Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Backyard Lumberjack]

pays to scrounge some firewood now n then. chilly weather setting in here in S TX... was 57 last nite. had a cardboard piece tight fit to front of my MBR fireplace. so's didn't have to close damper last season. but thot prob would have to make it up and etc... besides heater ez to add a degree of heat to. room had a chill in it. not much, but close enuff. so tweaked behind the cover with a flashlight. and omg! all ready and set to go. [happens as one gets older! lol ] so went outside and got me some scrounged oak firewood already "cracked, stacked and racked!" ( tks, wcc). with smiles, i was all set to go.

fireplace or thermostat? then i found 'behind curtain # 2' :


added some cedar kindling pcs. and couple oak stix, too. soon i had a nice fire started in my MBR fireplace, season's first, and the room's chill was replaced with the pleasantness of the fire's warmth, glow and... charm!



i really wanted the fire, sometimes ya just get lucky!

 

[Brufab]

Missed a lot, been really busy here lately. Finally got my new (to me) trailer home. Brakes needed replaced badly, got them on, then realized there is no brake wire running down the trailer!. Ordered a new plug, and some twin wire for it. Going to need to rewire it anyway, as I don't like the current light set up. Needs fenders, which my cousin says he has a new set somewhere. Underneath looks pretty good as far as rust goes, and the deck will make it several more years before I have to worry about it. Tires are about 2 years old, and look darn good. Bearings were in nice shape as well. Need to make some short sides for it, and get a tool box and winch for it yet, but I'm very pleased for what I spent on it. Gets it's maiden voyage next weekend. Hoping the weather holds out for a day or two, so I can get it finished up.
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In other news, the solar system is proceeding on schedule, permits have been submitted and the sight serves guy is supposed to get ahold of me this week. Supposedly installation only takes 2 days at the most. The permits and inspections are what takes the longest. So hoping to have it finished up before the end of next month.
I lit the furnace for the first time the other night. So starts burn season. Haven't had a 24hr fire, but I'm sure we're not far off from that. Wood shed I full, and I have plenty to split for next year and even the year after.
I had high hopes for starting my tree row project, but with all the rain we've been getting the field is pretty much a muddy mess. So that's been postponed for a bit.
Sadly my wife had to put her dog down yesterday, he's had a good run, and been a pretty good dog for us. 19 years isn't too shabby for a pomeranian. Can't say I'll miss him too much, but it did hit my daughter pretty hard. My wife and I agreed were not going to get another dog for a wile, my Shepard is still going strong so at least we still have one dog around. Now if the cats would all die off..... lol.
Think I covered the most of it, I'm hoping a get a bit more free time once work slows down. (Not likely)
Cheers all.

That looks like a mean trailer. Hope everything works out.

 

[Cricket]

I was thinking more like a plastic toboggan . . .

Philbert

Hay sled. Heftier than plastic toboggans, and more durable.

 

[Brufab]

Gotta tell a story about my grandfather, handed down from my Dad. They lived in ultra-wealthy New Canaan Ct in the 1920's. My grandfather bought an old junk station wagon, probably mid-teens or so, and used a can opener to convert it to a kind of a pickup truck. Then he took a buck saw and drove around town, cutting whatever he could lay his hands on along roadsides or open places where trees had fallen, whatever. Then he'd bring it back home for Dad's older brother to cut and split for the winter. Dad used to watch his brother cutting, splitting, sweating and swearing and thanked God he was too young to be involved in the work. They heated with wood and coal in the winter. Dad's luck held until the War, when his older brothers were married and exempted, and he got drafted right out of high school..
Here in upstate NY the ashes are all doomed from the emerald ash borer so I've been cutting a few to get through the winters. Used to buy truckloads of log length and cut and split them, but I figure I can cut enough for the next few years without buying any.
Picture is from a few years ago, when I had bought wood and had no more room on my single row racks. The "holz hausen" is fun to make, and this was was mainly done for the hell of it, bigger than necessary, but they aren't the best way to season wood by a long shot. They do tend to channel wind into the center of the pile, but also rain, and leaves tend to block the air passages..

That is a work of art holy crap that's amazing. Great work!!!!

 

[dancan]

If dancan had an ATV!

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk

What be this atv you speak of ?

 

[MustangMike]

Supposed to get our first freeze here Wed night, which will be good as it will stop those bugs that infect the deer with EHD (We have had outbreaks in areas both last year and this year).

If places where it hits, you often don't see ANY deer.

 

[JustJeff]

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What be this atv you speak of ?

Love it!

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[mountainguyed67]

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What be this atv you speak of ?

Do you already have snow? Or old picture?

 

[MustangMike]

Hope everyone had a Happy Haloween!

Both my daughters, a SIL, Step Son and his Fiancé are with my wife and I in the adult pic, and 4 of my 5 Grandkids are in the Kid pic.

That uniform is authentic, and belonged to his other Grandfather (who unfortunately is no longer with us).

 

[dancan]

Do you already have snow? Or old picture?

From the archives lol
Usually no snow that stays on the ground here till around christmas.

 

[farmer steve]

Don't be this guy. Make sure of your notch.

 

[old CB]

Don't be this guy. Make sure of your notch.
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I've often wondered about that. I've got a beaver pond, about 25 acres, on my camp property and those critters are at work all the time. Makes me wonder how they fare when the tree comes down because there's no directional felling in their method.

Funny, when I was at camp in October I was hiking on my road to the river. I had cleared it of all fallen limbs but one day found a newly fallen bitternut hickory that a beaver had dropped right across my road. Rather than cut it up (would have required time & labor), I put a rope on the upper end, ran it thru a block on a nearby tree, and pulled the entire tree to one side with my pickup.

 

[chipper1]

Don't be this guy. Make sure of your notch.
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Rough day at the shop lol.

 

[svk]

Don't be this guy. Make sure of your notch.
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It’s gotta happen sometimes

I’ve always said 3-6” trees are the most dangerous to cut.

 

[old CB]

Absolutely. You're always focused and aware on the big guys. But when you come to those little ones, it's like easy-peazy, not thinking too hard, all caution out the window . . . and then it's 1. hung up in another tree, 2. pinching the saw, 3. it's always some dumb thing 'cause you didn't give it enough attention.

3-6” trees are the most dangerous to cut.

 

[svk]

Absolutely. You're always focused and aware on the big guys. But when you come to those little ones, it's like easy-peazy, not thinking too hard, all caution out the window . . . and then it's 1. hung up in another tree, 2. pinching the saw, 3. it's always some dumb thing 'cause you didn't give it enough attention.

I don’t know how many times I’ve cut them, especially red maple or aspen where they hit the ground and WHUNK the trunk bounces up 5’. I always step back several feet.

 

[3000 FPS]

Lodgepole?

Yep good eye.

 

[Be Stihl]

Semi Rant:

I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I think some of the "shortages" are by design.

There is no way possible that many chamberings of ammo (and many reloading components) have been out of stock since Obama....Very few people I know shoot more than I do and very few people that I know hoard ammo.

Selling half the product (at double the price.. or triple...quadruple) is much more profitable for these companies.

Same goes for a lot of other consumables.

Let’s Go Brandon!


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[3000 FPS]

We got a our first snow last night. About 30 out right now and of course the stove is going.
Burning up all the uglies first.

 

[mountainguyed67]

From the archives lol
Usually no snow that stays on the ground here till around christmas.

Our mountains have it, starting below 6,000 feet.