Green beech definitely has some weight to it. For those 22-24" rounds I got last season, I used the grapple on the tractor to load them on the log splitter.
We see a lot of the beech bark disease up here as well. Seems like so many non-native insects and diseases are running rampant and destroying our hardwoods (emerald ash borer, beech scale insect, chestnut blight, etc.).
I'd take all of those 8 to 10" I could get my hands on. Easy to handle, buck with an 026 instead of a 660 & not feel like somebody beat you up at the end of the day. Not seeing a downside here at all. Nice haul!
Beech is becoming one of my favorites as well. Beech bark disease is down here also doing a number on Beeches. I have a cluster of 5 in the yard that all have it, I have been watching them decline the last 3-5 years. They will come down soon and go to the firewood pile.
Nice score! Very convenient location. Can't complain about that. That should get you a nice start for the drying season.
It's really too bad. The EAB has done a number in Connecticut. We had a lot of ash on our property and just about all have been killed off. And of course, Elm is but a distant memory....
I have that luxury, but those huge trees aren’t worth the fight, when there are plenty of 8-12’ers out there. Feel like something is getting accomplished when an entire tree is cut and split.
Finally had some spare time today so I began to buck the logs dropped off by the arborist last week. It was perfect timing that I picked up the new 500i yesterday afternoon! I just hope the temps aren't a sign of how things are going to go this year (68 in early April is way too hot for this time of year). So far everything I've bucked that the arborist dropped off has been quality beech, red oak, and silver maple.
Our temps have been in the low 70's without any cloud cover and we're very dry, yesterday I cleared a partial trail and felled a rotting Ironwood and then called it a day. We're suppose to get some rain starting on Tuesday, we need it bad.
It's quite a shock considering I was still burning 24/7 just a few days ago (and still have a few piles of snow left). I'm concerned about how this year is going to be with temps and dry weather. A good portion of my state is already in a partial drought and little rain is in the long term forecast.
Finished bucking everything from the log load the arborist dropped off. My original estimate was short and it looks like about 1-1/4 cords (not counting the 5 trees I had felled and bucked the same day the logs were delivered). Everything was primo wood except for one silver maple which had some punk (but will still make great SS wood). Ended up being about 50% red oak, 30% beech, and 20% silver maple. Time to get splitting.
It looks like we'll be cooling off again and with some rain coming in, we'll put in a few loads of pine this weekend. We still have over three face cord left that we had planned on burning. I think our area is in a moderate drought starting off this spring.
Lost my older one to cancer last year. Same bloodline with one generation in between (grandpa and grandson).
