This Cherry was a bit scary.

[Woody Stover]

A couple weeks ago, about a mile from the house, I saw some Black Cherry next to a guy's driveway near the road. I didn't ask him about it until last weekend; He gave me the go-ahead to take it and told me the county had cut it. When I got there to pick it up, I saw the rest of the tree across the road on another guy's property, who I got a few White Oak chunks from a couple years ago (talked myself out of the main score because the trunk was big, but ended up taking those big chunks in the end, when I had second thoughts about passing on the rest. Still kicking myself for passing on the mighty White, the King of Firewoods. A good cord there I missed out on, by waffling.) Anyway, I asked him about the Cherry and he said "Have at it," so I went and got the rest of the trunk yesterday. The bottom was snapped about 6' up and the top rested on a steep rip-rap slope, so I had to buck if from the top down, trying to not lose my footing and hoping the cracked wood that was holding the base wouldn't break and drop the log. I was able to stay above the log on the slope, just in case it cut loose, and cut the rounds off, and the broken section stayed intact.

Here's the slope I had to tote the rounds up, trying to keep my balance on the rocks. I got the rounds that were close to the top, but I forgot the maul to split the bigger rounds at the bottom of the slope and there was no way I was gonna try to pack them up. Didn't want to walk further to take a gentler slope, either. I happened to catch my SIL at home and had her bring my maul. As I waited for her, my car radio started sounding like it was losing the station, and I discovered my battery was low. That shouldn't happen just running the flashers and radio for 2 hrs, should it?? Guess I may need a new batt-tree.

Sure, it's not a high-output wood, but there's a lot to like about Cherry. It's one of my favorites, along with Red Elm, Dogwood, River Birch, White Oak of course, and....well, I guess I have more favorite woods than I thought. There was also a bonus dead White Oak down there, about 10" I guess.
Part 1, by the guy's drive, is already stacked. Forgot to take a pic but it was a loose trailer load, several 4-6' sections with a lot of air space between...coupla quad trailer loads, anyway.
Here's the load, with a stick of Red Elm on top for good measure. Check out the dent where the tree fell on the guard rail. After haulin' this load up the slope, my legs, back and arms are toasted today....roasted I am tellin' ya!

And some White Oak air freshener in the car. Sorry about the blurry pic.

 

[Jags]

I assume that you tore up the gym membership card? That looks like it was a pile of work for that pile of wood.

 

[Woody Stover]

I assume that you tore up the gym membership card? That looks like it was a pile of work for that pile of wood.

Yep, and the sauna membership card; Even though it was only 60 out, I sweated my arse off! Yessir, more work than a lot of scroungers would willingly do, but I'm a sucker for Cherry.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I assume that you tore up the gym membership card? That looks like it was a pile of work for that pile of wood.

Lol, I was thinking the same thing... I guess some people are willing to work a lot harder for their wood than I am.

I'm blessed to have ready access to lots of wood. Generally 2 or 2-1/2 hours of work gets me a full cord of wood felled, cut, & loaded in the truck. Another 2-1/2 gets it split & stacked... That's if I can take the whole tree so the limbing vs. cutting good wood is a fairly low ratio. If I'm cutting where trees have been logged and I'm just salvaging tree tops there is a LOT more limbing to do for the same amount of wood in the truck...

I just found another score 2 miles from home, LOADS of Beech & Oak... but it's all tree-tops. I'm not sure if I'm willing to mess with it...

 

[DougA]

Yup, 4 way flashers will kill an older battery in a few hours. Put it on a charger as soon as you can. A lot of people think that driving a bit will charge it enough but an overnight trickle is the best, especially if the battery is getting older.

 

[Woody Stover]

I'm blessed to have ready access to lots of wood.

I have a buttload of Red Oak here to get after, but the Cherries don't seem to die too often and my reserves were getting low. I will go off-site to get stuff that's scare here on the property. I was glad to get this Cherry, and it was fresh so no rotted sapwood like I usually deal with.

