COOL article on Mt St Helens Logger

[nw axe man]

I have next winter's wood mostly in the woodshed. Now I'm working on the 2012-13 winter wood, I think.

For some reason my saw cut straight. I'll have to fix that. Everything is on a slope here. :msp_smile:

It's all the extensive training you got from uncle Sam I'll bet. I find that hemlock burns quite well if it's dried enough. I'm going to try something different this year. On the back piece of the property uncle Sam gave me a 3' cottonwood over the fenceline. I talked to a guy that said that he burns cottonwood all the time. I've never burned it as I've always been a fir man myself. I'm going to split and stack it in the back 40 where it can dry this summer and give it a whirl. It's supposed to give out more BTUs than fir but I'm sure when it's dry it'll burn up fast. Never done it before but I'll try anything once.

 

[Joe46]

It's all the extensive training you got from uncle Sam I'll bet. I find that hemlock burns quite well if it's dried enough. I'm going to try something different this year. On the back piece of the property uncle Sam gave me a 3' cottonwood over the fenceline. I talked to a guy that said that he burns cottonwood all the time. I've never burned it as I've always been a fir man myself. I'm going to split and stack it in the back 40 where it can dry this summer and give it a whirl. It's supposed to give out more BTUs than fir but I'm sure when it's dry it'll burn up fast. Never done it before but I'll try anything once.

Several years ago I got a chunk of cottonwood about the same size. It almost had a maple look to it and didn't have that pissy odor that the young cottowoods have. It burned really good. Hope you have the same results.

 

[nw axe man]

Several years ago I got a chunk of cottonwood about the same size. It almost had a maple look to it and didn't have that pissy odor that the young cottowoods have. It burned really good. Hope you have the same results.

Yeah, I hope so too. That's a lot of work for poor wood.

 

[paccity]

we are taking some good large cottonwoods now that there useing it for horse areanas and stalls. horses wont cribb on the wood because it's bitter. and some for trailer beds. stuff still stinks.

 

[nw axe man]

we are taking some good large cottonwoods now that there useing it for horse areanas and stalls. horses wont cribb on the wood because it's bitter. and some for trailer beds. stuff still stinks.

From what I understand it's the best wood to use on the beds of lowboys. I guess it's pretty tough when compressed and spun on with equipment. I know it's pretty fibrous stuff. I'd never heard about horses not cribbing on it. I'm in the process of making some makeshift stalls for my horses. I've got a few that really like to crib on cedar fence posts. I'll have to give that a try. You can get all the cottonwood you want right now up here.

 

[slowp]

I have burned it. I found it best to put it on top of the kindling. Cottonwood will take off and burn fast when dry. Then the slower burning chunks would go on.

I still have a pile of willow and cottonwood. It doesn't take much to heat this house and I can't keep a fire going or it turns into a sauna house.

The hemlock is from a tree that went down on a friend's shed. I just cut a bit on each side, and when I couldn't reach it anymore, it was small enough for them to remove with their little tractor. The shed is toast.

 

[nw axe man]

I have burned it. I found it best to put it on top of the kindling. Cottonwood will take off and burn fast when dry. Then the slower burning chunks would go on.

I still have a pile of willow and cottonwood. It doesn't take much to heat this house and I can't keep a fire going or it turns into a sauna house.

The hemlock is from a tree that went down on a friend's shed. I just cut a bit on each side, and when I couldn't reach it anymore, it was small enough for them to remove with their little tractor. The shed is toast.

Hey, Patty.
With all of this rain the ground might get soaked enough to put down some more hemlocks. I see the creek is rising fast and there's water standing all over.
I'm going to give the cottonwood a try. I've heard it burns pretty fast but puts out more BTUs than fir when dry. I'm cutting up some logs that I had for milling but left too long as I couldn't find the time to get them milled. Good fir. Yesterday I cut the sapwood off some of the bigger ones for fire wood and milled the heart wood into some of the nicest full 1x12s x 12'. I'm going to use them for some trim I have to get done on the house. I just got 12 nice 16' logs for some rafters I'm going to use on my mill shelter. It'd be nice to have it up today.

