Tell me your plans..........

[Robbie]

For a lot of us, winter is over, spring has sprung. %-P

Now what ? What will you do ? Do most of you cut and stack during the summer, or just wait until fall ?

Will you forget wood related activities completly for the summer ?

I am curious what people do that is "wood related" during the "off" season.


Robbie

 

[babalu87]

Cook dead animals over wood/wood smoke, have some vodka tonics and keep the kids outside.
I am slated to fish in a few fishing tournaments (Marlin/Tuna/Shark not Bass) and we'lll do plenty of camping too. Camping is tough on me now because I am stealing from my own wood pile for a campfire.

I dont think a month goes by that I wont do something as far as the stove goes. Kindling gathering, splitting leftovers pieces, finding another tree that got blowed over by that dang 4 day Nor'Easter!

 

[DiscoInferno]

I've still got probably 3 cords sitting in my driveway to cut, split, and stack, hopefully before it hits 90 here. This cold spring has been helpful. Then I'll go to MI for much of the summer, where I have several standing dead trees to drop, limb, buck, haul, split, and stack. Safe to say I'll be busy with wood through the summer.

 

[carpniels]

hi all,

Srounge wood, cut wood, stack wood, haul wood. All before summer. It is too hot to do any of that work when the temps are over 60. Last weekend was perfect. Now this weekend will be 65 and that is too hot for me.

Carpniels

 

[Corie]

Continue splitting for mom and dad. Hopefully get a new stove finished before I leave for Virginia. Move to Virginia, start designing stoves!


Oh, not really wood related, but of course I'll be working in the garden until I leave for VA. That and as was mentioned earlier, I will definitely be cooking some aminals over some wood smoke. The new house has a green egg included!

 

[titan]

In the off-season I plan on camping,mountain-biking,fishing(read:lying),and killing a few cold ones.

 

[tw40x81]

My plan is to get at least one triaxle load dumped in the front yard, and process it. Had my choice of a gnarly load for $350, or really nice straight stuff for $550 USD. I picked the gnarly load. If that load is not enough, the next load I'll get the straight logs. I might get another two loads this year, since I've got less than a cord left, and divide it up with my next door neighbor. It's suppose to be delivered in a couple of weeks. I can't wait.

First full year under my belt with the stove, so I'm still like a kid with this stuff, I'm so excited. My wife thinks I'm obsessed when I point out other folks wood piles when we drive around. Going to be doing some body building with my wedges and sledge. I find it very therapeutic. Not planning on using a splitter, but I've got homemade monster I can borrow from my bro. I'll be making sure my flue is crystal clean and structurally sound. Later, I'll be looking at getting another stove, a small one, like the little Jotul 602.

And finally, I plan on spending way too much time lurking here the entire off season.

 

[Eric Johnson]

As soon as the snow clears out of the wood, I start hauling wood that I cut and blocked up last summer. Doing that three days a week, on average, until the snow starts to fall again, usually results in 20-25 cords, which is way more than I'm going to be burning from now on. So part of what I need to do this summer is figure out what to do with the excess wood that I have laying on the ground.

 

[Corie]

Give it to meeeee?


haha, just kidding, there's no fun in that anyway.

 

[eba1225]

Scrounge, cut and split wood until it gets too warm, mid May.
As this is the summer that the stove will be installed, will be installing and pretreating for the upcoming season.
When not doing that fishing in for Flounder or Striped bass in the DE Bay.

 

[Homefire]

[quote author="Eric Johnson" date="1177107208"]As soon as the snow clears out of the wood, I start hauling wood that I cut and blocked up last summer. Doing that three days a week, on average, until the snow starts to fall again, usually results in 20-25 cords, which is way more than I'm going to be burning from now on. So part of what I need to do this summer is figure out what to do with the excess wood that I have laying on the ground.[/quot



Do you have the new boiler up and running?

Did you do the install yourself?

How many cords will you burn next year?

Try contacting the local HEAT program in your area to find out if they are buying wood for next year.
A donation of 20 cords would be an awesome tax write-off.

 

[bruce56bb]

hit several golf balls with callaway/titleist "woods" while sipping bourbon that comes from wooden barrels.

 

[PAJerry]

Hoping to get all of next winter's supply stacked and drying in the side yard by May1. We ran a bit short so I have more coming than last year. Going to 80% slab wood for next season - it is pretty cheap and works great in our insert. With work at the foundry booming - 6 days a week - I'm letting the woods grow this year, and buying all our supply. $400 will give us more than we should need.

Garden season is coming. I want to taste that first fresh asparagus real soon

 

[MrGriz]

I'll be scrounging and processing wood as much as possible. I have a good start, but want to get a year or two ahead if I can (last season was my first burning and I ran short).

I need to permanently extend the hearth with some tile. In fact, the carpet is starting to come out of the basement tonight. There are also a few outdoor projects that need attention around the house.

Other than that and work, I'll probably kill a few beers and some vodka, bbq / grill out every chance I get, fish and put a few more miles on the Harley.

It'll be winter again before I know it.

