SB wrote:
So a guy buys a book and thinks he’s an expert huh?
*Huh? are you saying that just because my bookshelf is heavy, that makes me an expert? If so, nope. I learn every day. There are very few things that I would consider myself expert on. Those are mostly personal, which leads to the next...
Tom what do you think, are your farts made by aerobic or anaerobic microorganisms?
*That's one of my personal expertises. None of your business!
I'm repeating what I've learned from reading Shigo's work and also having taken many classes from him over the years. Most, not all, wood decay micro organisms are aerobic. Here, we're talking about wood, not the beans I ate last night. They make me talk but you wouldn't want to be part of that conversation.
Water absorbs oxygen very freely, ever see fish in a small pond?
*I've lived my whole life in Minnesota, you know, The Land of 10,000 [actually closer to 15,000] Lakes. I've seen plenty of fish, even ones from lakes that are frozen over.
So how is one going to prevent that from happening?
What about freeze-thaw cycles?
*Can you show how an ice cube in a tree is damaging? Put a GLASS cup of water in the freezer. Does the glass break? Rarely, most times the ice domes up. Remember, I live in MN AND!!! I spend at least a week a year camping in the snow and ice in the Boundary Waters.
And large black ants are not beneficial. I can show you some trunk wood where they carved out their home, not very good for the tree.
*Did you get your copy of Shigo's book and read what he wrote? If not, you missed out on what he found. Ants don' break through CODIT walls. they excavate already decayed or wounded wood. So, the wood has already started on its downward path of strength loss, the ants just move out the material.
Stop and think about the logs that are being salvaged from lakes and rivers. Still in good shape because the micro organisms haven't gotten inside. There are footings of buildings in Amsterdam that are wood and many years old because they are in water saturated mud. Explain that...
Take a look at this page of links:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Superior+Water-Logged+Lumber
Or google, underwater logging
Tom