Not mine. Not yet. I've got 5 that are mostly dead. Very few leaves this year. Anyways... My SIL's parents had a tree come down in a storm a few days ago. It's an ash that's been dead for a while. It's rotted from the bottom up as well as from top down. I'll have to see if there's anything salvageable from the middle. Where it rotted off the stump. I'm not expecting any part of it is good for firewood. They're good people. I plan to head over in the morning and get it cut to manageable pieces. I haven't run a saw for several weeks. It'll feel good to fire one up!
Common sight these days. Doesnt look like much if any salvageable wood in there. Good on you for helping out. Great day for it for sure.
I'm on an Ash tear this year... today I might have taken down the 10th or 12th so far this season. I still have a few living, but surely not for long. I'll get those next year, I guess. I figure it's better to fell and stack them then to let them bake any longer for just the reason you photo'd... rot. I saw some EAB beetles this spring, but not since. And the other thing is that some of the dead Ash have little shoots growing from their bases, so maybe they can still live? As much as I like having good, dry firewood almost immediately after I cut them down, I do want the species to survive.
I have an ash that barely leaved out this year. Some lifeless branches. It is sending sprouts from the base. I doubt the tree is going to survive.
What you describe is typical of the trees last ditch effort to survive. They are still pretty good for a year or two IME if left standing. Have a few in my woods i felled that were the same.
When you see those new shoots, that is the best time to cut them as the wood deteriorates quickly after that. As for seeing the beetles, you usually won't find many. The only ones I've seen have been after the trees were down for a while.
With the help of my BIL, the tree is cut and moved out of the way. I'm surprised at how solid alot of the trunk is. The sapwood has deteriorated, but lots of meat left otherwise. I have some splitting and noodling ahead of me.
I went back today for about 90mins before running out of gas. Mostly sledging the rounds into lighter chunks. I cut a narrow kerf to set the wedges. The "to haul away" pile is growing. Not sure when I'll return. Other things are already on my schedule.
After putzing around, I finally have enough wood broken down into small enough pieces to load them into my friend Billy's pickup. Today was moving day. Pile to be moved Loaded up. F250 8ft bed. Unloaded and stacked in temporary area until I have a rack empty to receive it. I'll spend an hour here and there breaking down what's left. Then, it'll be moving day again.
After a month of weather and personal scheduling conflicts, I returned to finish this effort. I split, noodled. and stacked what I'll be taking. Some of it was marginal. 445 was the tool of choice today. There's enough there for a load in my buddy's f250. In a weekend or three. What was beyond marginal, I moved off the lawn, out of the way. I'd say I came away with about 2/3 cord. More than I first thought.
Finally, brought home the last pile of wood. My friend with the PU helped out. It cost me breakfast. Just some splitting and stacking left. This should close out this thread.
Anybody i know named "Bill" i call that so i can remember their name. "Mr. Ed" is another one. Curse of my late father as he was terrible at remembering names. even mine! He would look at me mid sentence and hesiatate trying to recall my name and i would always say "Stuart" (my older brother) to which he would instantly curse "dammit Brad, why do you always do that"? "Got my name right that time didnt you dad"? was my reply.
