JPG

About 1030 I got to this point.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictu...with%20Hat.JPG

Working carefully, I finally got to this point at 1200 hrs - noon to
you civilians - after chipping all the branches and dumping the chips
in the neighbors back yard as he wanted them for mulch and compost.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictures/The%20Pole.JPG

Finally at 1630 hrs - 4:30 PM to you civilians - I finished with the
stump grinder, cleaned all the trash (300 mph back pack leaf blowers
are the greatest invention since the wheel), back filled the hole,
leveled out the lawn and finished.

http://www.swsports.org/images/Pictu...0no%20more.JPG

At which point I sat on the tail gate of my truck, smoked a cigar,
drank a liter of Diet Pepsi and admired my work.

Tomorrow, I will not be able to move and I'm already feeling like I've
been hit by an eighteen wheeler. :)

I really need to get into better shape.

You forgot to sweep the sidewalk.

;-)

That's why God invented wind. :)

"HK" wrote in message
. ..


Had you gone to the right high school, you would have realized they are
not pines. They are triffids.



Sometimes I am very thankful that I am not as well-read as you.

I conserve brain cells.

Eisboch

Eisboch wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..

Had you gone to the right high school, you would have realized they are
not pines. They are triffids.



Sometimes I am very thankful that I am not as well-read as you.

I conserve brain cells.

Eisboch




Conserving for what? Old age? It's here.

Actually, "Day of the Triffids" is one of the best sci-fi novels ever.
The movie made from the book, though, was just plain awful.