Not used to having this quality of logs in the wood lot, especially red oak. The only benefit from the caterpillar apocalypse. Nice being able to process logs right here at home as opposed to scrounging out of the woods. Still moving slow, but I think I've been able to make more progress with firewood processing in the last few months than in the last few years. After watching all that equipment in action last autumn and last week while he was felling trees on my property, it shows that it helps to have the right toys! I can do a lot with my tractor/grapple combination but man, that excavator with the swivel claw is incredible. And I'd love to have the winch from that skidder (I'd settle for the entire skidder). When he came by yesterday morning to pick up the equipment, we spent a good while just going over the details of that monstrous wood chipper (takes up to a 2-foot log). The company that makes them keeps contacting him to upgrade to a new one however so much of the components on the new ones are plastic and would never hold up to the places he hauls this one and the beating it takes. That thing shreds more limb wood in half an hour than I can do in a full day with my chipper. Surprisingly enough although stiff and sore, I actually didn't feel too bad the following day. That's a win in my book.
Going back to this white birch with the wicked lean towards the tree line, it was the first of the four large trees he felled, and the only one he didn't use the winch cable on. Despite the lean, he still dropped it right where he (and I) wanted it (in the staging area as opposed to in the woods). If I had dropped it, I either would have just gone with the prevailing lean and felled it into the woods or I would have had the rope puller and additional chains/ropes on it to try and pull it where I wanted it. Always impressed by the skill of the pro loggers. Two of the tall oaks had all their limbs on the side towards the house, so those were the most worrisome. Thankfully they came down with no issues. The third red oak I was waffling on because it was still hanging on to life this year. I've lost so many of my oaks that I really hated to drop one that might survive but after a long discussion with the logger, I took advantage of his knowledge (and the fact that he was already here with his equipment) and opted to have him take it down. Glad I did as once it was down, he showed me where over a third of the trunk was obviously dead. It may have lasted for another year or two, but it was on its way out. The crowns on the oaks were massive. I think I have over a cord in just limb wood (and I ended up chipping a lot of limbs that in previous years I would have kept...right now it's at the point where I have a backlog of logs to process, so losing some limb wood that I just don't have the time to process isn't that bad).
One project I would like to do next year (on top of all the other projects already in the queue) is to cut a dedicated ATV trail through the property. After living here for over 16 years, one would think I would have done it already. However, I have an aversion to cutting down any live trees on my property and just have walking trails through the woods. Now, with all the standing dead from the caterpillar apocalypse, I guess it's time as I will need to get the ATV and trailer a lot closer (especially on some of those large oaks). During the frozen months, I could do a full loop on the property, however during the months when the bugs are plentiful and the ground isn't frozen, one section is somewhat boggy as a spring flows through there (the moose love it). There is a spot where I plan to build a small bridge just wide enough for the ATV & trailer in order to span the narrowest section where the spring flows. This way I could drive a full loop instead of trying to turn around in the woods with a trailer. The other impediment, aside from the boggy area, is the large amount of boulders (we are after all, the Granite State). It will be fun trying to map out a trail that will require the least amount of live trees to be cut down but also snaking around all the boulders in order to have a relatively flat trail. One way or another, a trail will have to be cut through, either for me to get in there or to get a skidder in. Pics are from earlier in the year when I was working on a couple smaller standing dead WB and RO.
Get a can of the spray paint they use when working on the roads and walk around and mark off the trees in the way. If you want to do a different possible route, use a different color of paint. Hopefully you can find a route that requires minimal cutting. I love trees, wood and firewood but sometimes you have to look at the greater good (better access to your property and removal of dangerous... standing dead trees, that just happen to heat our homes really well! ) You can also plant some trees later on to offset what you take. Glad you made it through with out too much pain, heck it doesn't get any easier, no matter who you are.
Good points. I don't mind taking down any Eastern white pine. Would prefer not to take down too many spruce or hemlock and would do my best to leave any hardwoods (since I lost so many to the caterpillars). Good idea about replanting and a good opportunity to replace some conifer trees with deciduous. Thanks!
Wondering if this could be black locust? Just spotted the sapling this morning while prepping for the storm and was kind of shocked to see the thorns. I have NEVER found black locust on my property, and only once in the last sixteen years did I almost have the chance to scrounge any (it was an old ornamental tree on a friend's property they were going to let me drop...of course they backed out and then moved....). This tree is just one of a bunch of saplings that grew up over the last few years in an area that I had previously cleared. I'm planning to cut all the other scrub saplings down but if this is BL, it will of course stay.
Yup. Pretty sure it is. Not all saplings have the thorns. Ive encountered saplings like that at a lot of my BL cuts. PITA they are when you find them the hard way!
Thanks. Yeah, I wasn't even paying attentions because I never have thorny trees and almost walked right into this one. Now you have me curious about other saplings that I have (and have already cut down) with no thorns. Guess I need to do some research on identifying BL.
In my woods here in Wisconsin, Black Locust is the last tree to flower in the spring. Easy to see my BL pockets then.
A good trail system is one of the best improvements that can be made to woodlot if you are at all utilizing or managing.
Im honestly not that good at IDing them as saplings. The thorns were the give away plus the open forest floor. They grow fast (right Eric Wanderweg) They love sunlight and rare to see a single tree as they usually sprout from "leaders" sent from a mother tree. Ive followed a BL root 30' and another tree sprouting up from it. Most times I see them in little groves. A small score of BL I cut this year was from a smaller lone tree.
Strange that a black locust popped up in an area where there were no established BL trees growing. But seeds get transported far and wide by vehicles, wind, animals, and moving fill material from one location to another. Maybe the seeds were brought in years ago and lay dormant until the area got enough sunlight? It’s still a small miracle though. I gave my coworker a few BL seedlings a couple years ago and the deer browsed them all to death.
I was definitely surprised to see the thorns and realize it was possibly BL. Plenty of deer around here but they were apparently too busy decimating my young apple trees to pay any attention to this tree. While it's not growing in an ideal location, I will concede and let it live and just work around it. I'd say it's already at least eight feet tall with a healthy spread of branches.
They make for a decent yard tree IMO. Especially where you’re at, the shade of the nearby woods will keep them from spreading aggressively. Yours looks to be 2-3 years old. I have one growing in partial sun that was started in 2022. It’s about 15’ tall. I wouldn’t be surprised if it puts out its first flowers this upcoming spring. That’s probably their biggest redeeming quality as a yard tree. The hanging blossoms are nice to look at and incredibly fragrant (and edible, they taste like sweet peas)
It's mostly out of the way (circled in red in the picture), so I'll work around the unintended tree. I'm looking forward to watching its progress since I've never had a BL here before.
