Cleared lot and wood piles

[snowfreak]

Awhile back I posted some pics of my wood road and bridge. After about a months worth of after work and days off I finished off clearing a small area to stack and season the wood piles. All of the wood stacked came from clear cutting that small area and I chipped the punky stuff and all the brush. In spots I have chips 3 feet deep, makes for cheap fill. Now I can go out and selective cut the standing dead stuff and have a place to process it. The stacks are 50 feet long and a minimum of 4 feet tall (unseasoned) I figure roughly 2 full cords per stack. I've got a bit of everything in there (maple, cherry, elm, white birch, yellow birch, poplar, ash, beech, and even some tamarack for kindling wood) Seems to be a good breeze there most days and the stacks are far enough apart that it does not shadow the next row. I have never split yellow birch before but the rounds were every bit as stringy and difficult to split as elm even with a hydraulic splitter. Anyone else encounter this or am I the only luck one?

 

[snowfreak]

I went back about 100 feet with the chips. I figure as I go along I can keep putting the chips down on the trail. There was a very bad ice storm up here in 98 and the underbrush is amazing. When I first walked the property I couldn't see 15 feet in front of me.

 

[snowfreak]

Stack #3 is started and was going to get a nice load of sugar maple added to it today but its raining out and there looks to be no end in sight. Where the blue barrell sits is the 3 foot deep chips. Chipping has it own little learning curve like splitting different wood species. Try and chip when green, no leaves, padded gloves, and breathe in deeply when chipping pine. I have often wanted to bag some fresh chips and bring them in the house to the fresh sent of pine but the Mrs. keeps putting the kabosh to that idea. Oh yeah and butter or margarine do one heck of a job getting sap-pitch off hands and equipment.

 

[suematteva]

Snow Freak,

Is that true about the butter or margarine?

Thanks,

matt

 

[snowfreak]

It is true. If I have sap all over my hands and arms I get a tablespoon full from the margarine bowl or cut a slice off the butter stick. In no time the sap is all off. I read this on another site several years ago and found out it works quite well. I find the margarine works better because we keep it at room temp, the butter is in the fridge.