As the title suggests this be the first time I've dealt with any of this stuff, don't have much of it at all on the property. Once I saw this one was dead though I couldn't wait to get after it! First light of deer season revealed this shag laying on the ground and it's twin standing there ripe for the taking as well. I seem to be more interested in scouting for firewood than hunting deer these days. Bottom right corner is the shag laying on the ground and it's twin still standing. I had my phone out taking pictures of deer to show to my 3yr old, there's a doe hiding in their. Several weeks back I had a cousin of mine come out and we cut the shag that was down and some black locusts also, but left it there where it was at the time. It was a miserable day, rained the whole time we were out. Then I locked my keys in my truck at the back of the property for some stupid reason, then he got his truck stuck and I had to make "the call" and have my wife bring another set of keys to me which was a 20 minute drive each way and she was "happy" to do so. Should have postponed the cutting for another day but his older brother had just passed away and I just wanted to do something with him, and that day was definitely memorable. Back on track, yesterday I finally went out to pick the wood up. Turns out the rumors are true and Shag is heavy heavy stuff! My options were uphill or downhill and through the creek, since it was warm and snow was rapidly melting and the ground was getting slippery uphill would have been like trying to go up a down escalator covered with ice. The obvious winner was downhill and through the creek. Original plan was to cut the other part of that shag but after taking this stuff out I figured if I did that then I probably wouldn't have enough left in the tank to make the delivery I had planned later that day. This was also my first outing with the husqvarna log tongs (not pictured) and I love those things! Wish I had gotten them sooner Took that stuff to the barn where I'm keeping my primo stuff these days and where I've started to do alot of my splitting also. I've been working my way towards a degree in firewood management, learning from some of the top minds in the industry here one FHC. This past summer I started to stack in there so it would be top covered, the stacks are on old gates. I'm building more stacks on the other side also. So far I'm keeping red oak, black locusts, cherry and hickory in there to sit for a fee years hopefully. All my other wood is currently outside but it's been moving fast enough that I'm not going to bother moving it into the barn. After getting that truck unloaded I switched trucks to make that delivery. A friend text me the day before and aksed if I had wood for sale so i told them yes ive got plenty but its not for sale, its free! So I loaded up and headed out. Loading was all on me but unloading was a breeze because there were several more hands grabbing pieces and tossing them out. I grabbed a few pieces of several species and tossed them in also to show his kids the different species and let them feel weight differences and see the colors and characteristics of them, whether they cared or not I don't know. Being the first time I've done any wood work in over a month, now I'm quite sore from it. Keep choppin that wood!
Hey, if it was all easy it wouldn't make a good story! I envy you the hickory and that barn! I have pleasant memories of Brown County, I went to school in Bloomington.
We get down to Brown county every now and then, and to Bloomington several times a year. Wife's grandparents own a little campground in Bloomington not far from Monroe.
Beautiful firewood! That also is some beautifully stacked wood in the barn. As for the doe, she is not that well hidden. Nice to see.
I've had some shagbark a few times, good stuff for sure. I cut a good sized one with a bit of a lean and that one sticks in my memory bank. Dang thing barber chaired on me, caught me by surprize but I got out of the way in time.
I've got some shagbark waiting to be S&S I haven't burnt any in the stove yet, but looking forward to it.
Superb post all the way around, even if you had to make the “rescue call” Boogeyman MarkG and I had some dealings with the thaw this past weekend and I tempted myself with the notion of making “the call” to a napping Fire Flake, but cooler heads prevailed and we got the loaded truck out of the mush.
Thought you called me the “DOS” in the past? You had quoted Boogeyman.... everything lined up ok for you? As in, he was quoting Dennis....
