So this afternoon I split some nice, dry cottonwoood from a windfall near the neighbor-across-the-river’s driveway. My son had bucked it up. I brought it home and split most of it (some was tough enough that it will wait for the hydraulic splitter). When I finished, there were some small pieces laying around, and a bunch of bark left from the year’s firewood work. To save time, I got out the spading fork to pick it up. Then, somewhere in my cobwebby brain, this surfaced:
And we actually have one, sitting all alone in the barn. It’s big enough that it’s heavier than I like for stall litter or compost, but for bark, it worked great!
The resent cold temps have increased the firewood demand. Now that we’re suddenly influenced by a heatwave (-10C) I took the oppertunity to enjoy one of my favorite hobbies for the last 50+ years - firewood handling. More snow is on its way.
I lost count but I think I wheeled in 13 or 14 overfilled wheelbarrows like this one today - about one true stacked cord. It will last 3 weeks to a month. Stacking it once again in the room next to the boiler is some extra work, but it’s all about storage space. One more cord has been steaming off in there since the week before Christmas and is ready to burn. BBB.
Thanks Bob.
Seems I did the right thing with firewood yesterday. Another snowstorm today. Only 2 degrees below freezing at the moment and snowing horisontally. This snow will be heavier than before. Will start turning the crank on the Fergie in a couple hours.
Crawling around with chainsaws and pry bar in deep snow. Cutting stumps away from knocked down sturdy spruces for the harvester to reach them in steep terrain. I’m beat. This is NOT the fun part of wood I usually talk about.
Swamps are easier when they are all frozen over. I dont think the Nøkken or Nixies are around during winter are they. You just have to deal with the tantalizing Skogsrå!
Don’t worry you won’t have to worry about it anyway. Apparently one of the key points at the WEF in Davos, was about global water and there is a paper on the 4 ‘new’ dry regions in the northern hemisphere. It looks like you are covered in a dryer region, but not quite in this new desert.
Thanks for your concern guys. I’m done for now. 35-40 stumps cut lose where it’s too steep for the harvester to reach. Hundreds of trees to deal with for him. I had no choice, but to bring in the big guys. I would be busy for years and the timber go bad.
Next weather oppertunity and days off from work I’ll focus on the woodlot down by the river. The ground down there is more even and suitable for my equipment.
More work whenever there’s an oppertunity. A mild -10C or 14F today. I even saw a few short glimps of the sun.
Every step through the snow requires knees up to the chin. Sweat i pouring. No need for a gym.
At least I can drive close to where I’m going on this woodlot.
Last pic - converting smoke in the hopper to steam in the rear.
Thanks for posting on this topic J.O.
I’ve forgotten about it and have been posted on the Summer of; and Winter of; topics. Then my wood making activities got set back “retired”. Disappeared.
Any newer here; lefthand slide bar tool go up and open up “Feb 2012” for WayneK’s opening topic starter post. One of the very first topics set up on the then just activated DOW; way back when.
Shows you his feelings about the priorities of woodgasing. Fuel first.
Also he has a video linked there. You’ll get to see the younger man version of who just became his newest grandson contributor into his life. Yes??
It would be very hard to scroll through and read all 3836 posts spanning 14 years.
You can at the bottom of that first post ask for a condensed summery of this topic. Only ~100 then to view.
Or click open on the avatar/icon of any contributor shown; and click to just read that persons posted up contributions.
Still winter here northern hemisphere. Still more dark cold hours; than light and sunny, warm . . .
Reading time.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Opps! Young son’s pictures are on full topic’s post #13.
My wood chunker is going to be busy. It is all poplar and I have used it before not as good as the cherry wood. The big parts of the tree are cut at 10’ and will be used as fence post around the orchard to try to keep the deer out. The deer have kill about 100 new trees at 12 dollars each to plant. More tree are going to be planted this year so the fencing needs to be finished.
I am going to enjoy the new view of the mountains on a clear day hopefully soon. We could not see them in the summer months with all the foldage on the trees. We still have plent of poplars trees for shade looking south.
The poplars will probably grow back. and if you want more of them, you can stick twigs in the ground. Which would give you something living to attach fencing to in 10 years. (I would use non-metal in case you ever wanted to chop it up.) Poplar usually rots pretty fast.
For 12 bucks each, I would be looking at cloning the cherries, but I do know they are usually grafted on to wild root stock and various varieties are illegal to clone because of patents. But if 100 died, I would argue that was your license. I am worried about the deer eating my maple trees.
Oh, and the uv treated #2 plastic fencing is supposed to last 50 years now which you -can- if you wanted to (which probably don’t), make using recycled plastic and an extruder similar to precious plastic’s designs. It is used a lot for horse fencing now.
I was thinking more like a snow beach and bikinis.
all.
