It's that time of year once again to enjoy the changing of the season.
With Autumn in full swing here in Upstate New York getting outside is a must. With cooler temps putting a little bounce in my step, and clear blue skies providing the perfect background for the kaleidoscopic of colors that seem to magically appear this time of year, I hear the whispers of #Mother #Nature beckoning my presence.
You may think I'm off of my rocker for making this statement,
but I love gathering firewood. Sure, it's physically challenging to round up enough wood to provide us with heat for the upcoming long winter, but why I'm still capable of doing so, I will.
The first step is to drop the tree, yelling timber as it starts to fall. Yelling timber is probably not necessary as doing so is done to warn others in the area. Being that I'm the only one in the woods, I shout this single word just for fun. This year I only uttered this word of caution on three occasions, due to the fact that New York State Electric & Gas cut down lots of trees on our property while clearing the power lines.
In the past, I would have to cut a tree into sections before I was able to pull it to a location where I could cut it into 16-inch rounds. This year I was able to drag the entire tree to a clearing with our tractor. Game changer for sure!
Over the past several years 90% of our firewood came from the Ash trees on our property. Due to the Emerald Ash Boring Beetle, this species of tree is being decimated by this little bug.
Native to Asia, it likely arrived in the United States hidden in wood packing materials. The first U.S. identification of Emerald Ash Borer was in southeastern Michigan in 2002. There are a variety of treatment options that can serve as a control measure for the EAB, but they are not a cure.
Ash trees are the only hardwood that can be cut one day and burned SAFELY the next day. All other hardwoods such as Oak, Maple, Black Loctus, and all other deciduous trees should be seasoned for a year before burning. It takes that long for the resins in the tree to dry out.
Once again, the tractor is a game changer. In the past, I would load up my wagon and pull it out with our four-wheeler, carrying only a few rounds at a time.
Here is one of the three trees that I dropped. Our son came up for the weekend for some fun and relaxation. Little did he know that he would be hobbitizing right alongside me. So much for a relaxing weekend.
While he cuts this 80-foot ash into 16-inch rounds I was busy delimbing the tree and discarding the branches. As the title of this post states, there are MANY BENEFITS OF GATHERING FIREWOOD, another one of them is the workout it provides. Who needs a gym and all of its apparatuses when you have a farm?
We burn about four cords of wood a year and I think these piles should meet the bill. The only way to know if these stacks will give us the four cords of firewood we need is to get busy splitting and stacking.
A cord of wood size is 4' x 8' x 4' (4 feet tall, 8 feet long, 4 feet deep), which equals 128 cubic feet.
The weight of a cord of ash wood is around 3,500 pounds.
3,500 lbs. x 4 = 14,000 lbs.
1st move load into tractor = 14,000
2nd move stack for splitting = 14,000
3rd move position rounds for splitting = 14,000
4th move load split wood into tractor = 14,000
5th move stack by house = 14,000
Total 70,000 lbs. = 35 tons.
Now that's some serious hobbitizing and the wood still needs to be moved into the house and loaded into the wood-burning stove one piece at a time.
#Homesteading at its finest.
This isn't where I will split the wood, I'm just changing the oil and making sure that the splitter is ready to go. I burn an ethanol-free, high-octane gas in all of my small engines and always make sure to empty the gas tanks completely before putting them into storage.
Look at that, the pile is slowly disappearing.
Stacking it just a few feet from the front door makes it very convenient. @farm-mom doesn't like the location, it blocks her view, but since she will be moving a lot of the wood indoors, she gets it!
When the kids visit during the winter,
there's nothing like a roaring outdoor fire to keep everyone nice and toasty.
No firewood, no Home Made Maple Syrup.
I'm ahead of the game this year
as this job usually isn't done until the end of October.
Next up, get the wood stove ready to BURN BABY BURN.
but I love gathering firewood. Sure, it's physically challenging to round up enough wood to provide us with heat for the upcoming long winter, but why I'm still capable of doing so, I will.
The first step is to drop the tree, yelling timber as it starts to fall. Yelling timber is probably not necessary as doing so is done to warn others in the area. Being that I'm the only one in the woods, I shout this single word just for fun. This year I only uttered this word of caution on three occasions, due to the fact that New York State Electric & Gas cut down lots of trees on our property while clearing the power lines.
