Sixteen degree lows for the next two nights followed by two more nights in very low 20s. High in low 30s. Wind gust hit 29 knots today and sustained all day long of 16-20. Four nights of very hard freeze with daytime highs too low to allow much thawing is rare in this part of Texas (about an hour west of Houston.) Might even have a little snow on Friday.
I was running low on this year's wood so scrounged up some dead and down back in my woods yesterday - when it was 75 degrees. Real ugly stuff but it will burn. I think I have enough to get me through this cold snap. I've had five or six rounds of eight inch diameter hickory that were bucked about three years ago that have been laughing at my 8lb maul and my Fiskars SS for the past several months. Both tools just bounce right off of them and don't hardly make a dent.
I tried to noodle them with a freshly sharpened MS390 (muffler Mod- 16 incher) yesterday and it just threw off sawdust as fine as baby powder. Might as well have been trying to chain saw a cinder block.
I finally took took my sledge and two metal wedges and was eventually able to split them. They all tested at 24% to 26% MC. But you know what? I'm going to put two splits on top of the fire at bed time for my overnight burn and I'll bet they'll do just fine by the time they work their way down to the bottom of the stack. I'll bet they'll keep me from having to get up in the middle of the night to feed the stove, too. You might not be able to do that in your fancy-schmancy CAT stove but my VC Vigilant will handle it. Lord forgive me, though. I might have to clean the glass afterwards.!
Be safe and stay warm, my Friends.
Ken near Bellville, Texas. Halfway between Cat Spring and Raccoon Bend.
I was running low on this year's wood so scrounged up some dead and down back in my woods yesterday - when it was 75 degrees. Real ugly stuff but it will burn. I think I have enough to get me through this cold snap. I've had five or six rounds of eight inch diameter hickory that were bucked about three years ago that have been laughing at my 8lb maul and my Fiskars SS for the past several months. Both tools just bounce right off of them and don't hardly make a dent.
I tried to noodle them with a freshly sharpened MS390 (muffler Mod- 16 incher) yesterday and it just threw off sawdust as fine as baby powder. Might as well have been trying to chain saw a cinder block.
I finally took took my sledge and two metal wedges and was eventually able to split them. They all tested at 24% to 26% MC. But you know what? I'm going to put two splits on top of the fire at bed time for my overnight burn and I'll bet they'll do just fine by the time they work their way down to the bottom of the stack. I'll bet they'll keep me from having to get up in the middle of the night to feed the stove, too. You might not be able to do that in your fancy-schmancy CAT stove but my VC Vigilant will handle it. Lord forgive me, though. I might have to clean the glass afterwards.!
Be safe and stay warm, my Friends.
Ken near Bellville, Texas. Halfway between Cat Spring and Raccoon Bend.