I just found another score 2 miles from home, LOADS of Beech & Oak

Hmmm. I'd like to get some Beech, never burned it. I've seen it around St. Meinrad, but not around here yet.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Woody, I totally understand why you got that. Back in 1998 I saw a HUGE Beech tree down deep in woods that was only accessible by walking, you couldn't take a wagon or handtruck or anything over the rocks, but I wanted to try Beech and viewed it as a challenge, got permission to get it and I remember that it took me 75 steps from the tree to the truck and trailer, but I did it! The only thing that would concern me about your situation there is being down low under the woods like that, I'd be very wary of ticks and other pests but you are a veteran scrounger and I'm sure were aware of that! I get antsy just being around brush like that, but I certainly understand your reasons and applaud you as you are a scrounger "extrordinaire" GREAT JOB!

 

[davo]

Yikes!

 

[Woody Stover]

thing that would concern me about your situation there is being down low under the woods like that, I'd be very wary of ticks and other pests

I really need to do my wood work in the winter, but so far I haven't. Usually end up out there in the summer. It gets like a jungle here. I tuck my pants into my boots and spray some lemon-eucalyptus on the boots and pants cuffs. Once in a while I'll get a tick, but I find 'em pretty quick and get 'em off. If I don't see 'em, I'll feel an itching when they start to bite so I try to pay attention to any itches I feel. Those tiny deer ticks can be hard to see. With a couple of dry spells along the way, the ticks don't seem too bad this year, and once spring is over they don't seem to be around much. Also, they don't seem as active if the temp outside is cool, like it was yeasterday.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I have a buttload of Red Oak here to get after, but the Cherries don't seem to die too often and my reserves were getting low. I will go off-site to get stuff that's scare here on the property. I was glad to get this Cherry, and it was fresh so no rotted sapwood like I usually deal with. Hmmm. I'd like to get some Beech, never burned it.

Yeah, I hear ya on reserves getting low. A year ago I was almost out of everything except my premium stuff (Locust & hedge) and I got desperate. I put away 2 cords of silver maple and 2 cords of Poplar. Then, like always happens, within a matter of months 3 HUGE scores presented themselves and now I can be super picky. In the last 2 months I've put away 12-14 cords of Hickory, Oak (mostly white), and standing dead Ash... I can put away another 2 cords of Shagbark but it's 19 miles out of the way, I can put away as much standing dead Ash as I could ever want but that source is about 20 miles out of the way, or I can cut tree-tops of Beech & Oak 2 miles down the road... It's just a delicate balancing act of "how much to take" before it gets to the point that what I have will rot before I use it...

 

[Woody Stover]

In the last 2 months I've put away 12-14 cords of Hickory, Oak (mostly white), and standing dead Ash... I can put away another 2 cords of Shagbark but it's 19 miles out of the way, I can put away as much standing dead Ash as I could ever want but that source is about 20 miles out of the way, or I can cut tree-tops of Beech & Oak 2 miles down the road... It's just a delicate balancing act of "how much to take" before it gets to the point that what I have will rot before I use it...

I would go after the freshest stuff, as long as you're already ahead. That way you can minimize the amount of sapwood rot. Red Oak is pretty bad about that, White is better. I've got an uncovered stack of 3-4' logs of White and Shag, both have some 'shrooms growing on the sapwood on the shady ends. Ash doesn't seem to do that. Anything that's fresh should hold up well over the long haul if you have it top-covered, I'd think.

 

[Rossco]

That wood looks great.

Personally IDE hold a few rounds back and use them as decoration along the bottom of my stack.

 

[Woody Stover]

That wood looks great. Personally IDE hold a few rounds back and use them as decoration along the bottom of my stack.

Looks nice when fresh, doanit? But before too long, it will start to darken. I just got done splitting a stack of similar rounds, that sat for a couple years. They were pretty dark by then.

 

[Rossco]

Looks nice when fresh, doanit? But before too long, it will start to darken. I just got done splitting a stack of similar rounds, that sat for a couple years. They were pretty dark by then.

Yeah looks beautiful.

We don't have any here so non the wiser.

I find Red / Yellow Fir and Larch / Western Larch rounds will go a nice redish / orange colour over time. Great decoration for the stack and painful to burn.

