We are feeding the stoves the good stuff tonight and for the next several nights. Hard woods, not the birch, except for getting the fires recharged in the morning. Bradford pear is hard and dense, lots of BTUs!  Big chunks of Bradford run all night long.

 This tree has been waiting a couple of years. I have to get it down while it is still solid, and today was the first part. The wood looks good, and it will be ready to burn in a few weeks.

 We got it out of the pond before it rose, and that is a good thing. I will buck this log tomorrow, and then we can finish splitting. After that we will be loading brush and baldcypress segments that we will not be burning. The ground is still holding up well, so we are pushing to finish before it turns into a muddy mess.

 We are making firewood from the trees cleared along the power line right of way. The old 272 still runs like new at 30 years old. 

 Back To The Old Grind!

Back To The Old Grind!

 The ground was frozen hard again yesterday and this morning, March 3, 2025. Storms are predicted for Tuesday.  We usually scratch down the chimneys in January to keep them safe, but this year the roof was snow and ice covered, and the weather hasn't been fit to work outdoors. Saturday I got up on the roof and cleaned the flues.  The basement flue had just one spot where I knocked out some creosote chunks, but the upstairs flue was nasty.  I filled an ash bucket half full with creosote!  It was far enough up the chimney that it wasn't likely to catch fire, but I am glad it is safe now to finish winter. 

Black oak is our favorite for cold weather. Fast growing, easy to split, dries fast, burns with blue flames. Dig ashes, add wood, repeat.

Back To The Old Grind!

I did a little chainsaw work today for our deer hunters, including a cull black cherry that endangered them in a prime location for hunting. I had a peaceful walk to spot trees that ought to be blocked up for firewood. One was a nice 10" diameter walnut that had the entire top knocked out by weather. Another is a recently fallen ash sawlog that will be prime firewood. This is prime time to make wood right now.  The weather is moderate and the ground is not muddy. Maybe we can get a few cords in the barn before we have snow. Back To The Old Grind!

 I went out in a stand I thinned one year ago and began cutting firewood. This looks promising! I will be checking oaks I cut in the near future.

 There were some black locusts leaning out and getting in the way of the lawnmower, so they became a project over the weekend. We dropped them with the help of the tractor. Bucking, splitting, and stacking went without a hitch. We don't know how lucky we are.*(Cultural Reference at the end of this post.)

 It's been nearly three weeks since we cut these trees, and I finally got back to them. It will dry fast, and the smell is heavenly. 

 We have been busy, so I have not been working on firewood as I should. I went out today and ran a couple of tanks through the saws. There is plenty more to buck, and then we will be splitting and stacking. This video is Part I.

 Back To The Old Grind!