Fired up the saw today

[Kenster]

It's been almost six months since I had my MS390 in my hands. I love being in the woods this time of year and finally had a chance today. I got the Stihl out of the shed and checked it out. Added it oil and gas. It fired up on the fourth pull. I've had my eye on a recently deceased oak on the out edge of our woods. Upon closer inspection I see that it is tightly surrounded by two and three inch oak saplings. I'd have to take out a large number of these for a landing zone, or, at the very least, an escape path for me. I'll put that one on the back burner for a while.

I bucked up one ten inch oak that has recently fallen across one of the paths in the woods. Then I started trimming a fairly large stack of "too longs" that I stacked up last winter. I cut them down to fireplace length, restacked them, then tossed the stubbies into the uglies pile.
Ran out of gas about that time and it was getting dark anyway so I called it a day.

I didn't do a lot but it got me fired up to get back out there. I've got half a dozen drought killed oaks in my back woods and a huge water oak at a neighbors down the road that has been down since Spring.

 

[Pat53]

It's been almost six months since I had my MS390 in my hands. I love being in the woods this time of year and finally had a chance today. I got the Stihl out of the shed and checked it out. Added it oil and gas. It fired up on the fourth pull. I've had my eye on a recently deceased oak on the out edge of our woods. Upon closer inspection I see that it is tightly surrounded by two and three inch oak saplings. I'd have to take out a large number of these for a landing zone, or, at the very least, an escape path for me. I'll put that one on the back burner for a while.

I bucked up one ten inch oak that has recently fallen across one of the paths in the woods. Then I started trimming a fairly large stack of "too longs" that I stacked up last winter. I cut them down to fireplace length, restacked them, then tossed the stubbies into the uglies pile.
Ran out of gas about that time and it was getting dark anyway so I called it a day.

I didn't do a lot but it got me fired up to get back out there. I've got half a dozen drought killed oaks in my back woods and a huge water oak at a neighbors down the road that has been down since Spring.

I was reading somewhere a while back that LOTS of trees, even in some of the cities, were dying from lack of water last summer in parts of TX. Has the situation gotten any better of late?

Pat

 

[Kenster]

Pat, Houston reported 60 million trees lost to the drought. About the same that was lost in Hurricane Ike about three years ago. 60 million in one city! They say that it's about 20% of the total tree count in the city. We live about 75 miles west and slightly north of Houston. There are dead trees all around. We have very thick woods on our property and there are several obviously dead large oaks. I'm sure more will become evident as time goes on. In my cross country drives up to Dallas and also into East Texas over the past couple of months I've seen countless dead trees. Some have totally fallen over. Others have lost virtually all of their limbs. The dead ones don't release their leaves so if you see a tree full of dried leaves you know it's dead. We took care to water three important Live Oaks in the front of our property. They are the offspring a very historic Live Oak in Austin called "The Treaty Oak" where Indian tribes used to meet. These trees, plus two huge oaks near our house got extra care this summer.

It's pretty sad. I used to see a dead tree and think "ah.. firewood!" Not anymore. I just feel sad.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Good to hear you are back cutting again Ken.