Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

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If it was all I could get, I'd do whatbi have too, but I am pretty picky about what I bring home.

They don't teach that here lol.
Black jack is the prize of the woods here but it is hard to find anymore when most of the woods is full of sugar maples.
 
Unfortunately I have a lot of black gum (tupelo) right next to my house that I want to remove, but I didn't know what it was when I made that decision. I dropped the largest one first and the 8 smaller ones are still standing in that little patch of woods. This all happened before I joined here.
After unsuccessful attempts to split, I identified the tree on an internet site that drilled down with a ton of questions. Then I searched the forums for black gum and and found out why people leave it in the woods. :eek: It burns OK, heavy wet wood that gets very light when dry.

The largest gum after I topped it. Four of the smaller ones are also in the pic.
P3010081.JPG

Attempts to split.
P4270120.JPGP1010177.JPG

Oodles of Noodles. I searched my toolbox for something hooked and found out that a spring stretcher tool works good for unclogging saws.
P5180212.JPG
P5180216.JPGP5180218.JPG

One day I got energetic and identified all of my trees in 5 similar pictures. At least 2 of the black gums need to be removed one of these days so I can clear the woods back and make mowing the steep hill next to my driveway easier.
Trees.jpg
 
Unfortunately I have a lot of black gum (tupelo) right next to my house that I want to remove, but I didn't know what it was when I made that decision. I dropped the largest one first and the 8 smaller ones are still standing in that little patch of woods. This all happened before I joined here.
After unsuccessful attempts to split, I identified the tree on an internet site that drilled down with a ton of questions. Then I searched the forums for black gum and and found out why people leave it in the woods. :eek: It burns OK, heavy wet wood that gets very light when dry.

The largest gum after I topped it. Four of the smaller ones are also in the pic.
View attachment 1001939

Attempts to split.
View attachment 1001940View attachment 1001941

Oodles of Noodles. I searched my toolbox for something hooked and found out that a spring stretcher tool works good for unclogging saws.
View attachment 1001942
View attachment 1001943View attachment 1001944

One day I got energetic and identified all of my trees in 5 similar pictures. At least 2 of the black gums need to be removed one of these days so I can clear the woods back and make mowing the steep hill next to my driveway easier.
View attachment 1001946
Is the ash still alive in your neck of the woods, we've lost about 95% of them to the EAB. Some started shooting off water spouts at the ground and the rest of the tree died, and out of the 5% that lived are most have some damage, but seem as though they will now live, and there are a small amount that seemed to get no damage, some of those were sprayed and some not.
Sad to see them go as many relied on them for firewood in the river bottom, and I know two people here locally that were injured/ died from them falling on them with no provocation, and the other was hit by a large branch while falling them for firewood. He had been cutting firewood for 60yrs, the smallest saw he ran was a 70cc :oops:, he was a farm boy and it showed, tough guy for sure.
 
Unfortunately I have a lot of black gum (tupelo) right next to my house that I want to remove, but I didn't know what it was when I made that decision. I dropped the largest one first and the 8 smaller ones are still standing in that little patch of woods. This all happened before I joined here.
After unsuccessful attempts to split, I identified the tree on an internet site that drilled down with a ton of questions. Then I searched the forums for black gum and and found out why people leave it in the woods. :eek: It burns OK, heavy wet wood that gets very light when dry.

The largest gum after I topped it. Four of the smaller ones are also in the pic.
View attachment 1001939

Attempts to split.
View attachment 1001940View attachment 1001941

Oodles of Noodles. I searched my toolbox for something hooked and found out that a spring stretcher tool works good for unclogging saws.
View attachment 1001942
View attachment 1001943View attachment 1001944

One day I got energetic and identified all of my trees in 5 similar pictures. At least 2 of the black gums need to be removed one of these days so I can clear the woods back and make mowing the steep hill next to my driveway easier.
View attachment 1001946
I can’t believe you have an Ash left. My friend counted at least 70 on her farm dead, mine bit the grit 2-3 years ago. Good wood, but once it hits the ground it rots fast. I might get a few more cords from my friends farm. Last time I brought 10’ logs home there was more half rotted, punky wood than good fire wood. Now we’re pushing the logs in the washouts caused by the flash floods coming off the hills where the Ash forest used to slow the water down and diffuse it.
 
Is the ash still alive in your neck of the woods, we've lost about 95% of them to the EAB. Some started shooting off water spouts at the ground and the rest of the tree died, and out of the 5% that lived are most have some damage, but seem as though they will now live, and there are a small amount that seemed to get no damage, some of those were sprayed and some not.
Sad to see them go as many relied on them for firewood in the river bottom, and I know two people here locally that were injured/ died from them falling on them with no provocation, and the other was hit by a large branch while falling them for firewood. He had been cutting firewood for 60yrs, the smallest saw he ran was a 70cc :oops:, he was a farm boy and it showed, tough guy for sure.
The tops are always what scares me. I opted to leave more than one of them in our woodlot and let mother nature do her thing. Just ain't worth the risk over a couple cords of wood.
 
Most of the Ash around here is dead, and much of it rotted, but I felled two solid 28" trees last year that were solid and great for firewood (I posted the pics back then).

I have a small Ash tree (about 3" diameter) still alive on my property down here.

On my upstate 50 acres in the Catskills, they are all still alive unless storms have blown them down. Ash and Black Cherry are our primary firewood up there, but I'm seeing a lot more Black Birch and Red Oak recently as new Ash and Black Cherry seem to be on the decline. We also get some Red and Sugar Maple. Hard to dry the Sugar Maple as it seems you are always in the clouds up there ... things stay wet a lot longer than they do down here. We ALWAYS leave a good supply of wood inside the cabin to ensure we have dry wood for the fire.

I think they (the Ash) survive better in colder climates. My elevation is about 2,200 feet.
 
The tops are always what scares me. I opted to leave more than one of them in our woodlot and let mother nature do her thing. Just ain't worth the risk over a couple cords of wood.
Always wear a helmet when felling, and at times I wish I also had shoulder guards! That said, it won't save you from the big stuff. One of my cousin's friends is paralyzed from a dead Elm limb that fell on him from the tree next to the one he was cutting.
 

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