FBM score, 15min away. Black locust, slightly covered, sort of on the ground, sitting for eight years! 99.5% was solid. Bark falling off like a burl-esque show at buZZsaw BRAD ’s bachelor party. Not even 1/4 cord, but for me it’s great. I might be a little short for this coming season depending on conditions, so it’s nice to have some insurance. I didn’t have my chainsaw, so I might come back and get the larger pieces on the right in the last pic and offer to take down the rest of the tree… BTW I sent a few mice scurrying for a new home, had a raccoon come around the corner and walk right past me like I wasn’t there (I screamed like a 9yo Scandinavian schoolgirl), and then with two rounds to go I disrupted a large bumblebee nest. Sure they’re the cutest of the bees but it was still unnerving. No one had lived in this house for a while, so it was pretty wild for the city. Here’s the wood at home. Hopefully I can split it tomorrow.
Nice little score there JK. The shelf life of BL is phenominal. Ive cut at roadside scores and found wood almost fully buried from years earlier cuts. One reason i dont cut all at my little honey holes of the stuff. I have a list of locations of it that ive yet to hit. Cant wait for November when i can start again, but will take fresh cut green if it becomes available.
That’s a great score! As a buddy of mine says about snow storms “Those nickel and dime amounts add up over time!”
OK WAY less than 1/4 cord Used an old 10lb maul for the first time (it’s all I had around at the moment)…man that’s a workout. A little temporary stack before I blend it with the primary supply: MM readings hovered around 13-15, a rare sighting for me. The guy said he wants to keep the rest of the tree in place for a snag for wildlife. I mean, I get it sort of, but c’mon man! Anyway, stoked to get a little quality wood for this upcoming season.
A little locust is better than none. Beautiful clean firewood there. Save it for an abnormally chilly day. Snag for wildlife?!?! Maybe if it wasn’t rot resistant! The only creature I’ve found inside dead locust were some field mice, and that was in an ancient tree hollowed out long ago by carpenter ants and locust borers.
buZZsaw BRAD Not too cold. It’ll maybe get below freezing 10-12 days a year? But the “summer” season isn’t too long…we easily could’ve burned wood a couple weeks ago. I know most of the PNW folks here rely almost exclusively on lower BTU wood because it’s readily available, so I’m sure I could too. But after reading all the antics on this site it’s just too much fun to chase the good stuff!
You articulately summarize what was bouncing around in my brain. After eight years the tree still seemed so solid. No one is benefitting from that thing—why not me?
I can appreciate the owner’s good intentions anyway. Dead trees are a valuable part of the system. In the woods behind me are a couple tall snags that are home to both birds and bats, and are frequented by woodpeckers. I won’t cut them up until they hit the ground. But that locust… I hope either the owner has a change of heart or you come across more. How widely planted is it in your area?
It pops up as available more than oak but less than maple. Hard to know if it just isn’t valued by arborists so they don’t keep it for themselves, or if there’s more of it that gets cut down. I’d say at least a third of my total inventory is BL.
