We pushed in our first Beech of the year yesterday, the wife loves burning Beech firewood so if you hear of a rocket launch out of N.Y.S., it's the wife testing the new Liberty rocket!
Red oak/white oak Maple Sassafras White pine I have hundreds of dead standing red oak that are easy to get to in the back yard and easy to split that would make it anyone's favorite . We have a few maples but I only cut dead or storm damaged trees so not to much maple in the stacks.
I been growing fond of silver maple. I cut some at the end of the summer and it's already @ 19% MC. I like red & white oak along with cherry too.
Don't know about Massachussetts & other eastern states,but lots of the Midwest has been hit by Oak Wilt over the past 20 or so years. That effects primarily Red/Black Oaks - members of the White Oak group aren't as vulnerable for some reason.
Even though I am a forster, like you said were lucky enough not to be effected by any of those yet, so there not even on my mind as causes of death. Thanks for the reminder or the threat to our forests :-(
Favorite firewood??,,anything that's easy to get, close to home and seasoned...or near seasoned! I cut just about anything but willow and glad to have it. I "aint got no" woods or timber of my own,,I'm a true blue firewood scrounger with a pickup truck a couple good saws and a GREEDY-HUNGRY OWB,,it all burns better than snowballs!! Hickories and Oaks are my all time, world class favorites but can be hard to come by.
favorites of what is readily available in my area and accessible to me. I scrounge all my wood / mostly from C/L Big Leaf Maple - seasons quick/ decent heat Doug Fir - easy to come by here White (paper) Birch Madrona - on my wish list / hard to find for free I have never burned it. Very high on the BTU chart. would probably my #1 if I could ever get any of it
We bought our land in 2009 just after a few back to back seasons of gypsy and winter moth infestations. The larger older oaks were able to take the hits but most 9-8" red oaks could not. So now I am trying to cut up as many of the oaks as I can while they are still standing. But I am starting to loose the race :-(
Black locust is my favorite. Oak & sugar maple right behind that. Osage orange is my Holy Grail! It is very rare in my area and I've never come across any.
I still have many large oaks left and many small trees coming up so it should work out ok over the next few years. It actually helped to thin the forest out a bit as this 22 acre lot had not been logged for over 30 years and was to overgrown.
If its hardwood mostly they dont really have to often of a cut cycle depending upon management prescription.
