Good to hear you are closing in on 3yr plan. Will the ash score top that off? Looked like quite a bit there. Happy hoarding!
Definitely should get me close if not over. Wish I could tell how many cord is there. Friend wants to keep a little of the ash. Think I was telling you they have a stove but are paranoid to burn inside. Now he wants a little for their outdoor pit for the summer. Not a problem. Will put up a nice stack for them. And probably restack their current pile of firewood I gave them a couple years ago that’s now toppled over and getting soaked
Thanks!! Got a couple hours in on the splitter today. Worked through the two front rows of rounds in the pile. Mixed hardwood. Sugar and red maple. Red and black oak. Black birch. Couple rounds of white birch. Ash. Beech. Cherry. Locust. I split a lot of this stuff. Based on the bark I thought it was locust. Don’t remember where I scrounged it from. It’s not the small locust I cut down alongside the driveway recently. If it’s locust it’s definitely a type that I’ve never worked on. Wood was deep yellow. This picture doesn’t show well just how yellow the wood is. It also had a “spicy” smell. Almost like a vinegar based hot sauce. Very strange. Also, anyone recognize what bug this larvae is? It was boring under the bark in a piece of Ash. Can’t figure out what bug it’s from. Not EAB as far went I can tell from pictures. Not sugar maple borer or locust borer.
Got a little woods time in this morning. Tackled a storm damaged beech that’s about 20 yards off the ATV trail. Tree was about 13-14” DBH but narrowed quickly. Was a bit of a challenge. Had to rope the top of the tree that had fallen and pull it off the branch it was hung up on. Pulled with the ATV to get it down safely. Little bit of a pain since I couldn’t get the ATV close with all the thick brush. So I had to run the rope over to the trail and pull from a distance. Went to fell the remaining trunk and one branch up high held it up against the pine tree behind it. Put a couple wedges into the cut to see if giving it some extra lean would cause it to go. No luck. So I very cautiously roped up the trunk and same deal as before - pulled it with the ATV. After that it was easy cutting. Little bit of rot in the center of some of it. Will be a couple trailer loads next time I have the trailer attached with me. Had the little 445 out, too, for a little branch cutting. That thing doesn’t get much use lately so had to throw some love at it. Also didn’t realize until I was done cutting that I was working in a couple fresh moose beds.
I’m sure there’s a nice machine in your future. I say you should keep chasing that tractor though. For here, ATV makes the most sense ... as much as I’d love to have a tractor. It really has changed my life as far as growing the farm enterprises. Makes all the difference. Especially being on a hill.
Did a little stacking this evening on the back side of the shed. Got two and a half rows done. First bay closest to the house is fully stacked in now. Got in all the wood I hauled from the neighbor the other day. That was just about a full row in the bay so it’s not a full cord like I thought it’d be. Then got in all the stuff I split from the rounds pile over the weekend. Thinking I’ll get more splitting done tomorrow. Maybe a little time with the Fiskars Isocore.
I didn’t know you got an isocore. Works well. I’d love to try an x27 on stuff that splits pretty easy like oak or ash since the iso can get heavy in a short while.
Yes sir. Picked one up a couple years ago when I cut down this oak behind the work shed. Don’t use it often but I enjoy it when I do.
I used an X27 pretty much exclusively til i got an Isocore last October. Its great for straight mostly knot free wood. Works best on fresh cut rounds IME. Red maple, for example, if the ends start to check, it gets very tough with it. Pick one up Matt, you wont be disappointed.
Was able to get back up the hill this morning in the crummy weather and get some more work done to a clearing I’ve been working on slowly since January. Haven’t been able to put much time into it until this week. It’s not really priority but I enjoy working up there on something that I hope gives back to the wildlife and I’m getting trailer loads of good wood out of it. I’ve been doing some reading and have talked with a few people I know in the state Wildlife Division about maintaining a clearing for wildlife. Recommendation for small scale wildlife management is one acre of clearing to every 20 acres of woods. So I chose an area at the back side of our property on top of the hill that was logged under the former owners and was already somewhat open. Lot of early succession growth (birch and striped maple), beech suckers and low brush amongst some smaller diameter maples and shaggy hickory. The trees weren’t too healthy. Exterior damage from the logging operation and pretty much every tree I’ve cut down has had some center rot. Here’s a panaorama of the job so far. You can see all the big oak stumps left after the loggers moved out. Once I pile up the loose brush, haul out the good wood and make a few passes with the brush cutter I think I’ll toss up some simple bird houses on poles with predator shields. Thinking that I can have the brush and wood moved by April given that we have a little extra time now with all this virus stuff happening. Here’s a few pics of the cutting from this morning. Center rot... This guy in the center of the picture below made me nervous the other day. Standing dead oak. Leaning one direction then leaning back the opposite direction. Stared at this one for a long while before tackling it. Biggest worry was the top snapping back and falling on me as it started to go. That happened to me two winters ago when working in the sugarbush - I pushed over a small dead tree and the top came down on my head and gave me a concussion. Even with a hard had on at all times now, not going through that again. And a few more pics from when I started back in January.
A lot of the red maple I'm burning this year had a lot of center rot and quite a bit is softer than I have had in the past as well. Luckily a poor supply of firewood aligned with a warmer than usual Winter.
Wonder why red maple is so prone to it. Seems like nearly every time I cut up a red maple it’s got center rot.
Got out back this morning and tackled a couple small oaks to be used as mushroom logs. Needed 25 more logs and it’s too late to take the few overtopped maples I have marked for mushroom since they’re budded out. Oaks aren’t budded yet. This oak lost its top recently. Not sure if it was the ice storm or a wind event. Beautiful wood. Part of me feels like it should go to the wood pile. Like many, I love burning oak. So seeing it go to use elsewhere and not be used as firewood feels odd. Oak also happens to be one of the best log mediums for growing shiitake mushrooms. So sometimes I have to throw some oak into the mix in the mushroom yard. 14 three foot long logs out of that tree. Use my smaller saw again today. Husq 445. Been really enjoying it lately. Also have this large oak I want to tackle soon. The tree in the center of the picture, to the right of the ATV. Haven’t measured it yet. It’s got some size to it. Lost its top in the recent ice storm. I’ve already got the wood from the top split and stacked in the wood shed. Can’t let this one go. It’s right on the ATV trail. Just wish it was a little lower on the hill. Just beyond the ATV in the picture you can see where the trail drops off. Steepest section of the trail. It’s hard on the brakes going down with a full trailer of wood. Can feel a little hairy at times too if the ground is slick at all. I’m either going to roll the rounds over and let’s them tumble down the steep section and load them into the trailer from below or will take the long way around to my more shallow trail descent. We’ll see.