Major score...

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willisl64

Member
Apr 6, 2008
68
South Central IA
I've been eyeing a dead standing oak in my neighbor's pasture all summer long. Right along the highway and not 300 yards from my wood pile. So, I stop by about 2 months ago and ask about said tree and he says "sure, its all yours." Went down today to let him know that I'd be cutting it down in the next day or two, and he says "great - by the way anything dead back there is free game, I cant do anything with it." So I hop on the arctic cat today to mark the dead standing trees, in case I don't get to them all till after the leaves have left.

Holy mother load! I marked no less than 10 mature dead standing red oak trees, 2 down red oaks, and 3 standing dead shagbarks. Not to mention numerous down large limbs from last years ice storm. All the trees are quite large, I'd guesstimate 10 to 12 full cords in the end, and all of it within earshot of the house. This will be enough for 3 years of burning, making me set throught the winter of 2012.

Guess I'll be busy for a while!
 
I have some friends with lots of cattle and lots of pasture land, some of it with many many oak trees (Bur) on it. They mentioned some dead oaks that were down they'd like to get rid of and said I could have anything out there. Not quite as much as what you got but an easy 5 cords all together. All of it on land where I can drive the truck to and it's already down. I'd guess it's been dead for decades as there isn't a scrap of bark left on it and all the smaller branches are long gone. Thought it would be ready to burn this year but I got a moisture meter and found the wood still wet in the main trunks. Pieces under 10-12" in diameter are dry enough but anything bigger pegs the meter at 35%.

But yeah, between that and the other free oak I've picked up this fall I'll be set for the next couple years. Plus there are 4 or 5 more large standing dead oaks out there just waiting to come down.

Free stuff is great!

Alan
 
good for you willis...the best scores are the close scores.
 
willisl64 said:
I've been eyeing a dead standing oak in my neighbor's pasture all summer long. Right along the highway and not 300 yards from my wood pile. So, I stop by about 2 months ago and ask about said tree and he says "sure, its all yours." Went down today to let him know that I'd be cutting it down in the next day or two, and he says "great - by the way anything dead back there is free game, I cant do anything with it." So I hop on the arctic cat today to mark the dead standing trees, in case I don't get to them all till after the leaves have left.

Holy mother load! I marked no less than 10 mature dead standing red oak trees, 2 down red oaks, and 3 standing dead shagbarks. Not to mention numerous down large limbs from last years ice storm. All the trees are quite large, I'd guesstimate 10 to 12 full cords in the end, and all of it within earshot of the house. This will be enough for 3 years of burning, making me set throught the winter of 2012.

Guess I'll be busy for a while!
Click to expand...
WOW nice Job following up!!!!!!!!!!
 
nice score - now take pictures so we can really drool. I have thee oaks at work that I can have just need to get time to go get them. I think the wife will have a better understanding after it is cold outside and we are nice and cozy this year.

Stew
 
When I read stuff like this...I do not like living in a city!
 
Be very careful with the dead standing trees. Vibrations from your saw can loosen those widow-making limbs pretty quick. Make frequent glimpses at the limbs overhead. Very nice score. With all those trees, you could be set for 5-7 years.
 
Excellent score.......I have oak envy. Its my favorite wood to process and burn.
 
WOW! Great score! Sounds like you are set. We have a similare situation. I have access to dead and down elm droped 4 years ago and piled up in pits. All I have to do is clean up sapplings around the foundations of the buildings, and do some other clean up of down limbs etc... there is enough wood there for years :) , but I have to drive about 1/2 hour to get there. :-/
 
i am sooooo jealous!!!!!
 
Risser09 said:
Be very careful with the dead standing trees. Vibrations from your saw can loosen those widow-making limbs pretty quick. Make frequent glimpses at the limbs overhead. Very nice score. With all those trees, you could be set for 5-7 years.
Click to expand...

this is SO true and a reason that dead trees deserve being treated like things waiting to kill you

To prolong my life expectancy, I have sometimes put a big, long rope or cable (longer than the tree is tall) on a dead tree, as high as I can reach then hooked it to a hitch, and taken a nice running head start with the vehicle so that you suddenly "twang" the cable and shake the tree.

