What do you do with the limbs?

Hey guys, I was just wondering what you do with the limbs and what is the smallest you bring home. Or, process on your own properties. Most of the time i cut down to about an inch or so using the small ones for starters or just to warm up the stove. Right now, since our storms this summer, i have two rabbit brush piles going, both about 8 feet tall. i think i'll rent a chipper and chop them up this spring before the leaves come on. What about when you "pick" or scrounge from someones yard. do you leave it for curbside pick-up or leave the limbs in the yard? i would think if you say you would remove it, it would include the limbs....or other arrangements might be made.
I just noticed how much wood there was in everyone's yards.....and you seldom see any small limbs, hence the question about what you do with them or how small you go and still add them to the woodpile.
thanks for sharing.....

cass

It's a good ? I don't limb down to 13" due to wood in my location. But in the past 8" and up was a pick. Take what u think is worth a win.

I cut and stack in a pile . . . good for the animals . . . and in a few years it will break down naturally and be tree food . . . the whole circle of life thing.

I usually take everything when I scrounge, and if I cut on site, I rake up afterward and take that also. I've got a brush pile about 8 feet by, close to 20 feet, by another 8 feet wide......my plan is to chip it, and use the chips to create paths in the woods that will lead to where I dump Leaves, Grass clippings, and old logs that didn't make the grade.

yeah, i was going to chip it with my little chipper but way too much. think i'll rent one from our local rental and get it done in one day. of course, i could always just let it break down....i've done that before too. after a couple of years, you dont even know its there.

cass

I leave it, if I can. In my own yard I either put it in a big pile or burn as much as I can in the firepit. Save some small stuff for kindling. It does start looking like a war zone once in awhile, especially since I have stumps and branches, etc. Never ending job of cleaning up.

....yup, finding that out now that I'm doing my own and not buying it anymore.

cass

Make good bon fires.
I usually stack & burn in the winter if at home.
Mostly I cut in a state woodcutting area, have to process down to 5".
I buck up 3 to 4" stuff depending on the condition.
Tree tops are good moose browse & like said will decay & feed the new growth trees.

When I'm cutting on usual property & the wood is sound,I take everything over 1 1/2" or so.Small diameter stuff up to 4 1/2" or so is cut to length on older 10" Delta cast-iron miter saw.Much faster than chainsaw with its 40 tooth carbide blade & 1/8" kerf.

Any Hickory or Cherry is saved for the smoker & weber kettle.And a small amount of my usual Red/White Oak also. 50/50 mix of Oak & Hickory or Cherry is especially nice when cooking I found.

Saved for medium sized kindling or starter wood.I get tons of that every year,some cool Fall/Spring days I'll burn nothing but that stuff for 3-4 days until it gets above 50.Saving the larger rounds/splits for the really cold days/nights from Dec through Feb.

Smaller brush/twigs etc are stacked in scattered neat piles a few feet from where I happened to be working that day/week.Good cover for smaller critters & birds.

It's interesting how my wood scrounging goes. When I don't have a lot of wood in the yard, i'll take anything over 2". Now that I have 3-4 years ahead for my Dad and myself, i will only take 4" or greater. It's much less work

I will keep wood 2 inches and up but as I get ahead I plan to taper off keeping the small stuff......although they do heat and I don't mind burning them. I hate to leave wood on the ground. I find it wasteful when I know I could heat the house with it. Can be a real PITA too when it comes time to clean it all up.

i'd love to be able to burn here, but i think there is an ordinance against it. i'll have to check. maybe i can have a drill for our local volunteers.

cass

Under 2" gets chipped and used in the orchard or garden

When I first started burning a few years ago I saved pretty much everything. Now that I am three or four years ahead I've become more picky. Trunks and large limbs get bucked and split. The rest becomes 'habitat' out in the woods where I felled the tree.