morning firewood adventure

[sirbuildalot]

About 1.2 miles down the road, (very rural area), there have been two large red oak logs sitting there for a couple months. About 10' off the road. No houses nearby the wood. Closest house about 500' away. So, I decided to do a snatch and grab. Brought the Kioti NX4510 over with front grapple and 5x10 trailer. One log was 42"diam, x 13'6" long. The other was 25" diam, x 10' long.

Head over there with my brothers MS660 in tow. Cut the bigger log in 3 sections and the smaller log in half. Load the 2 small log halves onto the trailer and grapple a third of the big log. Everything's going smooth, until about half way back home some ******* comes up the road dead in the middle going about 50mph. Speed limit is 25mph. Hit the brakes, and out pops the big log from the grapple. I'm on a slight downhill stretch. Log is continuing to roll down the road. I'm praying a car isn't coming. Rolls about 200' and stops. I was able to grab it and quickly head home to change my pants.

Wife asks if anything I've done is illegal. No honey, of course not!!! Why do you ask? Oh, because I saw a DOT truck nearby with lights on. Uh oh. I quickly unloaded and took my truck over to the site to see what was going on. No DOT truck, nothing. Went back home. Worked on the logs for awhile, and about 2 hours later went back to retrieve the remaining two sections of the big log. After checking that the DOT or DPW or police weren't there. This time, I strapped the logs down to the grapple and rear 3 point fork. Didn't take the trailer this time.

Made it home and am happy everything worked out. Thank goodness my house is far off the road and out of sight.

 

[Antarctica]

I just saw a report on the news about you. There's an active APB for a guy stealing firewood and operating a vehicle with an insecure load. Said that they're working on the camera footage, and will post the license plate number at 6PM.

You'll probably be in the slammer by tomorrow AM after they raid your house.

Drink beer while you can. You're gonna be on the wagon for a while!

 

[sirbuildalot]

Lol, good thing I didn’t have a license plate. Sides, the 660 and the Kioti made for a quick in and out seamless getaway. Minus the 2300 lb runaway log that is

 

[Trapper_Pete]

didn't Bob say it was fine for you to take those logs , I am sure I heard Bob say all yours.

yeah he said I keep meaning to get to those but if they are still around after the 4th I am just not going to get to them and they are all yours.

 

[Deleted member 149229]

I thought your buddy’s, cousin’s, friend said you could have them?

 

[sirbuildalot]

I just looked up that parcel on the GIS maps. It’s a town owned piece of land. Go figure. Thanks town

 

[sb47]

You took something from property that you do not own. I think they call that theft.

 

[Woodchuck71]

Wow,happened to me.
Huge oak dropped in a storm a few years ago.
Didn't have the time to get it cleaned up in time,or so someone thought!
One day the trunk and the bigger branches where gone...
Followed the drag marks,neighbor half a mile away was in the process of getting it cut and split.Had to go thru a gate.
Chains leave a groove on chip and seal.
I stopped and told him he has 2 weeks to clean up the rest that he left...
IF he'd asked me,I would've brought the log to him with tractor and truck if needed to be.
Retired couple not a lot of money,as a matter of fact,going in the woods in a few minutes to cut him a load for next year.
He had a heart attack a few months ago.
Getti g old sucks

 

[johnnyballs]

have a beer ( or two )...and enjoy your success...

 

[sirbuildalot]

I may have mentioned it in another thread, but the town is widening and repaving my road and a nearby road this summer. I got a letter in the mail saying they’d be cutting 40 trees on my road, and 52 on the other road. Driving around I see a bunch of trees marked. Some are absolute monsters. One is a 63” oak. I spent this weekend getting my 5x10 hd log trailer ready for battle

 

[NSMaple1]

You took something from property that you do not own. I think they call that theft.

Ya, this sounds like a bit of a risky proposition. Around here, taking trees or logs off land before finding out who owns it and trying to ask first is bad mojo.

 

[Haironyourchest]

Ya, this sounds like a bit of a risky proposition. Around here, taking trees or logs off land before finding out who owns it and trying to ask first is bad mojo.

It is a bit naughty... especially when it's your log that grows legs...but the world loves an outlaw!

 

[sirbuildalot]

Keep in mind they sat there begging to be taken for a minimum of 2 months prior to me ruthlessly snatching them.

 

[Woodchuck71]

Well,you're still in the wrong.
I've got trees on my property that fell over for over a year before I get a chance to get to them...
At the least you should've looked at GIS first then contacted the people,even if it's the city/county.

Keep in mind they sat there begging to be taken for a minimum of 2 months prior to me ruthlessly snatching them.

 

[sb47]

Keep in mind they sat there begging to be taken for a minimum of 2 months prior to me ruthlessly snatching them.

It doesn't mater what it is, If it doesn't belong to you, it's stealing, no mater the value or how long it sat there. People get convicted for theft even if they take it from a dumpster.
I live by one rule, leave it alone if you don't own it or have permission to take it.
Thing is, it may look abandoned or worthless junk to you, but someone owns it. What they chose to do with it is there choice. Even if they let it rot away, it's theirs not yours.
Honesty is the mark of a good man.

 

[sirbuildalot]

You guys are right. Next time I'll ask first.

 

[CentaurG2]

What a typical mass-hole.

 

[SeMoTony]

It doesn't mater what it is, If it doesn't belong to you, it's stealing, no mater the value or how long it sat there. People get convicted for theft even if they take it from a dumpster.
I live by one rule, leave it alone if you don't own it or have permission to take it.
Thing is, it may look abandoned or worthless junk to you, but someone owns it. What they chose to do with it is there choice. Even if they let it rot away, it's theirs not yours.
Honesty is the mark of a good man.

I think you are mistaken about removal from a dumpster.
IIRC Watergate had a determination that said, an item placed in a public trash container has been released from ownership. Free for the taking.
On the other hand there are metal scrapping company containers, so marked, left at manufacturers for deposit of waste metal. Those are not public containers as found in alleys in most every city. So privately possessed material

 

[NSMaple1]

Around here, dumpsters are parked on private property. Paid for by a private party for their use. Maybe to collect stuff that they can get some value for - maybe boxboard, or the already mentioned scrap metal. They aren't a public thing, for public use. So you'd be at least trespassing while on a diving expedition.

Trash cans along a street or sidewalk etc. - that's another story.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

When I helped with a tree service, a 32" piece of ash log 6 ft long got away from the skidsteer because the grapple wasn't big enough and couldn't get a good hold on it, he chased it for 200 yards. It rolled down the street, down an embankment, and kissed the license plate of a Honda CR-V. The plate had a dent on one of the letters.

We got the log out of there, raked up the mud grass armaggeddon around it, and GTFO!!! To this day I have NO idea how it didn't flatten that car.