There is not a lot to report today.
I spent a couple of hours yesterday in the woods. Most of the time was spent cutting "usable" sized chunks of firewood out of the Black Locust I dropped earlier this year. Due to how they leaned, most of the canopies fell into the pasture. Then I carried the chunks and tossed them into pile for later transport.
I will bend over to pick up and carry a stick that weighs 5 pounds. I am reluctant to pick up and carry a log weighing seventy pounds over rough ground. 96" poles between 3" and 5" diameter make good fence posts. Hence the color coding of the table.
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| Approximate weights of "logs" @ 60lb/cubic-foot. |
I want to get the brush dragged back into the "woods" and re-erect the fence. Pastures that are not used revert back to brush.
I also dropped four more Black Locust trees but these were on the back-corner of the property.
Rain is expected all day today and high winds are expected tomorrow so I will not be back out into the woods until Tuesday.
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| The load I brought in on Christmas day. The largest chunk is 8" diameter and most are in the 6-1/2" class. |
Do you use a tractor with a bucket Joe?
ReplyDeleteIs deer season over with out your way? Any luck?
Been a week since I saw any deer crossing my backyard-garden area-apple trees. Turkeys everywhere. Huge crop from this year, they grow fast.
I do not use a tractor. I see the exercise as a benefit. If you hang to bow-saws on the wall of your shed and use one of them every day and leave the other on its hook, which blade will be rusted and unusable first?
DeleteIn my county, I can hunt antlerless deer with a firearm up until (and including) January 11, 2026. I can hunt them until January 31 with a bow (including a crossbow).
The bag-limit is 10-per-person for the season (the way I read the regulations).
So, you have some more time to fill the freezer, that's good.
DeleteAny luck so far? Or do you think perhaps later in the season the hunting pressure will be less?
Saw a trio of deer this evening at my tree line, oddly no turkeys today.
To ERJ, regarding bow saws or handsaws. We were gifted with a Corona handsaw several years ago, and now use them exclusively. None of our old bow saws cut well, and these Coronas are a dream to cut. Ours are the folding kind, so they are easy to carry. I guess the blades are better quality metal or something.
DeleteSouthern NH
Could you split the larger logs in half/third/quarter with sledge/wedge to make more fenceposts?
ReplyDeleteYes. I have done that.
DeleteThe Black Locust has a grain that spirals and "weaves" so they don't split easily and the posts are "ugly". The advantage is that older logs have a higher ratio of heartwood-to-sapwood and last longer.
When pulling wood at my parents' house from the woodshed to the house, I use a wheelbarrow. The size of the barrow keeps the load manageable and it is about 50 yards or so, so it makes for a good workout as well.
ReplyDeleteHad the same sort of Friday/Saturday. Pole saw and a hedge clipper. Limbs, Chinese Privit (which may have already grown back) and vines called "Hold Up There!" locally. Get a foot caught and everything else comes to a stop untill you free your self from snare like vine and numerous thorns. It is a neglected stretch of my property that has been calling my name. Roger
ReplyDeletegot out of town just in time, after christmas dinner at my sisters in Livonia on the 25th we pointed the truck south. just got to okeechobbee florida this morning. My just retired neighbor is dealing with the downed branches in my yard that were resting on the power line. lot of midland hass been without power and with all the ice and high winds tonight its probably going to get worse.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a pickaroon? Menards sells a perfectly usable model for $22. I handle a lot of wood in all its forms and these are a back saver. Imagine not having to pick 6” logs up to move them, or not having to grab ahold of every round when picking it up to load the trailer. I can easily drag 8’ lengths of 10” oak
ReplyDeleteI can’t recommend one enough. If you get one file the tip to a sharp point.
I concur about the pickaroon for saving your back. I have a two wheel wood cart that holds about twice as much as a wheelbarrow. Best moved pulling it. Here in Copper Basin Alaska it takes to years to fully dry green cut spruce. Spruce is our primary heating wood here. W e do try to acquire enough standing Beatles killed dry wood to fill the wood shed. How long does it take to dry what you are cutting?
ReplyDeleteIn Kentucky I cut and split oak and hickory and can burn it 10 months later, I typically have a 2-3 year supply so I’m burning wood that’s been drying fr 2 years minimum.
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