Starting hauling wood in today. Got little over a cord in the basement and this rack full in the garage. Will fill this rack tomorrow. That should get me close to three cords between the garage and basement. That’s what we burned last year. Inspected the one year old Duravent chimney and it does not need cleaning. It pays to run hot fires and have dry wood!
The snow has melted in my woods so it is time to start a cutting. 4 red oaks came down over the winter so today I fired up the Honda. After further inspection of the soil conditions I determined it is not dry enough to haul so I just cut today. My buddy wants an oak burl to make a bowl. I found an oak that broke right at a burl but I ran out of fuel right when I was cutting the stump off! So I still don’t know if it is bowl material,,, Saws ran good. It feels so right to back in the woods burning fuel.
Cut the burl out and give it to your friend. If it is not bowl material he might have another project that he can use it for.. Great job.
Oh my. I got piles of rounds laying all over my woods. I’ve been busy. Then last night my neighbor calls me. The guy with the abandoned junk yard who had a major timber sale several years ago? He found another big red oak way back in the corner of his 40 “down in a hole” that the log buyer forgot to skid out! Come and get it he said! I can’t turn that down. He said it’s 30 feet long to the top and 32” diameter at the base. I have yet to see it sounds like a big un. My 261 only has an 18” bar. I will do my best.
I cut a big Hackberry down and cut it up, today. It had a large top, and I had to keep whittling away at it, with a lot of overhead cutting, as it hung on the stump and I was a little worried about it rolling on me, but all went well. I used my 462 with 28" bar on all of it, except the felling. I love that long bar, for it's reach and I feel like it helps to keep me out of harms way. I have been running a semi-chisel, full skip tooth chain on it for quite a while, which is an unusual combination, I think, but it's available, so I am not the only one who uses it, I recon. It's really a pretty darned good combination for that that saw and 28" bar. I had to use the whole bar, by the way, to cut the stump off, and even it was not long enough and I had to go around the stump a little to get it done. Then I got fooled on the natural falling direction of a dead Walnut and it set back on my saw, during the back cut, which surprised me. I started for the side by side for a wedge, to bang it over, and as soon as I too a couple of steps, I heard a crack! I am glad I shut the saw off, or I might not have heard it. I started to grab the saw, but realized that the holding wood (hinge wood) had broken off and the tree fell the opposite direction, I left the saw and got out of the way. Saw flopped off of the stump, but no damage was done. At least the darned thing didn't fall on me. Never trust a tree while it still on the stump. The tree was rotten in the middle, and caused the holding wood to snap. Good day over all, and never a dull moment.
What did the guy say in the movie Jaws? I think we’re gonna need a bigger boat? I know the feeling. The neighbors free red oak is 32 feet long, 32”diameter at the base and 25” were the top starts. I am going to borrow my bro in law saw. It has a real long bar. So today I just worked on tops. There is free wood everywhere in his woods.
More piles from the neighbors woods. I haven’t even picked up the piles in my own damm woods. I got rounds laying everywhere. I am going to put the saws away and start gathering tomorrow.
I worked on the saws today, sharpened the chains, and put em away. I am done cutting in 2021 unless a tree falls across one of my trails in the woods. I took inventory. I have 3 cords of next winter wood out on my gravel pad top covered. I have 6 and half cords hoarded in the shed for me. And I have 2 cords stacked in rows in the shed to sell. I have been busy this spring. I got this pile hoarded in my woods. Split it all by hand. The woods pile measure 10.44 cords. And last December we bought a cabin and the previous owner left us 3 cords of two year old oak in the woodshed. I got wood CSS everywhere,,
Awesome hoarding! But that's what we have to do, if we're heating with oak. Have to get way WAY ahead. Very nice pics.
Yep one has to think ahead with oak. The oak I cut in my woods is all down or standing dead so I don’t have any problems at all getting it under 20% in two years. Some of it is closer to 15% in two years and I use two different moisture meters to verify that.
I've had good drying times with dead oak, too. I take what I can get, green or dead, but it's nice to have both to even out the supply chain.
No hoarding, only burning, splitting, and rearranging. The dump has had only pine, and I haven't been motivated to go out for any CL offers, no place to put it anyway. I easily have 5 years supply split and stacked. Kinda have gotten into other things, anyway...
Yesterday my nephew called me from work and reported a morel thief just tripped one of his wifi trail cams in my woods. I wasn’t home so by the time I got up there the perp was gone. So today’s project was putting up a gate on the main road going into my woods. Like that will stop anybody. It was a successful day as I found 13 morels and a fresh red oak down over one of my trails. Will turn the oak into firewood Sunday. One doesn’t own a woods-it owns you I’ve always said.
What is the morel of the story here? Keep your mushrooms gated??? Sorry sir, im overtired and extra punchy tonight!