 

[slowp]

I didn't get my garden grade right. It is a puddle today.

I think I'll go get some more hemlock. I cut a bunch of rounds up a few months ago, then it snowed so I couldn't get to it with my little toy pickup.

We ought to have a bumper crop of moss this year.

 

[nw axe man]

I didn't get my garden grade right. It is a puddle today.

I think I'll go get some more hemlock. I cut a bunch of rounds up a few months ago, then it snowed so I couldn't get to it with my little toy pickup.

We ought to have a bumper crop of moss this year.

Yeah, mine has a lake in it. I was hoping to get it planted this weekend. I won't be able to plant it for at least another 2 weeks as I'll be in Prineville all next week. My last training session for the spring. Sure hope the weather changes for the better as we'll be camping on the Ochoco. I love that place.
Yeah, I think the moss will do well. Hopefully we'll get some sun this summer. Last year I got a ton of corn but it had no flavor or sweetness. Just not enough of Old Saul.

 

[madhatte]

The "pond" in my back 40 was dry all week, and is half-full today. It must have rained a LOT overnight. I know it was nice to go to sleep to the sound of the heavy rain, though.

 

[nw axe man]

The "pond" in my back 40 was dry all week, and is half-full today. It must have rained a LOT overnight. I know it was nice to go to sleep to the sound of the heavy rain, though.

There's nothing quite like a hard rain to help the sandman do his job. The Cowlitz has come up drastically since I crossed it at 9 this morning. The rain has finally let up some, though.

 

[madhatte]

Probably means the Chehalis will be cresting soon, as well, so I can stop worrying about my folks' house in Centralia.

 

[nw axe man]

Probably means the Chehalis will be cresting soon, as well, so I can stop worrying about my folks' house in Centralia.

Yeah, no one needs the Dec 4th, 07 type of thing again. That was a real mess. My oldest best friend lives out on the Bucoda hwy. He has an apartment complex on Woodland Ave that has never flooded before. That time it certainly did. We took a big crew down from our church and helped him muck it out. Of course, he didn't have flood insurance as it NEVER flooded there before. What a mess. No one even had time to take out their personal property. I hope your folks never have to go through that. Or, if they have, that they never have to go through it again.

 

[T_F_E]

Fell a strip of red fir today, Im pretty sure that the bark had ash from mt. saint helens in it. Lots of chain to sharpen tonight...

 

[madhatte]

I hope your folks never have to go through that. Or, if they have, that they never have to go through it again.

In both '96 and '07 both ends of the street were underwater but their house stayed dry. Luck, that -- they live near the HS where the floodplain is everywhere and high spots few.

 

[slowp]

Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service: Seattle: Cowlitz River at Randle

I like this site during flood weather. However, their prediction for 07 was pretty scary. Luckily, it was off.

 

[nw axe man]

Fell a strip of red fir today, Im pretty sure that the bark had ash from mt. saint helens in it. Lots of chain to sharpen tonight...

Yeah, if you're anywhere NE, E or SE of St Helens you got ash. I've found that it's a finer ash than what we have here 21 miles NE of the mtn. Here we got rocks and limbs coming down. As you can imagine, chains didn't hold up well for quite a while. Even now you have to shave the bark off old growth trees if you have to fall them. Otherwise if just drags the chain through the ash and into the wood.

 

[nw axe man]

Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service: Seattle: Cowlitz River at Randle

I like this site during flood weather. However, their prediction for 07 was pretty scary. Luckily, it was off.

That's a good site. Yes, I remember when the fire dept came around saying that it was going to be 28' of flood water. That would have beat 2006. As you said, thankfully they were very wrong. Still, better to be safe than sorry.