Christmas; A time for...

[Woody Stover]

...yes, getting more wood.
More of the ubiquitous Red Oak. This one fell from my neighbor's onto another neighbor's property.

Pretty good haul, a 34-incher.
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Knowing how slow the Red Oak is to dry, I decided to try something different; I drilled a series of seasoning holes in the wood.
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[TimJ]

Nice try Woody
All my red oak looks like that........that stuff split like a dream hey

 

[DanCorcoran]

Seasoning holes...heh, heh, heh.

 

[Woody Stover]

.that stuff split like a dream hey

Yeah, pretty much, but there are probably five or six big gnarly ones that I left down there for the power splitter.

 

[bogydave]

Great score
Very nice pile of splits.

Guessing you are not having a white Christmas with the green grass still showing.

 

[Woody Stover]

Great score
Very nice pile of splits.

Guessing you are not having a white Christmas with the green grass still showing.

Not for long! They are calling for 5-9" with winds in the 20s, gusts in the 30s. I think I'm shortly going to be having a Wisconsin flashback! I'll show these winter wimps down here how ya drive in snow.

Here's another pick of the pile. There's a lotta wood there, maybe pushing a cord including the big gnarlies...
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[bogydave]

Oak envy here
Plowed the driveway last night. Snow & wind here. Warmed up to 26°.

Nice trailer

 

[ScotO]

Nice haul, woody. That puppy has been dead for a while, might only take 2 years to season instead of the typical 3 that oak seems to need....

 

[Thistle]

Looks exactly like the dead Red/Black Oak I'm cutting all the time.Split in normal sized pieces,its normally good to go in 12-18 months around here for me.And 20% + of the rounds 6" & smaller are ready to burn the same day.I stack that stuff separate.Much nicer than waiting for 'green' Oak to dry thoroughly,about 1/2 the time as green.

 

[Woody Stover]

Nice trailer

I tow that behind the '00 LeSabre...which is also a helluva snow-fighter when we get the occasional snow storm.

Nice haul, woody. That puppy has been dead for a while, might only take 2 years to season instead of the typical 3 that oak seems to need....

I hope so. I'm finding myself behind the eight ball again, now that the Buck 91 also needs to be fed.

Looks exactly like the dead Red/Black Oak I'm cutting all the time.Split in normal sized pieces,its normally good to go in 12-18 months around here for me.And 20% + of the rounds 6" & smaller are ready to burn the same day.I stack that stuff separate.Much nicer than waiting for 'green' Oak to dry thoroughly,about 1/2 the time as green.

I have more dead Oak around here than I can shake a stick at. I can hardly keep up with the stuff that's already down. But I need to grab more dead standing Ash and stack it now, so I can stay ahead of all these ravenous stoves. But yeah, you can see a few of the smaller limbs with the bark off...they are buried under the right end of that pile.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Those pictures really show why that tree fell. Great that you could get the wood too Woody. Now go grab that snow shovel then you can show them how to drive during winter.

 

[Woody Stover]

Now go grab that snow shovel then you can show them how to drive during winter.

What are you saying, Dennis? That I've been a Hoosier too long, have lost my snow skills, and will have to shovel my car out of a ditch?

 

[Gasifier]

Woody Stover. Nice snag of wood there. Seasoning holes Did you get tired of splitting? That is a nice looking pile of BTUs there man.

 

[Woody Stover]

Did you get tired of splitting? That is a nice looking pile of BTUs there man.

Thanks, a lot of good wood there, although the sapwood is shot. I just hand-split them down far enough so that I could pick them up to get 'em in the trailer.

 

[Woody Stover]

Those pictures really show why that tree fell.

Right. Like so many of the Black/Reds, the core was starting to go. There was a lot of good wood, though, not a hollow core like I have seen on some...
Between the Black/Reds and now with the EAB almost here, I'm going to have my hands full trying to GIBIR.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

What are you saying, Dennis? That I've been a Hoosier too long, have lost my snow skills, and will have to shovel my car out of a ditch?

Not sure of you've been a Hoosier too long or not but I highly doubt you've lost any snow skills. Do keep the shovel handy though as the porch sometimes needs cleaning. I also keep a small bucket of sand in the car; just in case. Most times I end up using it to help others rather than myself. I'll never forget the time I worked in a shop and they got an oil delivery. Truck was worthless then and all he could do was spin. They were wondering what to do when I asked permission to go out. Got some sand, spread it under the tires and away he went. After than there were several folks there who started carrying sand. The trick though is to get it during July or August when it is nice and dry so it won't freeze.

 

[Woody Stover]

Not sure of you've been a Hoosier too long or not but I highly doubt you've lost any snow skills. Do keep the shovel handy though as the porch sometimes needs cleaning. I also keep a small bucket of sand in the car; just in case.

Yep, sand or cat litter work good. Or a couple of those woven rugs.
Shovel emerged the day after Christmas...when we got 8"+ of wet snow. Feeling a lotta sore muscles today. Looks like splitting that Oak will have to wait...

 

[DanCorcoran]

Yep, sand or cat litter work good. Or a couple of those woven rugs.
Shovel emerged the day after Christmas...when we got 8"+ of wet snow. Feeling a lotta sore muscles today. Looks like splitting that Oak will have to wait...

Only the older, cheaper cat litter. The new, clumping cat litter gets very slick when wet (don't ask).