Breaking the myth

Dennis, I'm sorry to hear of your accident and hope you get well soon. I truly value all of your patience and advice in my first year and look forward to learning more from you in the future.

Great post BS..........................just wish I lived closer to you! I figure I'm about 1 years burning ahead now.

I hope the recent accident wasn't too serious Dennis.
There are new folks coming on here all the time talking about how they plan to put in a new stove, and invariably one of us will stress the importance of getting dry wood.
You're a huge part of that.
I've been getting real antsy about the wood supply, since getting the last log load done. We couldn't afford to get another this year, so I've been out on our property getting wood.
Again, you're a huge part of that.
Now, ......I'm not sure if I should thank you or curse you. J/K
Thank you.

Dennis I remember as recently as 3 years ago being very excited that I finished cutting the winter's supply in September - the thought of getting 3 years ahead never occurred to me at all. Now I'm almost there, so your posts have been a big part of that. I really enjoy reading your posts and we all benefit from your experience. Take plenty of time to recover and God bless!

Dennis,
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Agree w/all that's been said already. You are very much the reason I am 4-5 years ahead (and why I split vertically) . Get well soon Dennis!

Get well soon BWS. Although I don't post very often, I am an avid lurker and really enjoy reading your posts. I have a number of them saved for reference.

Get well soon Dennis, your help and advice is much appreciated.

Billy.

Dennis-

Appreciate the time you have invested in the forums. Early on, you inspired me to work on getting at least three years ahead- and I'm pretty nearly there now. I definitely do have enough wood now so I will not have to burn anything not properly seasoned. I've learned so much from the guys in here who know wood burning, but you do sort of stand out as the guy who makes sure the newcomer learns this important principle- 3 year old splits always burn good and clean.

Be well, my friend, hope you are on the mend...

My little Red Oak wood cubes salute your much more impressive accumulation. I hope to get there some day!
BTW these are now 2 years old, and I do have 3 year old stacks scattered about.

Dennis, you devote your time to try to respond to most posts and help newbies over and over again that have the same questions. You never tire of helping others with your advise.

backwoods -

it's all been said here. all i can resound is - thank you for your advice, which comes from a place of deep experience and... wishing you a tenacious recovery.

Those are some great looking stacks!

Get well soon Dennis . . . but tell us the truth is this "injury" waffle butt when you forgot the cushion for the milk crate?

Dennis you gave me the confidence to look people straight in the eye and tell them I want my wood at least seasoned for 2 years before I burn it. I hope you a speedy recovery and many more years of enjoying the wood cutting and burning said wood.

Dennis, I wish you a speedy recovery and hope your able to enjoy deer season. You've helped so many more people on this forum than you probably realize. For at least 2 years I was a snooper here, never posted but took advantage of all hearth.com had to offer including your many post on seasoning wood and times required for different species. With that said, I'm 8 years ahead!

wishlist;
You are by far, in the top .00000001% of wood hoarders
Blaming Dennis for your obsession is not gonna fly. You took it to a whole new level. LOL

When you started, what was your goal?
How did you get to be 8 years ahead?

My wife barely defends my wood now, If I got 8 year ahead, she'd have me committed LOL

Bye the way; Good job

Thanks Dave. I remember burning wood as a young kid and we would go " north" on state land and scrounge oak etc. Lots of green stuff that didn't burn worth a hoot but Mom and Dad didn't know any better. I always enjoyed cutting, splitting and stacking wood and when we built the addition on the back of the house is when I started researching wood stoves and found this site.

Seen lots of post from some old milk crate splitting guy who was determined to help others with wood seasoning etc... I thought maybe he knows what he's talking about and if he's wrong I would " hunt him down. " Lol....Dennis lives about 20 minutes from me. :D
So before we even had a stove or an addition I had about 4 cords of ash all c/s/s. With the EAB dead ash is everywhere and word got out and friends and neighbors would call me to come get it. So I did! The funny part is my next door neighbor has horses ( they rub and kill trees) and lots of dead ash etc... and I would sometimes come home from work and see more wood thrown over the fence and into my pile. Nice neighbors!

My goal is basically is to always have 3-4 years on hand but I must confess as long as I'm able to I will be having fun and hauling wood. I've had people stop and want to buy wood but I just can't do it.

Dennis, great post ! Here's hoping that You have a speedy recovery . Thanks for sharing Your hard earned knowledge . We all appreciate it .
All the best , John

Yea, the fun part is a strange thing.
I know I like doing it, hard work & all I still call it fun. Part of the strange addiction to work being fun. Hard to explain to others

But those of us who call hard work fun, will always have lots of wood.
Being called "strange" fits me, & I handle that just fine

No "government bail out" or "hand out" ; needed or wanted here.
If I don't make it, it's my fault.

Most definitely. In just a few months you won't even think about the hip. In fact, you'll probably wonder why you did not have the surgery sooner.

Ha! If you lived closer I'd probably help you get 3 years ahead.

No fault of the milk crate Jake. That would have been easier for sure.


A quick update. I gave in and saw the doctor today and now wonder. I thought he used a hammer or mallet but when he was tapping my back he said it was only his finger and he was tapping lightly. Man, my back still hurts from that. So, tomorrow morning I'm having an x-ray and we'll go from there.

I will be pulling for a simple and speedy recovery...people who havent had back problems dont know what its like. When breathing is painful and you cant even wipe yourself...you know you have a problem. Take it easy...

Dennis - it's pretty obvious that you are well respected by everyone on this site and also responsible for much on the OWD (Obsessive Wood Disorder) on the planet. Get well & enjoy the cake!!

Dennis, firstly, I wish you well for a speedy recovery, anything that puts you out of action is really bad when you are used to being active.

When I first bought my stove, I had been burning wood on an open fire for some years, and realised very quickly that there is not much wood stove burning experience over here in England.

Looking around to find out how to get the best out of my stove led me to various sites in the USA and Canada, where manufacturers had given various instructions which were well worth reading.

However, there was no way of asking questions, and I kept digging about and found this forum about a month after the pruchase of my stove.

My very first question was answered by you Dennis, and since then you have become a woodburning hero in our house.

Virtually everything I know about wood burning has been learned from this site, and much of that from you.

The first year was a struggle, partly as we didn't have enough well seasoned wood, but partly because I realised the need to get ahead as quickly as possible.

From about 2 months ahead to over 3 years ahead has been achieved in barely 2 years.

No words will ever be enough thanks for the help you have given us woodburners, but I'll say it anyway.......

A huge thanks, and Get Well Soon.

Cos it's a very long way to come out and split wood for you, and I know I'd have to join the back of a very long queue of willing helpers.........