After felling, bucking, and moving 2 cords of oak by myself this weekend, I was thinking there has to be a better way (cost-free) of doing things to help save my back.
I got to thinking today (this doesn't happen often), would felling the tree and leaving the branches & leafs intact for a couple of weeks draw any significant moisture out of the tree? I know a mature oak draws a lot of water out of the ground everyday, so is it safe to assume by leaving the branches/leaves on the tree and letting it sit after felling for a couple of weeks, that some of the moisture will be pulled out of the trunk to feed the leaves?
If this does work, I would think it would help expedite the seasoning process as well as make it a little easier to move. Then again, maybe this is something everyone else in the world has been doing for thousands of years and I missed the boat! Or, it very well could be a stupid hypothesis...
Any thoughts?
I got to thinking today (this doesn't happen often), would felling the tree and leaving the branches & leafs intact for a couple of weeks draw any significant moisture out of the tree? I know a mature oak draws a lot of water out of the ground everyday, so is it safe to assume by leaving the branches/leaves on the tree and letting it sit after felling for a couple of weeks, that some of the moisture will be pulled out of the trunk to feed the leaves?
If this does work, I would think it would help expedite the seasoning process as well as make it a little easier to move. Then again, maybe this is something everyone else in the world has been doing for thousands of years and I missed the boat! Or, it very well could be a stupid hypothesis...
Any thoughts?