So I live south of Atlanta in a subdivision with a hoa and have central heat. We built our home 10 years ago and don't need wood for heating. We have a fireplace that I love to use but don't have many cold days to actually use it. Some years at Christmas it's so warm that we have to open the windows. I bought wood several years ago from a guy that claimed it was a cord of seasoned wood. Big mistake. It was neither. It may have been 1/2 a cord but actually lasted a few years due to my limited fires. Then last fall I began wandering through the woods looking for downed trees to make my own firewood. Pine trees everywhere........easy to cut and split........but everyone down here says they will burn your house down if you burn them inside. This didn't seem logical to me. It's wood right. That's how I found this forum. I have learned to get it under 20% just as any other firewood. So once I began locating downed trees and processing them into firewood I felt like I needed more and more. I have found from reading your posts that I may have this same addiction. I love cutting and splitting wood and enjoy the peacefullness of the woods. I can't seem to stop. I probably already have a 3 year plan due to my limited burning but I am going for the rest of my life plan. I may as well while I'm young (54) and can do it. I don't have any fancy equipment and process by hand with a maul and wedge. I'm on 1.3 acres that is my property; and surrounded by over 200 acres of HOA protected land so there are plenty of areas to find wood. All of my hoarding is done with a wheelbarrow through the woods. My wife thinks I may be crazy but I explain that there are worse things I could be doing with my spare time. My full time job is as a Paramedic on an ambulance in Metro Atlanta. Here is my next project and would welcome any help with another identification. David
Hi David! Welcome! Fellow paramedic here. Also a firefighter in the Denver metro. Collecting wood is a perfectly healthy hobby! I find that collecting and processing firewood helps me get my head straight after a long and stressful shift. Keep up the good work, my friend! PS - Sorry, I’m unsure what kind of trees those are. We don’t have them around here. As the old expression goes… Looks like firewood to me!
Heck yeah, nothing better than making chit loads of firewood you may never need or use. Gotta love a good old fashioned 80deg Xmas in the south. Welcome to the club!
Sounds like perfect stress free time on your own. I'd just take the stuff already on the ground. Regardless of specie. Wheelbarrow is perfect. Sounds like all you really need is a little here and there to keep occupied. Enjoy.
Welcome to the club! Maybe there are others there with fireplaces. Perhaps you can sell bundles of your excess? Keep your hobby/activity active and make a few $'s.
Sounds like you found the right support group here booneatl! "Hi my name is Brad and im a wood hoarder" Nothing wrong with just a few simple hand tools. I only have a "few" saws, my truck and my friends hydro splitter. Have you considered selling your extra wood? Once i got over hoarded i did and never looked back. Pick up a handful of regular customers and take care of them. Sell an honest amount..cord, face cord etc. and dry wood. The trees may be aspen. See if you can get closer pics of bark and leaves.
I second this. If you enjoy the hoarding process like most here, collect above your needs & sell some to fund a vacation upgrade or something else you normally wouldn't do. It's kinda like gym membership that pays you & you're the only gross sweaty guy in the place.
Like others said sell some to support your hoarding. What’s the market for firewood like in the Atlanta area? Ads on FB market place and CL work pretty good around here.
Paramedic in Atlanta? Who is your tail gunner? welcome aboard, from a fellow Public Safety. Hoard on!
Welcome to the club! "I just can't stop" is something I think all of us have said and will continue to say. As long as we can physically do it I think it is a form of therapy, slightly different for each of us. I split some douglas fir for the first time this week and couldn't stop sniffing it. Anyone driving or walking by must have thought I was a nut. hahahahaha.
David, with your type of work you may have picked one of the most ideal things to do in your free time. Its probably about like here. Go to the city and when returning home, can't wait to get back outside, even if it is to take a walk in the woods. I don't think anyone can be close to God than when alone in the woods and away from crowds and noise.
Welcome fellow addict! Could you get a picture of the leaves? The split picture made me think of tulip poplar but the leaf would help narrow it down.
