Spot on about a little kidney stone causing so many issues. Many a septic patient I’ve cared for that all started with a kidney stone. Glad to hear you’re on the mend. Few appreciate the mental toll this takes on an individual, so hats off to you and whatever support system seems to be working so well for you. I’ll bet now that you’re back to making firewood, it must be therapeutic on a whole nother level! Good to have you back
I believe this one was next. My pics are in no kind of order now, so not sure I can go on correct timeline. A blowdown that I had been looking at for a year or more. I had recovery pics, but that phone got dropped in the river accidentally never to be seen again. Went back and got more of the same red oak. The outer bark was rotting, so I took extra time to peel it all off on the splitter. Ended up with some primo stuff that will be in the stove soon.
Ice storm took down several trees last spring. This big boy was the first I laid into as I needed the trail cleared. Yield from that tree. Pic of other casualties. I didn't take pics of the one in foreground coming out. These also came down in the ice. Hickory, red oak and got some sugar maple too I think. Aftermath of cleaning up some junk aspen. All that work and no good wood. Bleh.
Much of this early stuff was me pecking away a little bit at a time. Since I'm at work 50 hours a week...all of it sortof is. Weekend Warrior, I am. My strength and stamina today is at least twice what it was at this time. Weeks may have passed between sessions.
Glad to hear all is well. Had bouts of diverticulitous myself. Not fun. First time it was close to bursting after the ctscan. Good to hear you quit smoking and lost the weight. Never a bad thing.
Prepping for surgery. I think this is after the snow melted off. Some piles starting to form. The butt log of that large red oak would lay there all summer, taunting me.
We not only had ice damage this year, but wind damage as well. One of my main trails up this hill is under the tops of these trees. Used a secondary to get up there to survey the situation. Sure look like a lot of work. And it was. I basically pulled what I had to to the processing area and left the rest where it laid. Was getting warm by now and I'm not big on firewood in warm weather. A honey locust fell almost on top of my lower stacks. I'm finally going fancy! Decided to put the honey locust on pallets instead of piling. I have been on pallets at home for many years. I lost way too much wood to ground moisture/dirt and it seems to draw bugs worse. I now stack almost everything, including rounds in hopes of speeding the drying process.
Donated a load of stove ready ash to my buddy's widowed mother. Used to sell his dad some wood before he passed. She heats with propane and can afford it, but likes a nice fire in the stove and for emergencies.
Couple sticks of cherry that I don't even remember where it fell. lol Edit: Now I member. This was another Ice kill from alongside main road up hill. Left some red maple laying in that spot as I had bigger fish to fry.
RCBS Welcome back. Looks like Mother Nature has given you a lot of wood to cut. You do have a lot of big wood on your property and it isn't that hilly either. Nice to have flat areas to work. Your woods remind me of what I have here and how nice big oaks have tipped over.
I cut down a couple of honey locusts near my lower processing area. Trying to get rid of them. Not keen on the thorns as I have many tires. Random load of poplar that I think I gave to a buddy. A white oak that was blown over. Just recently got it out.
Tore the 550 down to easier swap an updated carburetor to it. Boght this little fellow a couple years ago specifically for grape vine cutting. It's turned out to be very handy.
I don't say it too loudly because I'm superstitious...but...I feel better right now than I have in many years. Some people think I'm nuts as I have embraced the Hoarding as my physical fitness routine. Even have a friend that comes to help sometimes now. He enjoys the work also. He currently has no wood burning aparatus aside from one of those fancy smokeless fire rings. I'm working on him though. He now owns a 550 mkii and is trying to figure out how to put a stove in his house. Yes, I'm enabling. lol
Summertime I usually back off the wood. Finally got me a pole saw which I've wanted for a long time. Without getting too graphic I will say that I was very nervous that certain requirements would be placed on me in order to be treated. Thankfully I made it through without having to do something that I did not want to do. Tobacco is still in my life. I didn't trade habits as I have always used dip. Gonna have to go before long. I'll know when the time is right. Took me 6 weeks to ween off cigarettes. My findings are that it's not 100% about the nicotiene. Certain activities become something that you smoke while you do them. Making myself stop while driving was the first big step.
Great pictures! Now that's what I call a rehab facility. What I would do to be out there right now... Thanks for sharing.
My pictures do not do the elevations justice. The area you see me working wood up at in the woods is roughly 175' higher than my lower stacks. Yes, downed wood has been plentiful recently. The property is large enough that there is always some good wood laying. A lot of it will rot where it falls. This is due to difficulty of recovering it due to terrain and quipment limitations. In reality, I need a tractor with about 30 more horses and a Farmi winch, or an old cable skidder. I do as much as is practical with what I have to work with. Some of these logs should have gone to mill, but I lack a way to haul and the haulers would eat up any monies that might have arisen. Been there and done that already.
More coming. I think there were around 200 photos, but some are getting lost in the mix and some still do not want to upload. I'm already itching for Saturday and can't wait until I have enough light in the evenings to do some stuff outside.
You can see the thrown pile being depleted as I make more to take it's place. Don't mind the neighbor's mess. He's a nice fellow, just likes to be surrounded by junk, I guess? Still getting through the honey locust here. Red maple bucked. This was planned to go to my buddy's mom from the moment I drug it out. some red oak stack starting and obligatory A-hole pile lol Now we are coming on. Starting to look like something.
Kinda nerdy but I was super excited to buy this non california gas can. Ebay don't care about CARB. ha! More bucking. Yes, that's *the butt log. Red maple. Done. Or so I thought... A day of reconing. I will often shy away from real big wood due to it being so much work to process. I tried the fiskars maul on these but was denied. I ended up tearing something in my left wrist trying to hold the rounds up to the splitter. @Backwoods It never has healed all the way. I will always prefer to maul them into chonks I can lift to the splitter table. Yep, butt log still there. lol
