In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

WANTED: Dead or Alive!

Discussion in 'The Wood Pile' started by buZZsaw BRAD, Apr 29, 2020.

  1. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    I drive by this wooded area on a regular basis. Five minutes from home. Last week i noticed more trees toppled over in this one area and spied some locust near the road. I stopped to check it out. A big grove of small to medium black locust, dead and alive with several blow overs. Some old and very fresh probably from one of the big storms we had over the last two weeks. A very elusive dead locust grove. Town watershed property, no houses close by and a place to park off road. Stopped Saturday and bucked into sections and cleaned bark off a few. Rather than retrieve dirty logs i left them for the rain to wash off. Some were clean and i staged them close to the road. Maybe 50-75' in. Truck stops while im working and the guy yells "Thank you"!? He was thanking me for cleaning up the tangled mess as we talked for a couple minutes. Thats a first!
    Pics from Saturday IMG_2385.JPG IMG_2384.JPG IMG_2383.JPG IMG_2382.JPG IMG_2381.JPG Worked it for half hour today. Lots there. Ill cut sections and stage by road until a PU full then buck. IMG_2407.JPG IMG_2408.JPG
    Im really starting to appreciated the value of dead locust. Another score im having to work but worth it.
     
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2020
  2. NH mountain man

    NH mountain man

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    Some nice Locust there buZZsaw BRAD , though some of that area looks like you had to hack your way in through the vines. I hate vines, especially the 1st pic. Good for you.
     
  3. amateur cutter

    amateur cutter

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    That's gonna be some excellent firewood for sure, worth the effort!
     
  4. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Not much in the way of vines, mostly saplings and some prickers. Ive only started and i could spend a lot of time working this. May save some for next Fall....prep trees logs etc. If so it'll be tough for me to drive by knowing there is wood still waiting for me there.
     
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2020
  5. Redneckchevy

    Redneckchevy

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    Very nice! Lots of good firewood there. Once I started on it I would have to keep going tell it was all home and stacked.
     
  6. MikeInMa

    MikeInMa

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    Don't go and make it too easy for some one else to take.

    If you cut it, take it.
     
  7. buzz-saw

    buzz-saw

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    You are a Rockstar in firewood hoarding for sure.
    Another good score for you.:woodsign:
     
  8. Midwinter

    Midwinter

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    Brad has eyes like an owl, always scanning the periphery! One eye on the road, and one eye in the woods.
    It's a shame how tangled up with deadfall the roadside woodlands are. My score yesterday was in Westford, a fairly ritzy area, big houses separated by patches of woods. Those woods looked like hell, no clearing done at all.
     
  9. Woodsnwoods

    Woodsnwoods

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    Nice score! Town give you any grief?
     
  10. jo191145

    jo191145

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    Just one question. Where’s home exactly? :)

    Nice score Brad. Agree with Mike. Don’t make it too easy for others.
    Asplundh is rolling through my hood again. Nope I’m not fetching. Too much already waiting for me in the woods.
    But some guy is running around nipping pieces off the small end of any logs LOL. I thought of you when I saw that. I can only imagine you’d jump out and help him cut the bigger stuff too and load it for him :)
     
  11. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Im cutting it to 48",64", 80" sections and either leaving it where i cut, making sure its off the ground, or bringing them to woods edge and scattering so its not obvious. Once i have enough ill bring it roadside and buck and load. Theres a 20' wide grassy section between the road and woods where i park so wood is not easily seen, unless your me!
     
  12. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Most of the time its both eyes on the woods. Town property here. Theres other wood, but i want the locust. Lots of broken tops/big limbs from prior storms. More pics of the tangle. I noticed the locust which made me stop. You ever find dead locust up there? IMG_2378.JPG IMG_2379.JPG IMG_2380.JPG
     
  13. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Not yet. I was certain the guy who stopped was going to give me grief, but thanked me. He lived close by and was a mountain biker. There's trails for that, hiking and horseback riding nearby. I asked the guy if there was someone to ask for permission. He mentioned a lady in a red PU "patrols" the area and may call the cops. With town or state property its been my experience that after all the red tape i go through the answer is no, so when the circumstances arise i just help myself, thus the reason ill be working here in short stints an hour or less. If the lady in red PU stops me, ill schmooze her the best i can.
    The things i go through for locust!:picard: Any other wood id be leaving it. I guess you can compare it to the dead ironwood ive seen you cut.
    The life of a hoarder!:tree:
     
  14. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Why not grab the easy trunks? Get out and play with your toys? Can you stage another log deck for later cutting or do you have that much to process yet? Heck if its red or white oak why not.
     
