Operation Chestnut Oak clean up has officially begun

Today a I started dropping the first of some 2 dozen dead standing chestnut oaks I have been eyeing for some time now. It felt good to be out working in nice cool dry weather.

 

That will be a lot of fire wood when done. Show us some stacks when you get it all processed, it will be interesting to see how much you get.

 

Good job. It was a great day in the woods here today also.

 

I got both stems of the oak, and a standing dead black birch on the ground today and started some bucking. This oak was about the most deteriorated out there. I'll certainly get a huge amount of firewood out of it, but I hope some of the less degraded trees might yield some saw logs for lumber. I want to build another barn sometime soon, and it would be nice to get some/all of the siding out of these trees. We'll just have to see what condition the wood is in. If it's all firewood grade, that's fine too.

 

Yes I agree it was a good firewood fetching day.

 

If you look closely, you can see a bunch of other trees dropping their bark in the background.

 

Like you and your oak, I've got a lot of dead standing beech that will be keeping me busy.

You have to love the high btu stuff. You know it's going to keep you warm, and in your case, might become a barn.

 

That tree in the background isnt dropping its bark.......Its a buck rub,

bob

 

Said it before and I will say it again, so jealous of you guys and your fancy hardwoods.

 

Axe & wedges
A nice, "On Target" job!

 

Another great day in the woods today! Wife and I clean out a small path in the woods to put up some more fencing. Sheep will appreciate more room. I got to run the clippers and the chainsaw (small 2-6" trash trees) while wife got quality seat time in the tractor.

Then, in the afternoon I put 6 more chestnut oaks on the ground. Most of them look to have solid heartwood. Only one had some minor center rot. The MS461 (25"bar) was really earning it's keep these last two days.

The dead trees are 12-20" dbh, mostly in upper range ~18"

 

You, my friend, are going to be in great shape in three years!

 

That's some nice looking work & wood right there.

 

The Wood Wolverine Had to take out a few small 2-4" gum trees for the fence line in the morning. Then, decided to wage all out war on every stinking gum trees in that general area of the woods. NONE, of them will be C/S or S for firewood.

 

Yep, and I've got nearly 20 more left to drop, C/S/S.

 

ain't nothin like chestnut oak......I had a bunch of it a few years back, just an awesome firewood IMHO

 

That size doesn't need to be split, just cut and stacked.

I have never burned gum, is it not with the time? With a tractor, couldn't you just load the bucket with the small gum pieces?

 

Gum has interlocking grain, like elm and sycamore, so it is a huge pain to split. Then, once it's dry, it burns like paper. Given how many other specie I can choose from, the gum just doesn't seem worth it. I took down a medium sized one this fall and The Wood Wolverine helped my splitting it. That job convinced me that it would be the last time I split gum for firewood.

 

My name is Jason and I endorse this message