Sticky, sticky milky sap/oil from them hedge apples. JFYI................horses and other plant eating critters love eaten them apples.....................be forewarned; they can choke on them very easily.
Congrats! Super jealous---hedge is almost non-existent where I am and I've never come across any. It's sort of the Holy Grail of wood for me.
I've never seen anything like that. If I ever came across them I'd think they were Martian brains or something, and we were under attack.
I recall when I was a kid we used to play ball with them! Mostly though it was pitch, hit and then curse at the mess.
Be sure to stratify some of the seeds. As is the case with many hardwoods, the seeds need to experience a few months of sub-freezing temperatures before they will sprout and grow well.
Did you go get more, dusky? That stuff is hard on the saw, hope they're all at a good length... And if you haven't hand split any yet.... Oh boy for you!
I split some elm this summer as well as the hedge... Once I got the big guns quartered, I chose to split along the rings and it popped real easy, but separates the part of the sapwood from the heart. If you've got a knot to go thru, or think it's a nice straight piece, chances are it'll be as stringy as you want to deal with.... or not deal with!
I am gonna go back and scrounge more this week. I do most of my work while the kiddos are in school. I know there is tons of locust, and maybe I can score more hedge. Two of my hedge rounds are perfect at 16" long, the other three need just a bit nipped off with the saw. My daughter will probably claim the cookies. I hope it splits nice, all the pieces are trunk sections. I am gonna keep a piece of the tight grained side to put in my mini lumber hoard. I was reading how osage orange is a superb wood for making one piece handmade bows. I actually have a vintage longbow and believe it is made from hedge! Cool stuff.
