Hi all! Long time hoarder, first time scrounger here. So the family and I went to the local farmers market a couple of weeks ago. On the property where the farmers market takes place I spied a black locust that had been cut down and piled. A week or so went by and couldn’t get this pile off my mind. Like some sort of wood stalker I even went by a couple times to see if it was still there. I reached out and secured permission to pick it up, because the mental anguish of not getting it was just too much. I recently saw a couple of persimmon trees in the same condition and had no clue who to ask for permission, and then they disappeared so I couldn’t let this happen again. I secured permission on a Monday, went to get it the next day after work. Here is the pile upon my arrival. The normal 10-30 inch cut range was applied here, with the stump being left a little longer. For the most part though they weren’t too far off of being cut square. Load 1 Load 2 I finished load 2, picking up everything pictured, at around 9:45 pm. Traded sweat droplets for carpenter ants all the while. It was a brisk low 90’s evening with a very low risk of frostbite. Definitely a good time. I think I will be looking for more opportunities to scrounge going forward. It was nice not having to fell and buck this one, the trade off being the consistency of cut lengths. Now to cut down, split and stack!
I can sure relate. The off cuts would've really gotten under my skin, but that much BL wouldn't have swayed me. Hats off to you for loading those intact Will you let it sit and allow the bark loosen or split and stack as is? I don't often get huge BL and letting the bark fall off has become my MO.
I will probably split and stack as is, whatever bark comes off in the process will go straight to the burn pile. I had to split/rive some of the bigger pieces to get them onto the trailer. There was no way that I was lifting that stump intact on my own.
Be mind full of any loose bark as it smells like decaying flesh when it comes loose and has a rather unpleasant odor when burned. My normal MO is to section up anything larger for ease of handling and limited room at storage. What diameter was the stump? My largest BL Was 28" IIRC
I didn’t measure the stump, it was big as far as BL goes. Had the typical center rot that bigger BL gets. I had snapped this picture also before making my final effort at getting this stump loaded. In between the truck and trailer is the section of stump before it got widdled down to pieces I could handle
Your first scrounge is Black Locust? Johnny tell the contestant what he has won!!! Well done, I’m sensing you were bitten by a bug. There’s no cure just go with it.
