Though I should, as a new member, post a few pictures of my wood operations. Snapped these today while chipping away at the old log pile.
Mixture of black cherry, walnut, butternut hickory, red oak, white oak, tons and tons of ash All in all I probably have 7 or 8 cords split in total. Most of which is not fully seasoned. Been on the wood train for years but it's tough doing it mostly solo with the exception of the old lady driving the splitter from time to time. Trying like heck this summer to get ahead. The amount of wood I have available for processing seems never ending. Seems like every week I have another lead on wood - although usually live- sometimes I have to pass it up which hurts me deep down
Thanks! I hope to have 12+ before long. Those ash boarers (or however you spell it) went crazy around here but I am not complaining. I have 10+ mature ash trees standing all over that are ready for the chopping block. Don't want to drop until I'm ready to CSS them though. Not to mention all the other green wood I keep encountering.... I've highly considered renting a wood processor for a few days
Welcome Born2Burn! You've got a beautiful place there and some nice toys! You're gonna fit right in here.
Welcome to the forum Born2Burn Yes, the ash borers have really made a mess of things but have given a lot of us much firewood so it is not all waste if one heats with wood. 10 mature trees can give you a lot of nice firewood! Not sure about the wood processor though. I'd probably just cut them as you have the time as ash, even though it has been hit by the borer will still last for many years. We're getting toward the end of ours now but it has been 15 years of cutting ash so far and lots to go yet. Yes, we will definitely have some go to waste even though we've given away many cord and have never charged for any of it.
You bring up good point. How long would you estimate an ash that has been hit by the bugs can stand before it gets punky? I know from experience that oak and hickory can stand for 10 years no problem, but I have definitely dropped a dead ash that was totally rotten and junk. I've always tried to hurry up and get them CSS amd burnt to avoid that. Nothings worse to a firewood hoarder than going through the trouble of droppong a big tree only to find it's beyond usable for firewood. And you still have to clean it up........ Been there done that.
Don't wait too long. Mrs. TD watched a big branch fall out of one of ours yesterday morning. (Bright sunny morning, no wind...)
In our woods it was over 10 years before any sign of any punk started but others seem to not be so lucky. But even after they start to turn punky there is still lots and lots of heat in them because it takes so long for the punk to go really bad. We definitely have some that won't get burned but still we'll probably end up getting 99% of all the dead ash.
Welcome to the club, Born2Burn. I admire your stacks, it looks like you already have a serious hoard thing going on. Yeah, it sucks when your saw cuts way too fast into a log 'cause it's rotted. Oh well, more future compost for the forest floor I guess.
Yes it's hot out, but I really had the itch. Nice dead ash. Surprised how light the logs were. Same amount shown still in the woods but I was out of diesel so I had to call it. Nobody likes running a tractor out of diesel......
