Running out of wood!

[Kenster]

I felled five or six pretty good sized oaks last winter, all storm damaged either by hurricane or lightning. I really thought it would be plenty to get us through our usual mild winters in east central Texas about an hour west of Houston. But we’ve had an unusually early winter with many cold nights. I don’t light a fire unless the temps get below 40. We haven’t had the heaters on for over two years. I’ve gone through nearly all of my seasoned wood. Maybe two nights to go. Drats!
There is a lot of dead and down wood out there in my woods but it would burn in a flash and not do much in the way of providing sustained heat. There are two good sized tops of oaks that fell right on top of each other in different storms over a year apart. I logged the trunks last year but didn’t get the tops that had fallen in thick brush. So, that’s my first target if it ever stops raining here.
I’ve never bought wood but I’m tempted to buy a cord if I could get a good recommendation for a reliable wood man. I don’t want to buy a cord of green wood. I need it seasoned NOW. I have a friend/neighbor who offered my free cut and split wood a month ago but I hated to take the fruits of his labor and, at the time, thought I had enough to get through this winter. He has more than he can ever burn in the next couple of years and it will start to rot. I may have to reconsider his offer.

Just rambling….

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ramble right on over to that neighbor and get yourself some wood. Then replace that wood for him the next time you cut, only give him more than you took. I'll bet that would make both of you very happy.

 

[firefighterjake]

Ramble right on over to that neighbor and get yourself some wood. Then replace that wood for him the next time you cut, only give him more than you took. I'll bet that would make both of you very happy.

+1 . . . and if he doesn't need or want any wood . . . offer to help him get his wood in next year or at the very least buy him a small token gift of appreciation . . . gift cards to local restaurants are almost always appreciated.

 

[polaris]

Yup, take the neighbor up on his generous offer. Then take him a bottle of Jack or whatever suits his fancy and replace the wood in the spring. He may ask you to return the favor some day. It's good to have neighbors that help one another.

 

[quads]

Ramble right on over to that neighbor and get yourself some wood. Then replace that wood for him the next time you cut, only give him more than you took. I'll bet that would make both of you very happy.

+1 . . . and if he doesn't need or want any wood . . . offer to help him get his wood in next year or at the very least buy him a small token gift of appreciation . . . gift cards to local restaurants are almost always appreciated.

+2 Don't be shy, especially if he offered. Just be sure to repay the favor somehow.

 

[BrotherBart]

Take the wood and replace it later. To repay him take him out for a night on the town in downtown Winnie. :lol:

 

[Tony H]

I agree with all take the wood now and look for a way to do something for him be it wood , drinks, or what ever you notice he doesn't have but could use.
We buy gas cards or hardware store cards sometimes for people. I even ordered them over the net and sent by UPS to My BIL because he would not accept one if I tried to give it in person ( he gives them back to the kids ) .

 

[bogydave]

Yes, take the wood offer. You got a good neighbor. It will make him feel good to help.
You will eventually square up with him some way or another, that's what good neighbors do.

 

[chad3]

Have a buddy on another post that didn't want to take wood. I offered to "let" him give me wood to replace the wood he took from me (really don't need it). He was alright with that. Grab the wood if he has extra and replace it when you can. If someone is offering wood, they prob. have enough to get the through. Good neighbors are hard to find. I have one that I bring a few good splits to every now and then and he returns the favor with a drink or several...
Good neighbors are hard to come by, take advantage and return the offer someday if you can.
Chad

 

[iskiatomic]

Ramble right on over to that neighbor and get yourself some wood. Then replace that wood for him the next time you cut, only give him more than you took. I’ll bet that would make both of you very happy.

I think it is just about time to make Dennis the Mayor of Hearth.com. Pretty much has the answers, and can you find a nicer guy?


KC

 

[gyrfalcon]

Ramble right on over to that neighbor and get yourself some wood. Then replace that wood for him the next time you cut, only give him more than you took. I’ll bet that would make both of you very happy.

I think it is just about time to make Dennis the Mayor of Hearth.com. Pretty much has the answers, and can you find a nicer guy?


KC

I'll vote for that.