The shaking tree then, hopefully, drops at least the first few batches of already-rotten pieces that would otherwise be waiting to fall and possibly land on you as you try to cut it and fell it.

no guarantee, but it beats the russian roulette of doing it any other way
 
Good call on the dead limbs - I plan on jarring the tree with the loader on the tractor to shake loose anything that is too terribly rotten. "Most" of the limbs look pretty good, but looks can be misleading. Pics will follow in the following weeks when I get the first few trees bucked up.
 
willisl64 said:
I've been eyeing a dead standing oak in my neighbor's pasture all summer long. Right along the highway and not 300 yards from my wood pile. So, I stop by about 2 months ago and ask about said tree and he says "sure, its all yours." Went down today to let him know that I'd be cutting it down in the next day or two, and he says "great - by the way anything dead back there is free game, I cant do anything with it." So I hop on the arctic cat today to mark the dead standing trees, in case I don't get to them all till after the leaves have left.

Holy mother load! I marked no less than 10 mature dead standing red oak trees, 2 down red oaks, and 3 standing dead shagbarks. Not to mention numerous down large limbs from last years ice storm. All the trees are quite large, I'd guesstimate 10 to 12 full cords in the end, and all of it within earshot of the house. This will be enough for 3 years of burning, making me set throught the winter of 2012.

Guess I'll be busy for a while!
Click to expand...

Sweet.

A good firewood score is the last legal high around here.
 
Risser09 said:
Be very careful with the dead standing trees. Vibrations from your saw can loosen those widow-making limbs pretty quick. Make frequent glimpses at the limbs overhead.
Click to expand...

Or limb it before taking it down. . .
 
I was knocked unconsious twice in my life. Once was when I was 17 or so and someone gave me a chainsaw and told me to go cut down some trees. I did. I didn't know anything about dead limbs. Fortuneately I was wearing a hard hat. Although I got knocked out, it never hurt, and I went right back to work. One minute I'm cutting trees, the next I'm laying on the ground looking up with a dead limb and a running chain saw next to me.
 
pybyr said:
this is SO true and a reason that dead trees deserve being treated like things waiting to kill you

To prolong my life expectancy, I have sometimes put a big, long rope or cable (longer than the tree is tall) on a dead tree, as high as I can reach then hooked it to a hitch, and taken a nice running head start with the vehicle so that you suddenly "twang" the cable and shake the tree.

The shaking tree then, hopefully, drops at least the first few batches of already-rotten pieces that would otherwise be waiting to fall and possibly land on you as you try to cut it and fell it.

no guarantee, but it beats the russian roulette of doing it any other way
Click to expand...

Do the same thing, and then leave the rope on(hooked on the front of the truck) and have my son keep the tention on, most of my trees are on ditch banks and this saves me a lot of time dragging them back in the field. They always lean into the ditch from being worked around for years.
All my wood comes from many 1000's of acres that have ditch banks and wind rows, I have a hard time keeping up before plowing so I concentrate on the wheat field every year. this gives me a few months to work on them before they get to ground worked for the winter.

Great score, and many farmers are more than happy to have you clean the dead stuff providing you clean up the limbs and watch the crops. The modern equipment is taller and does not like limb damage.
 
What is crazy is I have dead stuff like that all over my place and nobody wants to come and get it.

There is more wood coming down each year than I could ever burn in a years time. It is here for the taking and I have even offered to help people with getting it.

Nope. People rather burn the LP gas and watch the TV. Then they gripe about the price of LP gas and the fact there is nothing interesting on TV. Go figure.

Somebody that wants to help clean the place up for the taking of fire wood is a darn good neighbor from the farmer's point of view.
 
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