Guess the sap is running! As I made my first cut it started running, so much so that I checked to make sure it wasn't gas! Is it too late to put this up for next winter? Seems pretty saturated.
Grey birch is bleeding!
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Instinct tells me, when you're running a liquid fueled machine, and you unexpectedly see fluid, check for leaks.What sort of gas were you thinking it might be?
And if it's blood, check to make sure all your 'limbs' are intact.
I cut some River Birch last year, later than Spring, and sap was gushing out of it. I split and stacked it, blocked from a lot of wind by another stack. It's dry and I'll be burning the last of it in the next few days. I'm guessing it dries as quickly as soft Maple...
I once cut a large old standing dead Douglas fir tree, the trunk was about 3 ft in diameter and it had obviously been standing dead for many many years. I love watching and hearing the sounds of big trees fall. As this one started to fall and the fibers in the trunk started to rip and compress and make all those great sounds, I saw liquid (sap?) flowing out from inside the trunk. It gushed out of there like someone just turned on a garden hose full blast.
Needless to say, there was still a lot of moisture in the wood of that old dead tree.
Needless to say, there was still a lot of moisture in the wood of that old dead tree.
This birch was once a twin. The other stem is rotten, probably died when the house was built (12 years ago). The stem I cut had some die back on the top, was on her way out. About two and a half feet dia on the bottom, 45 ft tall, nice wood!If it is bleeding, put a bandage on it.
Get it split & stacked in a single row. It'll be burnable,
(a full year + is always better ).
Birch dries pretty fast after split.
The birch here burns real good after 2 years seasoning.
You have longer hotter summers, so it should dry faster there.
They can sure pump out lots of water
(a full year + is always better ).
Birch dries pretty fast after split.
The birch here burns real good after 2 years seasoning.
You have longer hotter summers, so it should dry faster there.
They can sure pump out lots of water
Although it might have been better to cut the tree before the sap started running, I don't think it is a big deal. I think birch should be OK for next winter whether you cut it a month ago or cut it now.
That's encouraging. I did leave some of the larger splits for 2014 though.
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