Do you ever say this is JUST TOO MUCH WORK!

[Ludlow]

In the history of the world, no species has survived. Not gonna change.

 

[begreen]

Actually several have. Most are quite tiny or microscopic but some are large.

• Sturgeon – 200 million years old.
• Coelacanath – 360 million years old.
• Horseshoe Crab – 445 million years old.
• Nautilus – 500 million years old.
• Jelly Fish – 550 Million years old.
• Sponge – 580 million years old.
• Cyanobacteria – 2.8 billion years old.
  https://themysteriousworld.com/top-10-oldest-animal-species-on-earth/

 

[begreen]

And i thought the comstock gold mine consumed a lot of wood.

And that is just one ferry dock out of dozens.

And i thought the comstock gold mine consumed a lot of wood.

Yes, the devastation of forests, fauna and habitat by our pioneering ancestors was staggering.

 

[Ludlow]

Actually several have. Most are quite tiny or microscopic but some are large.

• Sturgeon – 200 million years old.
• Coelacanath – 360 million years old.
• Horseshoe Crab – 445 million years old.
• Nautilus – 500 million years old.
• Jelly Fish – 550 Million years old.
• Sponge – 580 million years old.
• Cyanobacteria – 2.8 billion years old.
  https://themysteriousworld.com/top-10-oldest-animal-species-on-earth/

Were they the first lifeforms? And, It isnt over yet.
PA was a barren wasteland a hundred years ago. Not a tree hardly. Now it is nearly completely forested except for the cities. Amazing if you think about it.

 

[coutufr]

Most species evolve over time to adapt . The Ash tree is a good example of a species that doesn’t have time to adapt... what a mess!

 

[Ludlow]

The ash trees do not seem to be affected until they begin to mature and the bark roughens. Lots of saplings around seem fine. Maybe a miracle will happen before they all mature and the bugs get them..

 

[mar13]

I think we're off topic from the OP, but here is another wood cutting in history story: (From Wikipedia's "Battle of the Wilderness")

"On May 4, 1864, the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River at three separate points and converged on the Wilderness Tavern, near the edge of the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, an area of more than 70 sq mi (181 km2) of Spotsylvania County and Orange County in central Virginia. Early settlers in the area had cut down the native forests to fuel blast furnaces that processed the iron ore found there, leaving what was mainly a secondary growth of dense shrubs. This rough terrain, which was virtually unsettled, was nearly impenetrable to 19th-century infantry and artillery maneuvers. A number of battles were fought in the vicinity between 1862 and 1864, including the bloody Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863.["

 

[georgepds]

I'll keep burning as long as I am able, but my back now warns me regularly and sometimes severely if I try to move around heavy rounds for splitting. Bought wood the past few years as stacking is not a problem. But I don't mind the heat pump running when it needs to.

Whenever my back hurts I lifted weights for a couple of months till it did not (about to start again)

It worked when I was younger... don't know if it still works.. but I'll find out

One reason I'm looking into eco bricks is that it might make things a bit easier when I need it. Been burning since 1984, so I'd miss it if I didn't do it

 

[ispinwool]

As others have mentioned, I love burning wood and don't mind the work...but my joints mind a great deal.
.... we've had to learn to work smarter cause we ain't gettin any younger.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

The joints will give out before the desire to burn does.

 

[Ashful]

For me, I work an office job, so I look forward to wood processing like a restless boy looks forward to recess at school. It’s is a lot of work, though, I hear you on that.

This. If I did manual labor for a living, maybe I’d have a different perspective, but burning wood satisfies a certain primal need for those of us with desk jobs.

 

[paulnlee]

I've been heating with wood for my God must be over 25 years and I mean the only heat. Bought our first Morso from Charlie Wilson in New Hope Pa. He was a character but back then the only one around. After a 2nd Morso we went to a Harmon 300. Now on our 2nd one. I'm 75 in Feb and the only problem I have is unlike what I've read here my wife hates the heat! I like my area at 78-80, she wants it at 71

 

[molly1414]

Yes sometimes it's a lot of work but then there are times like this weekend when we noticed our furnace is not working with rain and snow forecast the next 5 days. Called the HVAC guys and they can't come till Monday. I'm sitting in front of my wood stove with my house at 75 and I don't care when they come out. Makes it all worth while.

 

[kennyp2339]

One reason I'm looking into eco bricks is that it might make things a bit easier when I need it.

My plan when I hit that point. I still have at least another 35 years though...hopefully

 

[kennyp2339]

Yes sometimes it's a lot of work but then there are times like this weekend when we noticed our furnace is not working with rain and snow forecast the next 5 days. Called the HVAC guys and they can't come till Monday. I'm sitting in front of my wood stove with my house at 75 and I don't care when they come out. Makes it all worth while.

Funny but a little annoyed / stressful thing happened yesterday, I called to get the oil tank filled, I have a 275gal tank that was last filled August of 2017, I'm down to a 1/4 tank so now its time to fill it. Anyway I called a few "local places" and the first 3 wouldn't even give me a price unless I started a "members" account, the 4th place I called, the lady simply said we don't do that unless your either signed up for auto delivery or maintenance, I laughed and said no way, (I get annoyed when I have to do a user name and password and stuff for something I need once every 18 months) well finally found a company that would deliver old school style, when asked about signing up for automatic delivery I proudly said I was a wood burner and the dude replied no problem, just call us when you need us.
That interaction makes me wanna split another 5 cords.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Funny but a little annoyed / stressful thing happened yesterday, I called to get the oil tank filled, I have a 275gal tank that was last filled August of 2017, I'm down to a 1/4 tank so now its time to fill it. Anyway I called a few "local places" and the first 3 wouldn't even give me a price unless I started a "members" account, the 4th place I called, the lady simply said we don't do that unless your either signed up for auto delivery or maintenance, I laughed and said no way, (I get annoyed when I have to do a user name and password and stuff for something I need once every 18 months) well finally found a company that would deliver old school style, when asked about signing up for automatic delivery I proudly said I was a wood burner and the dude replied no problem, just call us when you need us.
That interaction makes me wanna split another 5 cords.