 

[keyman512us]

For a lot of us, winter is over, spring has sprung. %-P

Now what ? What will you do ? Do most of you cut and stack during the summer, or just wait until fall ?

Will you forget wood related activities completly for the summer ?

I am curious what people do that is "wood related" during the "off" season.


Robbie

Err Umm..."Off Season" depends on your perspective...now that spring is here the "off season is over"(for some of us). Time to "switch caps" Hang up the electrician one...put on the "wood chuck" one (trees, stumps, and lumber). I'd rather be out "cracking a sweat swinging a yo-yo (chainsaw)...than crawling around in peoples attics"...."Sippin' fine wine (stump grinding)" when the nerves get frayed.
"Ohh you want some ceiling fans/air conditioner outlets installed?? Why the ^ell did you wait until the first heat wave of July to call??? Can you wait til' the first of the year?"

Nope...Looking forward to some nice quiet activities....It's a peacefull world sometimes around around "Industrial duty wood chippers" and neanderthal stump grinders"...if you have to use "sign language to deal with people over the equipment...it can be rather relaxing"

 

[colsmith]

Almost all of our wood supply is cut. Hubby doesn't like cutting in warm weather because of all the clothing one needs to have on. We got two truckloads of wood on Wed. and were cutting it today, and it was getting pretty warm. My realtor brother tipped me off that some of his clients want the cut wood removed from their properties so that it looks nicer before putting up for sale. But as we continue to scrounge this summer I am sure we will have to cut once in a while anyway. We just got a gas chainsaw, so a neighbor's dead trees in their woods are suddenly accessible.

A lot of our wood still needs splitting. In the summer I go back and forth during the day between gardening and splitting wood, that way it doesn't strain me. It is almost annoying how many people tell me to buy a splitter. I tell them I have two mauls. I don't know if they think a woman can't split wood or what. (Hubby has conveniently cracked ribs.) I don't mind splitting in warm weather, so that will keep me busy. I do expect to switch over more to GardenWeb from HearthNet much of the time. Planted my first seeds yesterday: lettuces, spinach, kohlrabi, radishes, cilantro, dill, parsley, and arugula. Chives, onions, asparagus, and rhubarb are all coming up nicely, and some flowers are blooming. I do drink a few cold ones at all times of the year. When you live near Milwaukee you are required by law to drink a lot of beer. ;-)

 

[Gooserider]

Will do a lot of stuff... I've started to cut some wood, basically need to get any cutting that I'm going to do on our land done before the undergrowth starts getting thick, but I'm almost done with that. I've got about 2 cords of rounds left over from last year that I need to split, plus get in at least one load of log-length, and make that into splits.

I have to periodically molest the bees, but that doesn't take all that much time - it's one of the advantages of beekeeping on a small scale, it is very low time investment for the payback... Right now I'm waiting for some good solid 70* weather so I can take the covers off and open the hives for spring inspection, then for the dandelions to blossom so I can throw the first honey supers on.

I'll be doing some other gardening, my small scale pepper patches, and I'm also going to be planting some berry bushes to get more mead ingredients.

Probably putting some miles on the bikes, maybe a couple of other trips depending on what happens - The GF's mother is turning 80 soon, and there is some talk of the entire family going on a trip somewheres.

Otherwise, hang out around the pool, do home improvement projects, and other fun of that sort...

Gooserider

 

[MustBurn]

I have to start splitting. 1-2 cords from last year, 2-3 cords of white oak I just picked up yesterday (free) and 1-2 cords of scrounged wood from my property. I have a lead on some free suger maple and a HUGE cherry tree to follow up on next week.

MB

 

[begreen]

We'll be finishing up the siding on the house, complete the porch steps, then paint. We're getting in new landscaping now. If the stars align correctly we may get the greenhouse up. That would be nice. I have a couple cords of wood waiting to be split soon. And the gardens are mostly ready for planting.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I restocked my woodpile today from kindling on up, and will start getting rounds put aside to use for Winter 2008. I'm pretty much always looking for wood, although in the middle of the Summer it's pretty much just watch the wood season! And watch the garden grow, like a lot of folks on here have said.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've still got probably 3 cords sitting in my driveway to cut, split, and stack, hopefully before it hits 90 here. This cold spring has been helpful. Then I'll go to MI for much of the summer, where I have several standing dead trees to drop, limb, buck, haul, split, and stack. Safe to say I'll be busy with wood through the summer.

Yes, but there is a good chance that when you are working on that in Michigan, the temperature may be about where it is now or much cooler! Talked to friend in Munising just a week ago and they still had 1-2 feet of snow on the ground. However, today it is really nice up there as it is here. Probably a sloppy mess and not friendly yet in the woods. Next come the black flies!

As for plans here, I'm still trying to get all the wood split and stacked. Have to work slow because of some problems but hope to finish it by mid-May at the latest and maybe sooner if possible. Several cords to go yet. When it gets hot, I'll be in one of two places: on the bike or on the chair by the air conditioner.

 

[Todd]

I always like to process firewood in early spring before it gets too hot. I had all mine done the 1st week of April. Now looking forward to boating, fishing, grillin and chillin.