Not hickory, it's blue ash. I cut a bunch off my place. Note the pin hole in the center of the rounds for one, common to ash species. The color of the wood also does not look right for hickory. It should have a darker center with lighter sap wood for hickory, or at least any hickory I've cut and split. But.... I could be wrong, it happened once before! Blue ash, same as the second batch of pictures of your rounds. See Virginia Tech Dendrology Fact Sheet Well... I think its blue ash.
Rounds don't season quickly. There needs to be a larger surface area, as in splits, running the length of the wood in order for the moisture to pass from the wood. Its almost impossible for moisture in the center of the round to work it's way along the length of the round and escape through the ends of a round. Gotta have a lot of open surface area to season well.
If it’s blue ash... I’d season a minimal of two summers in good conditions... sun & wind... environment is always the dictator...