One of the nice things about the whole wood thing is that it is a basic thing, which people need in a world of user names passwords and all the other ways that people want to complicate things.

 

[wooduser]

Yes sometimes it's a lot of work but then there are times like this weekend when we noticed our furnace is not working with rain and snow forecast the next 5 days. Called the HVAC guys and they can't come till Monday. I'm sitting in front of my wood stove with my house at 75 and I don't care when they come out. Makes it all worth while.

As a furnace repairman, I usually noticed a huge difference between people who had an alternate source of heat when the furnace quit and those who did not. Even just an inefficient old fireplace could make a big difference.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Were they the first lifeforms? And, It isnt over yet.
PA was a barren wasteland a hundred years ago. Not a tree hardly. Now it is nearly completely forested except for the cities. Amazing if you think about it.

Interesting. I was thinking much of PA was probably grazed, farmed, or cut for lumber and fuel. Any books you can recommend on the subject? I'd be interested in reading. Or have you just been around long enough to have seen it?

 

[kennyp2339]

Interesting. I was thinking much of PA was probably grazed, farmed, or cut for lumber and fuel. Any books you can recommend on the subject? I'd be interested in reading. Or have you just been around long enough to have seen it?

Most of the northeast and mid atlantic was stripped of old growth forests for timber, kiln furnaces an farming. Lots of pics if you look up PA oil fields, railroads and steel for the 19th century.
The big players - Rockefellers - standard oil, Andrew Carnegie - steel, Cornelius Vanderbilt - Railroads

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Most of the northeast and mid atlantic was stripped of old growth forests for timber, kiln furnaces an farming. Lots of pics if you look up PA oil fields, railroads and steel for the 19th century.
The big players - Rockefellers - standard oil, Andrew Carnegie - steel, Cornelius Vanderbilt - Railroads

I watched a documentary about a guy who has made it his life's work to reestablish forests in Scotland. Because of the local deer and no predators, once gone, the trees couldnt come back. Involved lots of fences. The moors in England are another example of this.

With all the deer around here, similar thing may be happening. All the ash are almost gone and oaks are dying of wilt. No saplings survive the deer, except the occasional tulip poplar that shoots up to 10 feet among the thick brush and is out of reach. Lots of them get rubbed by the bucks and killed that way.

 

[jatoxico]

I watched a documentary about a guy who has made it his life's work to reestablish forests in Scotland. Because of the local deer and no predators, once gone, the trees couldnt come back. Involved lots of fences. The moors in England are another example of this.

With all the deer around here, similar thing may be happening. All the ash are almost gone and oaks are dying of wilt. No saplings survive the deer, except the occasional tulip poplar that shoots up to 10 feet among the thick brush and is out of reach. Lots of them get rubbed by the bucks and killed that way.

The deer are a problem here too and for some reason people who should know better get irrational when anyone proposes introducing a controlled hunt program.

 

[Ashful]

Interesting. I was thinking much of PA was probably grazed, farmed, or cut for lumber and fuel. Any books you can recommend on the subject? I'd be interested in reading. Or have you just been around long enough to have seen it?

You’ll find bits of it in many texts on colonial-era history, but I feel that what some are saying here is a little misleading. Yes, there was enormous deforestation in the 1700’s, but much of that came back in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, as industrial operations (eg. Iron furnaces) switched from wood to coal in the 1800’s. Population density throughout PA was very low outside of the major cities and urban areas up thru WW2, and stayed low outside of the denser suburbs right up into the 1990’s. We have enormous suburban sprawl issues now, clogging all of these old farm roads, which have not been sufficiently upgraded to handle every farm of my grandparents’ generation being converted to McMansions or medium-density developments.

My own impression, based on a lot of reading on my family history (very closely tied to SE PA history) is that the net effect on standing timber was a distinct minima in the 18th century, with very good recovery in the 19th and early 20th centuries. With the suburban sprawl of the 1990’s onward, I feel we are again losing net forest area in eastern PA, and likely across the state. Our cities (for me, Philadelphia) are losing family population, which is another very sad issue, while everyone is moving to the suburbs around here.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

The deer are a problem here too and for some reason people who should know better get irrational when anyone proposes introducing a controlled hunt program.

I love the deer around, but know the population needs controlled. I hunted when I was younger, killed one with a bow and arrow in the first 15 minutes of my first hunt, and decided it was definitely not for me. I'll leave that to others. Not enough hunters around these suburbs to keep them at bay. Heard chronic wasting disease is on it's way. Nature will find it's balance, one way or another.

 

[Ludlow]

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsb...ntirely-stripped-of-trees/Content?oid=1848219

Yes, they were cut down. Somehow the world continued and today the entire state is forested. The quality of life you enjoy today was paid for with those trees. Can I come hunt in your backyard?

 

[georgepds]

Back to eco bricks... there is a second advantage, the local dealer stocks them all year. Try getting seasoned wood in late winter around here... it's impossible.


Not that any here ever runs out. But way back when in the 80s, before I got the measure of my use, it happened