I haven't been working in the wood piles recently but I plan to get something done tomorrow. It was so wet around here for awhile then I got busy I didn't do much besides loading the stoves but that changes tomorrow. I'm taking the blade off the tractor and hooking up the trailer and going to my honey hole where I have maybe a cord and a half of tops cut and start bringing them up to the woodshed. Most of it has to be split so I'll add it to the pile and split it at as I can. I also have a couple of piles next to the driveway, maybe a face cord in each pile that's split and needs to be hauled, stacked and covered. I won't get it all done tomorrow but I'll get a start and finish next week when the grandsons are on spring break...I plan to work them like borrowed mules but we'll see how that goes. This years pile is almost gone, I traded a saw for 4 face cords or I would have run out in Feb. or used next years wood. I thought I had plenty but missed it by a bunch this year.
You're not alone in that boat. Had to buy 2 facecord this past month myself. Glad for you that you can get to it now. I need a bit more warm weather to get the rest of the snow off my patch, then I can get started. Supposed to be getting warmer the next week or so, hopefully next weekend I can start on some logs. But like you, I'm starting to think it may be time to unhook the plow from the quad so I can get some work done as well.
I have plenty of wood, but I put my hay on top of the hill since it dries the hay and blows the snow off it so I get half the waste I do down here. It might not be firewood, but I cannot get to it! If I had to I could plow a road to get it out, but right now I have 6 bales of hay here so hopefully the snow will melt down enough for me to track through. That might be a bit. The feller-buncher was working in the snow, and the undercarriage was plowing snow; in places it is over waist-deep! So it will be awhile before I am out in the woods. We typically get one good snow storm in April, then it is over for the year.
Don't work those grandkids too hard. You want happy memories for both you and the grandkids so work them, but don't forget to stop and smell the roses.
Don't beat yourself up, I think a lot of folks are over their normal quota this year. Getting after it again as soon as the snow clears and the ground firms up is on a lot of folks' agenda!
I got 3 loads hauled up mostly white oak and pig nut. I split all the white oak, about 2 face cords and covered it, I wanted to do it first so it will be the back stack in the woodshed. I still have about 2 loads to get, mostly oak and a little ash but most of it is further from the logger road so I'll let the boys carry it to the trailer. I've determined that at nearly 69 I can do almost everything I could do when I was 30 it just takes me about 4 times longer and a lot of breaks.
I had to move more wood up to burn or I would have ran out this week. We had weather in the 50’s in February and I thought I would have wood left over and have to move it. Of course, our normal highs in March are mid 50’s and we are suppose to get 5-6” of snow today.
It looks like the grandsons lucked out, snow, rain and more rain. I won't be able to get to the woods this week without cutting ruts so they get a rain check.
I got 4 or 5 years ahead and then slacked off, now I'm burning next year's wood and as much as I'm glad I had it I'm not thrilled about it. Just means I really have to get my arse in gear right now and push to get ahead again. Without ibuprofen so far.
March seems to have really thrown folks for a loop this year- many forum members were commenting on how winter was over and how well they were doing on the wood piles back in February. Then the Nor’easter hit, followed by another...and then Another. Hope for everyone’s sake that it’s over now, and we can all resume CSSing for the future. Seeing what happened this year has motivated me to get more wood ready for the next winter, and the next!
