one ash down,2 to go

We had three ash out by the road that has been dead since we moved here 7 yrs ago.Yesterday wasn't too bad out (high 20's),so I decided to take one down. I laid it right where I wanted to, got it bucked up and into the polebarn.Today under the heat of the wood stove I split it inside the barn. I split a couple of rounds that were 16 inch in diameter and the moisture reading in the middle was between 13 and 16 percent.After I got is all split ,I mover it to the basement next to the stove. Tonight it is warming us really well, I love from tree to stove in two days, Works for me.In the next week the other 2 are coming down.Cant wait.

Ready to burn ash.
Great score.
I bet the dry stacks of splits would make a great picture

I always wondered why a dead tree will be so dry but if you cut the tree down it wont dry out until cut and split. Is it because the dead tree has been dead for many years or am I missing something else?

Weatherguy - my best assumption is WIND. Standing dead in the wind acts as convection removing all the moisture. Also, most of the ash/elm that has been dead for some time and standing is barkless which clearly helps with the convection.

Drop that tree green and leave it low or even on the ground and it gets way less wind activity. Just a best guess??

Over many years we've cut a lot of dead trees. Some are dry enough then to burn but most are not. The best we've ever found is elm. If we leave it until the bark is almost off then at least the top half of the tree can be burned right then. Not so for the bottom even though the tree has been dead for many, many years.

I cut up a big branch of locust that had been hung up in another tree
for at least 5 years. No bark of course and never touching the ground.
Moisture was 15%. Great hot fire right from the splitting block.