  15. Midwinter

    Midwinter

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    There is dead locust out there for sure, but I'm a timid type. Not about to jump out of my car and start cutting! I like my scrounges a little more controlled. If it's all ready bucked up, all bets are off!
     
  16. jo191145

    jo191145

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    Well as of a few minutes ago I just might. Let my dog out in the rain for his peemails. Raining good enough he didn’t want to go out yet today. Hear a chainsaw running down the road ??? It’s either on my property or on the other side. Who the heck is out in the rain running a chainsaw? Besides Brad.
    Sure enough Asplundh decided to work in the rain. Cutting ina small conservation area about 100 feet off the road. I’ve seen the tree. A nice tall straight trunked leaner that threatens to push other trees over into the lines.
    I just may go get that one ;) A lot of nice straight splittin wood in that trunk.
    Just thought it was really odd for Asplundh to be so proactive. There’s plenty of trees on the side of the road they skip. To be that far off the road is weird.
    Scores are piling up around here. Many of them difficult to get too tho.
    I play with the toys ;) Took a little ride around my property in an area I have t looked at for awhile. Right behind my house LOL Tons of Small dead standing oak just waiting. Another BIG oak blow over about 200 yards from my house I didn’t know about. Gotta be 50 cords or more out there and more dying off all the time.
    Still chipping away at the logs from two years ago.

    Right now I’m jonsing over a different score. At the end of the road they’re blasting a piece of property that has been mostly useless because of all the ledge. Must have 2000 tons of stone sitting there. About 10% is nice flat stuff. I want that for my driveway :)
    No way to get those pieces out tho. Im not clamoring over a mountain of stone to try and get 1000# pieces of rock off and out of that pile. I can hardly stand up on flat ground.
    Besides, time is money for an operation like that. They won’t stop for a scrounger.
     
  17. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Didnt realize you had that much land as well as wood to harvest out of it. Hard to retrieve not fun!

    You wanting to build a stone wall? Loose laid or mortar? Sandstone?
     
  18. Horkn

    Horkn

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    That's my logic as well.
     
  19. jo191145

    jo191145

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    Have been looking for flat granite curbstone. My idea is to lay them flat as a “cottage driveway”. Basically just two strips the tires run on. First 200 feet of my drive is unimproved town road with no drainage and lots of water coming out of the forest road. No real way to divert it. I’d like to do at least that much and install pipes underneath with a little catch basin before it. It’s gets ugly in the winter with water/ice.
    Also would allow my plow to run on the stone as opposed to kicking up gravel/stone/mud and getting it all over my yard.
    They need to be pretty darn flat. Not all curbing is cut the same. I believe what I’m looking for is called a Medina cut which has two sides relatively flat.

    If I had the means to get those irregular shaped ledge stones. I would dry lay the entire driveway and skip the strips idea.
    More work but free stone ;) Hoarders like free :)
     
  20. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Wanted to go hoarding this afternoon. On and off showers so not too bad. Decided to retrieve the dead locust ive staged after thinking about your replies MikeInMa Redneckchevy & Horkn
    Parked, fired up the saw, bucked some and loaded, repeat. Started to shower and i still had room. Pulled some logs from farther in and a car stops for several seconds and looks. Im waiting to get the boot, but it pulls away. Threw saw and tools in bed and beat feet to my friends where i SS it all. IMG_2415.JPG
    Stack before IMG_2416.JPG
    and after. IMG_2417.JPG
    I pulled a few logs while the mysterious car watched. Decided to go back when i went home and grab em as they were next to the road. IMG_2418.JPG
    I have more lengths there well into the woods. All smaller diameter logs which my back likes.