locust & more locust

[Mike Van]

I've been on this job 3 weeks tomorrow, with 3 days off. I get there at 7:30, usually quit by 2:00 [cause my ass is dragging]. I'm always alone, it's a half mile from my house, no cell service so I had a check in time with my wife, just in case....... Over 70 locust trees [some to 24"] 15 or so cherry's, and a dozen elm & hornbeam. Should be 25 to 30 cord when done. Had to drop everything, skid it out with my tractor [IH 574] and 3 pt log winch I built.

The bigger trees, I'd cut a 40 ft log from, skid it out, go back for the top. The smaller stuff I pulled out one piece. A lot of good sawlogs for my mill, the rest firewood. I saved tops down to 2" dia, why not, it burns & makes the brush pile smaller. I did all the cutting & skidding before I started hauling home. This pic is load # 10, a nice 16 footer on the edge. I make sure I have a good full cord load every haul.

Good 'wood weather' today, 40F and a north wind at 20 mph. No stinking mousquitos! Next pic is another pile,

I'll be hauling from tomorrow. Last pic, a different pile [I think I have 6 of these]

I did all the dropping with the XL 400 in this pic, all the limbing & small stuff with an XL 101. One tree had a 2 to 3 inch poisen ivy vine up it, the harriest one I 've ever seen. I think I only 'hung up' 3 trees dropping them - One I took down with another tree, the other two the 3 pt winch pulled off. I sleep good.

 

[motoroilmccall]

Nice job, looks like you've got all the right tools for the job. Is this your land you're cutting on or someone else who wanted this stuff outta there?

 

[Mike Van]

Someone else's motoroilmccall, they wanted all the locust out - "Invasive species" They called it - It was really taking over one edge of the field.

 

[coog]

It sure is nice to have an invasive species with a silver lining.
Now, if we could only come up with a recipe for Zebra Mussels.

 

[MATTYB11]

Wow all that locust,:jawdrop: I'm jealous! looks like you have a nice system going there.

 

[Blazin]

I'm gonna have to call a SCORE on that one, Hard work pays off sometimes!

 

[wdchuck]

Sweeet....

Does the truck dump?
I"m a bit jealous of the 4x4 on that.

Guess you'll be putting some pics on the milling section in the future then?

 

[Mike Van]

No dump on it - I usually pull the side boards & cant hook the load off, or unload with the tractor. I get a better stack with the tractor. I've got 3 trailer decks to saw out of the locust, right now I want to get it all back home before the real snotty weather. The haul site has a pretty good grade to get out of, I'd hate to have to sand it everyday. There's two half oaks that are down here, both about 3+ ft dia & 80 to 90 ft tall, one's down over a bank, the others on flat ground. Got them in my memory bank for next year -

 

[Ole Farmerbuck]

Lookin good!

 

[Wood Doctor]

As you know, Mike, don't try to burn the green locust until next year. However, I'm sure you found some dry stuff in that incredible haul. The Kent/Torrington area of CT is beautiful. I used to live close by. Pssstt..., that's a secret.:greenchainsaw:

 

[Husky137]

Torrington has sprawled an awful lot since I left there.

I can remember (I think) going out to climb the falls at Kent.


Nice haul of logs.

 

[turnkey4099]

Nice score! Beats my best by a bunch...at least the ones I found and could get cutting rights to.

Harry K

 

[Mike Van]

One little story I forgot - About the 3rd day there, I caused & was witness to the classic "widow maker" One locust brushed a cherry tree on it's way down, 2 good sized limbs 2 or 3 in. dia, 20 ft long snapped in the cherry, about 40 ft up. I put another locust in the same spot, one cherry limb came down, the other just hanging. About 5 minutes later, a little breeze came up, I heard a little ripping sound, down came the other limb. I wore a hardhat for 35 years at work, the next day [and for the rest of the job] I had it on again.

 

[Wet1]

Looks good Mike, thanks for sharing the pics. So is this a paid gig or did someone gave you cutting rights (a freebie)? Either way, great find!

 

[Mike Van]

Wet1, I had to pay to be there, don't throw rocks at me when I tell you it'll come out to 10.00/cord for the whole gig...........I got 3 more loads out today, this is # 13

 

[MATTYB11]

$10 dollars a cord is close enough to free if you ask me.

 

[TallElf]

As "invasive" of a species as it is, I appreciate the way that it holds the banks of my creek bed together. I have a bunch of seedings coming up. The oak,maple and other misc scrub wood doesn't seem to mind a little extra foothold. I am going to have to try to find a farmer around here that wants some cleared out. you can't beat the heat, but I do want to make some outdoor furniture. There are a few mills around here, I am sure that I can get someone to help me out.

 

[Mike Van]

Loads 22 & 23 came home today, 23's in this pic.

This was one spot where I cut tops up, the small stuff I cut in 7 ft lengths & load like the pulp trucks - There's a good cord on here. The heavy rain Sat & yesterday raised hell with one part of the road in, turned it to mud. This afternoon I got 2.2 tons of prossesed gravel & shoveled it off into the tire tracks. I've got maybe 8 loads to get out yet, and don't want to leave the place a mess. Not a good way to get invited back.

 

[aquan8tor]

As "invasive" of a species as it is, I appreciate the way that it holds the banks of my creek bed together. I have a bunch of seedings coming up. The oak,maple and other misc scrub wood doesn't seem to mind a little extra foothold. I am going to have to try to find a farmer around here that wants some cleared out. you can't beat the heat, but I do want to make some outdoor furniture. There are a few mills around here, I am sure that I can get someone to help me out.

I have to agree. Locust is good stuff. Everybody calls it "invasive", but it IS a native species. It doesn't hurt (kill with plant toxins) other species like black walnut can, it just grows quickly and can live where other trees cannot. It has the ability to fix nitrogen in its roots, unlike some other trees, which is why it is the first real tree species that might sprout up in a clearcut area, or as a field goes back to forest if left unmanaged. I know a farmer that intentionally plants it along his fences for both future fence posts and firewood. It can grow pretty much anywhere regardless of the nitrogen content in the soil. Good stuff; it'll outlast the post hole digger on a fence row, and burns longer than hickory. My favorite. Keep up the pics.

 

[TreePointer]

I think folks say "invasive" when they actually mean that it's poineer species that invades crop fields.

I have a love-hate relationship with locust trees. I love the trees for their wonderful benefits already outlined in this thread; but if I let a field grow for a few years, it's a real PITA to clear. No slip clutch on the brush hog means replacing shear bolts all day.