Again, nice score.

 

[Woody Stover]

I find Red / Yellow Fir and Larch / Western Larch rounds will go a nice redish / orange colour over time.

In the dark red/orange vein here, we have Cherry, Mulberry, Hedge-apple (which I've not gotten much of yet) and Sassafras, which I don't burn much of since it pops a lot in the stove.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I would go after the freshest stuff, as long as you're already ahead. That way you can minimize the amount of sapwood rot. Red Oak is pretty bad about that, White is better. I've got an uncovered stack of 3-4' logs of White and Shag, both have some 'shrooms growing on the sapwood on the shady ends. Ash doesn't seem to do that. Anything that's fresh should hold up well over the long haul if you have it top-covered, I'd think.

It's all fresh, even the standing dead ash, it was EAB killed in the last year or 2 and the main trunk is all still solid and green...

 

[Osagebndr]

I burnt cherry all last winter. Burns very nice . My first cherry score looked about like that I had to bust the big rounds In half to get them out too. Nice score!

 

[Woody Stover]

It's all fresh, even the standing dead ash, it was EAB killed in the last year or 2 and the main trunk is all still solid and green...

I was looking at my log stack; the Shag Hickory didn't have 'shrooms, but the sapwood will deteriorate if the tree is down for a while or you leave it uncovered.

 

[Osagebndr]

I have problems with bugs boring my hickory splits and it don't seem to keep for very long but it throws the heat !

 

[Rossco]

In the dark red/orange vein here, we have Cherry, Mulberry, Hedge-apple (which I've not gotten much of yet) and Sassafras, which I don't burn much of since it pops a lot in the stove.

Lucky for you guys to have nice woods.

I just got a load of Larch rounds that I plan in using at the bottom of my outer stack. Will pop up a photo if I get time.

 

[Ashful]

LOL... loving that photo of the "kids" in the back seat.

 

[Woody Stover]

I have problems with bugs boring my hickory splits and it don't seem to keep for very long but it throws the heat !

Damn Powderpost beetles leave piles of dust everywhere around the Hickory. I hope they didn't get me too bad. Shoulda stacked that wood long ago but I found it easy to stall, since it was a scrounge of 3 and 4-footers that all need to be re-cut.

Lucky for you guys to have nice woods. I just got a load of Larch rounds

We've got variety, but the flip-side is that there's a lot of Oak. Even if it's been standing dead for years, it' still gonna need a couple more years, the trunk wood anyway. Longer if you make big splits. We can't just go out and grab dry wood like you guys can. That Larch is some decent BTU, correct? I thought I saw 21 or 22 MBTU, about like the Slippery (Red) Elm we burn here.

LOL... loving that photo of the "kids" in the back seat.

That tyke was only about 8"...didn't think to call him Woody, Jr.

 

[Osagebndr]

I was wondering what insect that was in my hickory. I try and let it season for 2 yrs . It don't like to lay for very long tho. I'm kinda surprised yAll don't have much hedge down in the southern parts of the state, tho we don't have ton up around here either. It's good stuff in moderation I learned the hard way about it .

 

[Woody Stover]

Yeah, if you let it lie around in the woods, you can kiss it goodbye pretty quickly...the sapwood anyhow. Seems to be holding up a little better since I have the logs stacked on pallets. Not top-covered though. There's a good bit of Hedge here, but I just haven't had the good fortune to score much. I've got maybe 1/3 cord...haven't stacked that yet either, but I'm not worried about it punking out.

It's good stuff in moderation I learned the hard way about it .

Sounds like a good story. Care to elaborate?

 

[Rossco]

We've got variety, but the flip-side is that there's a lot of Oak. Even if it's been standing dead for years, it' still gonna need a couple more years, the trunk wood anyway. Longer if you make big splits. We can't just go out and grab dry wood like you guys can. That Larch is some decent BTU, correct? I thought I saw 21 or 22 MBTU, about like the Slippery (Red) Elm we burn here.
That tyke was only about 8"...didn't think to call him Woody, Jr.

Oh larch is just Stella firewood and its everywhere. Few points behind Oak and a little better than Fir.