Glad I took yall's advice and got 3-5 years ahead.

[WoodpileOCD]

I read over and over again about getting 3-5 years ahead on your wood supply for any number of reasons. Probably the number one reason is so you know you will have plenty of properly seasoned wood to burn. Another would be the pure joy of looking at all that money in the bank outlining my property. Many more reasons as well.
The reason I started this post was to tell you how thankful I am I took this great advice. I have been unable / unwilling to do any serious scrounging (thats how I get all my wood) for about two years now because of some serious health issues of my wifes that required pretty much all of my spare time. At the time though I had gotten about 4 years ahead and so was able to burn through two winters without worrying about seasoned wood. I think it was a post from Dennis (where is he by the way, haven't read any posts of his this year) about thinking about not being able to collect for a year if you got hurt that really got me going. Didn't get hurt but life happens in other ways that aren't that great either.
Anyway, I'm burning 3 year old oak and have gotten back to replenishing my woodpile. So far I've been able to C/S/S about 4 cords (2 premo red oak, 1 pine and 1 mixed) so I have a good start on getting back to 3 years ahead.
Didn't hardly look at this site last year and didn't realize how much I missed it until my addiction kicked in again this year.

 

[claydogg84]

Is that flag there to fend off other wood bandits? I like it.

 

[NordicSplitter]

Glad your back into the swing of things. And yes...your right....is truly is a wonderful thing to be 3,4, or even 5 years ahead. Great peace of mind to have.

 

[WoodpileOCD]

Claydog, it was actually a sign that said "free wood". Needless to say, I took it with me with my first load. [emoji4]

 

[gregbesia]

A yes Dennis, I'm afraid he has abandoned us. I do miss his wisdom on this site ,although I did find him on another wood related website. I hope your wife is doing better. Nice pictures.

 

[Jeff S]

Dennis(Backwoods Savage) has been a inspiration to me as well, after reading his post I decided to get busy and get 5-6 years ahead. I always have dry easy to burn wood and the select few individuals that I sell wood to are also very grateful for truly seasoned wood.

 

[kennyp2339]

Same here, Backwoods taught my father and I that its not crazy to be years ahead, actually its the opposite, your crazy to think that you can cut an oak tree down in the spring and be ready to burn it by November.

 

[Kenster]

I worked hard to get at least three years ahead, either scrounging or harvesting standing and fallen dead back in our own woods. I learned the lesson the hard way.
I always like to work on my wood bank in the winter. A few years ago, mid autumn, I broke my ankle and couldn't work on wood for several weeks. I got pretty far behind and ran short that winter. My good buddy down the road gave me a 30 foot long 26 inch thick Water Oak Trunk and a pickup load of split oak out of his own stash. So, once I healed and got through that winter I was determined to build up the bank. I was certain that I had enough to last 2-4 years but we went through much more than usual last year due to a long cold winter, unusual for this part of Texas. So, I started off short again this year and have been scrambling to keep up with downed tree tops from the woods. There are a lot of standing dead trunks out there due to our drought of 2011. I plan to get after those very soon.

So, yes, looking at those stacks as money in the bank, is one reason, but being prepared in case injury or illness prevents you from working is the best insurance policy.

 

[jatoxico]

Good to be ahead, hope the family is OK too.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Aaaaahhhhhh, burning dry wood, you really feel the difference...... I was once one of those that wondered why my new stove didn't heat so well.....