Our hogs ate the bark off this tree over the last couple years, I recently discovered it was dead and had fallen down. Went out and salvaged it yesterday, with the intent to make lumber outta it, but I like to know what I'm milling...... It had sorta elm-ish looking leaves in it's living days. The wood smells like poop.....in a cottonwood sorta way. Seems very hard, and maybe somewhat brittle. Most of the branches seem to grow out of a blob or burl-like situation. I looked at it (tree ID book in hand) a couple years back when it was healthy and thought maybe sassafras or some type of elm.
Interesting post! The grain looks kinda like sassafras but not the bark. And down here they don’t grow huge like that and don’t have very straight stems. Plus have large unique leaves. Dang pigs! oh wait if the tree fell I guess the pigs could have stripped the bark of the entire stem.
I think you're right on the money about it being elm. I can see the tell tale sign of elm bark beetles leaving their hieroglyphics in the cambium layer.
Red elm and cedar elm both seem like possibilities.....or are they the same tree? Also, it was a healthy tree until the pigs stripped all the bark they could get to, (both above and below ground level). They didn't bother it after it fell down, probably because it was already dead and no longer tasty to em.
We don't have cedar elm up here in my area but we do have red elm. They are a distinct species though. A quick Google search points to the cedar elm guess explaining the almost shaggy bark, like a cedar.
Lol! If we haven't already eaten the guilty party (s) we certainly will..... I do like the idea of smoking em in the wood from a treet hey killed.... Unfortunately this tree stinks.
.....smells like poop elm..... Interestingly, the other elms we have around these parts don't stink at all.....mostly winged elm.
Dennis, perhaps you will appreciate this about bacon. I love bacon! I have to watch out because it is high in sodium but I love it so! I have a bit of problem with leg/ankle edema, so, have been aware of sodium, especially, of late. I was drinking way, way, way too much electrolyte drink, Powerade Zero and Gatorade Zero to be exact. That right there is enough to cause a problem. Anyway, on the bacon, my gf cooks the most amazing bacon. Each time I am with her, I just can't get over how good it is and I have talked to her about how the heck can this be? I know how to cook bacon! But hers is ALWAYS better. I have told her that I think it is the fat. That it's like her bacon retains more fat in the cooked bacon and it's like her bacon just melts in my mouth. Delicious! So, we talked about it at length and came up with the idea that she cooks hers much slower than I do. If I cook mine on 4 - 5, she cooks hers on, like, 2.5. So, I cooked my next batch at my house on lower heat. It helped but still wasn't the solution. Then next time together, I mused that it HAS to be her skillet. It's stainless steel. And she puts a cover on. So, I kept looking and, eventually, found the identical skillet, with lid, on eBay. Yippee! Still did not solve it. I am with her again and each day, I just can't believe how good her bacon is! So, now, I am at the last straw. We think it that she has a gas stove. And mine is electric. We can cook the identical brand and hers is SO much better, I could eat ten pieces, lol. I try to limit it to 3! So, there you have it. A plug for a gas stove. Right now, am wanting some bacon, lol.
Yep, planning to mill the two butt logs anyway. At least some of the top logs will be farwood. I'll plan to post pics here when we mill it. I'm fresh out of oxen..... so, I'll probably just make 1x & 2x boards outta it.
