WinonaRail's Wood Yard

I guess you'll just have to keep looking for the perfect processing and storage location.

 

That's fine with me! I'll get it cut over the next few weeks but it needs to go sooner rather than later. My wood yard is completely full. I have several loads of wood chips clogging things up at the moment. I need to get the skid steer bucket from my father-in-law so I can get things cleaned up!

 

Believe it or not she came out last night. I ran across some bone dry ash while I was splitting a pile of walnut so I threw the dry stuff in the back of the Gator. She took that up to the roadside stand for me to fill up one of the empty stacks. Then she helped finish off the top of the IBC tote I was filling. It was nice having her outside with me.

 

I'm definitely pushing for closer to 2 years. I stack in IBC totes for great air flow. They're stored in an open area in full sunlight. We'll hope for the best but I have plenty of room to let it sit as long as necessary.

 

Saturday morning I had a little time so I went out to do some cutting. A local property manager over 2 communities messages me anytime they take trees down. Apparently they brought in large equipment and knocked trees down and piled them next to the road. I brought home about 1/4 cord. Most was cottonwood with a little hickory and dead ash.

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We were gone almost all day Saturday. After we got back I made a delivery around 8:00. This is 1/4 cord in a 275 gallon IBC tote. Mostly ash and maple with some cherry.

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In the latest episode of Tales from the Roadside Firewood Stand, I came home from the delivery Saturday night to find some bundles were gone. Sell, sell, sell! So I unlocked the cash box and reached inside. I didn't feel any bills and sadness began to creep in, thinking I'd been stiffed $15 for 3 bundles. Upon closer inspection, I looked in and saw change - quite a bit. I began digging it out and stopped counting when I got to $10. Once I was in the house, I spread it all out and did a final count. 60 quarters. Local laundromats and pop machines may soon be out of business but somebody is enjoying their backyard camp fire.

 

This is always a welcome sight when I come home. I had to refill the $40 stack and put out more bundles last night.

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The weekend was super busy in the wood yard. My father-in-law came over this morning to lend a hand. I put him to work on my bundle maker and he filled the back of the Gator. The roadside stand is packed. I picked up 8 IBC totes Sunday night so I showed him how to cut one side out and how to make tops out of the bladders.

I expanded the wood yard with one of the piles of wood chips. Now it doesn't need to be mowed and I have storage for empty totes.

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Those IBC's work great for your set up. Nice that you had help. I spread a load of chips in my PA/storage area up here. Cleaned it up nicely. Normally just muddy and leaf littered.

 

I have 12 275 gallon totes and 2 330 gallon totes waiting to be filled up in my new storage area. I need to get busy! I tend to get chips with about half of the wood deliveries. I'm slowly covering the whole processing center (about 1/2 acre). The wood yard where wood gets dropped off is covered. That area tends to be wet in the spring so the chips have been a huge help.

 

I bought a new zero turn that was delivered today. I happened to be home for lunch so I had to try it out. It's a 2022 Bad Boy ZT Elite with the 24hp Kawasaki engine and 60" deck. It is vastly different from my John Deere mower but I think I'll like it.

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Are you mowing on the side too? Leave a flyer in your wood bundles? Maybe you can incorporate a hydro splitter into the mower?

Nice looking machine. Best of luck with it.

 

That's great. Keep encouraging her. Tell her how nice the time spent together was...

 

Looks good

 

Was your JD a zero turn too?
Great looking mower.
We got the CZT model in 2013. Been a good machine. Hope you have many years of service from it.

 

Well now you've got me thinking. I don't need a side business for my side business right now but...

 

I've been doing that. She seems to have a bit of an allergy to some woods so I don't want to push her. It's nice having her there, though.

 

I still have the JD 445. Biggest lawn tractor they made. Front and rear hydraulics, 60" deck, cruise, the whole 9 yards. Vastly superior to the new Bad Boy except in the department of speed. I need to put some money into the JD for repairs. I think there's a place for both machines in my stable. But I needed something to mow with right now. I was out until almost 10 last night. Knocked the back yard out pretty quickly.