In the past, I would have to cut a tree into sections before I was able to pull it to a location where I could cut it into 16-inch rounds. This year I was able to drag the entire tree to a clearing with our tractor. Game changer for sure!
Over the past several years 90% of our firewood came from the Ash trees on our property. Due to the Emerald Ash Boring Beetle, this species of tree is being decimated by this little bug.
Native to Asia, it likely arrived in the United States hidden in wood packing materials. The first U.S. identification of Emerald Ash Borer was in southeastern Michigan in 2002. There are a variety of treatment options that can serve as a control measure for the EAB, but they are not a cure.
Ash trees are the only hardwood that can be cut one day and burned SAFELY the next day. All other hardwoods such as Oak, Maple, Black Loctus, and all other deciduous trees should be seasoned for a year before burning. It takes that long for the resins in the tree to dry out.
Once again, the tractor is a game changer. In the past, I would load up my wagon and pull it out with our four-wheeler, carrying only a few rounds at a time.
Here is one of the three trees that I dropped. Our son came up for the weekend for some fun and relaxation. Little did he know that he would be hobbitizing right alongside me. So much for a relaxing weekend.
While he cuts this 80-foot ash into 16-inch rounds I was busy delimbing the tree and discarding the branches. As the title of this post states, there are MANY BENEFITS OF GATHERING FIREWOOD, another one of them is the workout it provides. Who needs a gym and all of its apparatuses when you have a farm?
We burn about four cords of wood a year and I think these piles should meet the bill. The only way to know if these stacks will give us the four cords of firewood we need is to get busy splitting and stacking.
A cord of wood size is 4' x 8' x 4' (4 feet tall, 8 feet long, 4 feet deep), which equals 128 cubic feet.
The weight of a cord of ash wood is around 3,500 pounds.
3,500 lbs. x 4 = 14,000 lbs.
1st move load into tractor = 14,000
2nd move stack for splitting = 14,000
3rd move position rounds for splitting = 14,000
4th move load split wood into tractor = 14,000
5th move stack by house = 14,000
Total 70,000 lbs. = 35 tons.
Now that's some serious hobbitizing and the wood still needs to be moved into the house and loaded into the wood-burning stove one piece at a time.
#Homesteading at its finest.
This isn't where I will split the wood, I'm just changing the oil and making sure that the splitter is ready to go. I burn an ethanol-free, high-octane gas in all of my small engines and always make sure to empty the gas tanks completely before putting them into storage.
Look at that, the pile is slowly disappearing.
Stacking it just a few feet from the front door makes it very convenient. @farm-mom doesn't like the location, it blocks her view, but since she will be moving a lot of the wood indoors, she gets it!
When the kids visit during the winter,
there's nothing like a roaring outdoor fire to keep everyone nice and toasty.
No firewood, no Home Made Maple Syrup.
I'm ahead of the game this year
as this job usually isn't done until the end of October.
Next up, get the wood stove ready to BURN BABY BURN.
2nd move stack for splitting = 14,000
3rd move position rounds for splitting = 14,000
4th move load split wood into tractor = 14,000
5th move stack by house = 14,000
Total 70,000 lbs. = 35 tons.
Now that's some serious hobbitizing and the wood still needs to be moved into the house and loaded into the wood-burning stove one piece at a time.
#Homesteading at its finest.
This isn't where I will split the wood, I'm just changing the oil and making sure that the splitter is ready to go. I burn an ethanol-free, high-octane gas in all of my small engines and always make sure to empty the gas tanks completely before putting them into storage.
Look at that, the pile is slowly disappearing.
Stacking it just a few feet from the front door makes it very convenient. @farm-mom doesn't like the location, it blocks her view, but since she will be moving a lot of the wood indoors, she gets it!
When the kids visit during the winter,
there's nothing like a roaring outdoor fire to keep everyone nice and toasty.
No firewood, no Home Made Maple Syrup.
I'm ahead of the game this year
as this job usually isn't done until the end of October.
Next up, get the wood stove ready to BURN BABY BURN.
there's nothing like a roaring outdoor fire to keep everyone nice and toasty.
No firewood, no Home Made Maple Syrup.
I'm ahead of the game this year
as this job usually isn't done until the end of October.
Next up, get the wood stove ready to BURN BABY BURN.
as this job usually isn't done until the end of October.
Next up, get the wood stove ready to BURN BABY BURN.