 

[Kenster]

I was about to call my neighbor yesterday to see if the offer for the wood was still good. He called me first and wanted me to check with another friend to see if we could still borrow his three point post hole digger to put in some fence. So, I'm able to help out the neighbor with the wood so that he doesn't have to go rent an auger. Both the neighbor and the other buddy are nice, generous people who will help out or loan equipment when asked. They have the tools and equipment (and the $$$ to buy them) that I don't have. The buddy bought a high dollar Zero turn mower for his property, then gave me his three point finish mower because he had no use for it anymore. Said I'd do him a favor by taking it and getting it out of his shed. Now he's giving me a virtually unused back blade because he doesn't like it and never uses it. Other neighbors have loaned me equipment such as disc cultivators and box blades, telling me there's no point in buying one for a one-time or rare use when their's just sits there unused for months or years at a time. This makes since but I hate to be the type of friend/neighbor that seems to always be taking and not giving. I have nothing that they need. I really feel guilty about this. I just try to help them out when they need a hand with a project, or pick up the tab when we go out to dinner or movies with our brides. But the scales are unbalanced. My buddy tells me that no one is keeping score.

Back to the wood issue, He said no problem. He can spare enough to get me through the winter. I offered to replace it with green wood or pay him for it. He said not to worry about it (but I will.) I'll definitely at least replace the wood when I get some cut. For now, hopefully he'll let me help with his fence project which will also involve the felling of more trees. I plan to help buck and split the wood. (He owns a power splitter.)

 

[savageactor7]

Huh, sounds like the Kenster is blessed with excellent neighbors...it's good to be you.

 

[Kenster]

I went with that neighbor yesterday to borrow a three point post hole digger from another friend of mine. When we got back he showed me his stack of splits and told me to help myself. I couldn't bring myself to take his splits but there was a big stack of bucked rounds about 12 inches in diameter. He said they had been laying there for at least three, maybe four years. Nicely checked oak and hickory. I took a bunch of those and did ended up taking a couple of nights worth of good, dried hickory splits.
He also had a bunch of downed oak and hickory logs about ten to twelve feet long and 14-18 inches thick. Way too heavy for us to lift into the trailer. I went and got my 8N with boom pole and chain. Meanwhile, he cut the longest log in half. I used the tractor to lift one end of the log into the trailer. Then we'd move the chain and lift the other end up and I would slide it into the trailer. Drove them over to my place and hooked up the chain and just drug it off the trailer and over to my firewood production place back in the woods. Those logs have been on the ground for a few years but are not the least bit punky. I reckon they'll be burnable as soon as I can get them cut and split. He has more like that on the ground and is about to fell six more good trees that are either too close to the house or are standing dead. I can probably get some of that, too. I have offered to help put up his new cedar pole and wire fencing as a payback for the wood. I also discovered yesterday that he keeps a fridge full of Miller light out in his workshop so I plan to drop a couple of cases by when he's not home. Otherwise, he wouldn't take them. I'll try to be as good a neighbor to him as he has been to me.

 

[Wood Duck]

I've got a few questions and comments. First, you have already burnt six good-sized oaks? I don't know how large they were, but that should have been three or four cords of wood at least. Seems like a ton of wood to burn in east Texas. Second, the oaks couldn't have been very dry in less than a year of seasoning in east Texas - did they sizzle and smoke a lot? did you have to leav ethe air supply wide open Trouble lighting the fire? Third, what is wrong with the wood on the ground? if it is not rotten, it should be OK as firewood after it dries out. You seem worried that it will burn too fast. I'd be worried about the opposite problem, that it would be too wet and punky and not burn well enough. Finally, the logs from your neighbor will be pretty wet. Wood, especially oak, won't season very well in log form on the ground, especially in a really humid place like where you live. I am sure it will burn, but I'd expect a lot of smoke, creosote, and you'll use a lot more wood than you would with drier wood. Finally, seem like you have some pretty good neighbors!

 

[Kenster]

Virtually all of these were standing dead, except for a couple that were blown down in a hurricane. One was a lightning strike several years earlier that I finally took down after most of the limbs had fallen off over the years. Really good wood but seemed very dry when I took it down. That was a year before I burned anything. Seemed very seasoned when I burned it this year. Does lightning boil all the water out of the wood? Most of the others were "topless-" just the tall trunks. Two of the storm damaged ones were just the trunks. The tops fell into heavy brush and thorns that I did not retrieve, just pulled the trunk out with my tractor.

 

[Wood Duck]

Lightning doesn't change the wood very much, except the parts that were directly hit.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Our neighbor had 3 oaks struck by lightning. One was dead the following year. The second was dead soon after and now the third one is dead. I was amazed when the lightning struck that first one. We found long strips of wood and bark thrown 50 yards from the tree! All around those 3 trees were lots and lots of bark. Lightning can be pretty strong!