Homestead mailing list

[Keith B <bartermn AT epix.net>]

Hey Chris,
I hope to have cut the last firewood we need this year. I had piled a 
bunch of 6-8 foot lengths of logs and branches when our septic was put 
in last summer, about two full cord. I cut the last of them a couple 
weeks ago. It was a mix of ash, ironwood and locust and soft maple.

Yesterday I had to down a few dead standing trees on the new acre. It 
was a bear dragging them through the slippery slush of a weekend snow 
storm that dropped about six inches on us. If I only had to heat this 
camp we live in the pile would have been plenty, with some left over for 
next year. But our boy is staying in the almost but not quite finished 
log cabin. I told him if it didn't warm up soon he'd better buy a 
truckload of wood; I wasn't cutting any more.

That one acre we got from the neighbor is mostly trees and a rather nice 
screen between our house and the blacktop road. As a woodlot, it ain't 
much but should supply us with part of the firewood we need just by 
thinning. With our son living there, we learned how much wood it takes 
to heat the log cabin anyways.


Chris Clarke wrote:

> Anyone around?  Things seem to have gotten very quietly lately.
> Everyone getting ready for spring?  I have taken my slightly more 
> than 1/2 a cord of wood and reduced it to 1/4 cord of nice heartwood
> and 1/4 of dry rot... :D   The pile looks very nice.   Maybe I'll
> send a picture.   Need to get another 1/2 cord, hopefully this time
> of nice clean red and white oak.