These wood prices are Highway Robbery!

I’ve been eyeing these logs on the highway for a while now. They’ve been there for months and the ends are starting to get those tell tale cracks. Mostly black birch but a few silver maple and ash. Anyway, I couldn’t bear to see these poor logs felled by my tax dollars left to rot so I loaded them up last night, bucked them this morning and gave them the good old blunt force trauma treatment with the maul. I’ve never burned black birch indoors but from what I’ve researched it’s high BTU, nice smelling stuff. Nice addition to a score of white birch I happened upon last week. On to stacking now and losing a little more of my backyard Tip of the hat to buZZsaw BRAD for the scrounger encouragement.

 

Wait. You got them before buZZsaw BRAD did? ?

HUZZAH!!!!!!

Nicely sized logs for a grab-n-go. Did you leave any? Shhh.. not too loudly, now.

 

There’s probably 2 more truckloads left... for now

 

Yeah for sure that maul rattles my entire skeleton when I strike a solid blow into a nice chunk of oak or maple. It’s got sentimental value for me though, it was my grandfather’s. I have memories going back over 25 years of helping him in the fall stacking wood in his basement while he swung that thing around like nothing.

 

Not the prettiest stack ever cobbled together but this sure does smell nice walking by it! Like a swimming pool of birch beer lol. I can’t wait to see how it smells in the wood stove.

 

I don't recall any special scent from burning black birch.

Processing it is very much a different story.

 

I'm definitely going to go the hydraulic route sooner than later. Although I do get a lot of satisfaction out of exploding rounds by hand, it's not exactly easy on the body. It's not yet in my budget this year to splurge for one but if I even find an old beat-up one for cheap needing work, I'd pounce on it. You can't put a price on the luxury of not having back problems.

 

Eric, do you have any close friends that also split be had? If so, it was out of our budget also. But we ended up going half with Chaz's friend. We take turns doing the service on it and also using it. I think it was about $700 each. Oh we got it at TSC.

 

That sounds like a nice arrangement to have! Unfortunately most of my friends have gotten out of burning wood and either have pellet stoves now or switched to natural gas entirely. I'm sure I'll find a splitter, only a matter of catching one on Craigslist or something.

 

Thanks!
Great work Eric! Nice load. Perfect amount to be able to cut and split right away. Cant wait to see more of it!

 

What I like about that is you managed to scrounge some good wood but you also did a public service by cleaning up next to the highway there. A win win.

 

It's exactly that line of thought that I used to justify what I did I know if I was traveling out of state and saw piles of downed trees by the edge of the road it would probably give me the wrong impression of a place.

 

it'd make me wanna go there more often and bring home "souvenirs"

 

I’m seeing a TV show there Brad. Along the lines of American Pickers.

 

Premiering next Fall on the FHC channel! "BTU pickers"!

 

I’m in.
Considering your tall stature and my short “robust” build That would make me Frank. LOL
Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. Just pointing out the obvious.

We’d have to discuss the origins and both historical and modern day uses of the particular woods and how they’ve impacted the country as a whole.
Better than most stuff on tv

 

Oh!? I thought it'd be two guys with chain saws scoring wood! Im not a dialogue person!