The Daily Firewood Picture Thread

[barbender]

No, that's not black ash. 

[Oth]

Doesn't look like ash at all to me. Incredibly dark and massive amount of heartwood. Happy to be wrong though, I've only dealt with white ash as far as I know.

[21incher]

Supposed to be black ash. I gave the logger that dropped it for me the main trunk last fall and it was over 24 inches and very black center. It grew in a very wet spot and the color lightens when dry. This was a side branch off it. 

[SwampDonkey]

It's typical of black ash up here. Dark brown heartwood when green turning grey-brown when dry. Where as white ash has a light brown color with yellow streaks. For basket making they use the light colored sapwood.

[g_man]

I don't believe I have ever seem any black ash. We have none here. Different looking for sure.


The last two mornings the ground has been stiff enough for a couple hours that I was able to get a good start blocking up my wood. By coffee time things were already to soft to keep from making a mess but I have no problem with short work sessions.



Yet another messy snow mixed with rain storm today. Weighted down branches. Never have had as many downed branches as this year since the ice storm in the late 90's

gg

[SwampDonkey]

Black ash is very light weight when dry, about like a stick of dry fir. You have to have some rather marginal land for black ash, usually standing in water during the wet season, with white cedar, willows and balm-of-gilead, sedges and cattails if it was clearcut. I've planted some on good farm ground/garden soil and they are very slow growing. Drought will usually do them in to. I've lost most to drought. One by the garden is doing good, but not straight and tall, the top tends to curve like a bow. I'll probably cut it this spring, shading the garden a bit.

[barbender]

 I've never seen black ash with that dark of heart, that much sapwood (it's usually only about ½", if that), and thick bark like that. That looks like walnut to me. But sometimes, as my wife is always happy to remind me, i am wrong😁

[SwampDonkey]

Black ash bark is thick and corky-spongy up this way. Totally different than that of white ash.

A basket by Kelly Church in MI

When I was a kid I would hear them pound ash all day for baskets across the road (from my grand parents') on the reservation. Potato farmers used them for potato harvesting.

Black ash generally has thin sapwood. But, I've seen thicker sapwood on younger trees. On older trees it's thinner, especially trees that are not all that big and quite old. I wouldn't expect walnut to be in wet swamp lands.  Jack knife into the inner bark, if it is yellowish, it would be walnut.

[cutterboy]

gman, nice pile of rounds for a couple hours work. I like the tent thing on the tractor.
btw, we must have similar schedules. My wife and I have our coffee mid morning after a couple hours of work.

[cutterboy]

That looks like walnut to me. 

barbender, I'm glad you said that. That was my thought also, but I have never seen black ash.

[B.C.C. Lapp]

It does look like walnut.  But walnut don't smell like black ash and it don't cut like ash, its more like poplar.   So he would know if it was walnut when he cut into it.   But it does sure look like walnut.

[21incher]

Not walnut,  it lightens up quite a bit as it dries. The higher  up parts of the tree were much lighter.  Just about the first 16 feet was dark. Been dead a couple years. Right next  to the ditch for all the road runoff so always wet.

[g_man]

gman, nice pile of rounds for a couple hours work. I like the tent thing on the tractor.
btw, we must have similar schedules. My wife and I have our coffee mid morning after a couple hours of work.

It goes pretty fast, cutter, when all I have to do is move down the line lopping them off. This pic is from several years back. Same place, same time, different tractor.

10:00 o'clock coffee is a must here.




gg

[cutterboy]

boy oh boy gman, that grapple is a nice tool.

[SwampDonkey]

A grapple is definitely a game changer. Wish we had one years ago loading straight truck of 8' aspen, instead on just forks.  

[NE Woodburner]

gman, that is what I do as well. I have a mingo paint marker so I mark the log, then pick it up with the grapple and cut blocks at waist height. Works great. Easier on the back and you can move fast not having to roll the log to finish the cut or worry about hitting dirt.

[woodroe]

Back in the woods after a few months idle.  Couple hrs to clean up everything within 30' of this pile. Deadfall and blowdowns spruce and fir. Roll through with the splitter when things dry out. Felt good to be back in the woods with saw.

[Wlmedley]

Got some nice weather so I moved the Red Oak firewood I split about a month ago into my new shed. Shed almost held it all.Approximately 1 1/4 cord. Shed looks a lot better full of wood.

[SwampDonkey]

Been stacking firewood to. 

[thecfarm]

I am ready to go. But I can still see snow in the woods. Those and the wet holes I will keep away from.
I have one area across from the house I keep picked up. That always takes a lot of time. I have a couple trees that fell over and one that broke off. 
The meadow will get a haircut this year too. 
Have some   that need to be hauled off too. 
Ground needs to be levered off too.

[g_man]

Got some nice weather so I moved the Red Oak firewood I split about a month ago into my new shed. Shed almost held it all.Approximately 1 1/4 cord. Shed looks a lot better full of wood.

I had your shed pic up when my wife walked by - She said "That's a cute little wood shed". I like it too - especially full.

gg

[Old Greenhorn]

Bill I am glad to see you filling that shed. Nice and neat and money in the bank! I never realized until this last photo how deep that is. Must be 4 or 5 rows deep, how many cubic feet of wood can you fit in that one?

[Wlmedley]

Tom,It's 5' deep and 8' wide and I stacked it a little over 6'high. I cut my wood around 22" so I've only got 2 rows of wood in it. Mostly built it to sell and since it didn't I decided to use it. My main wood shed is behind my barn and it holds a lot more.I've got 4 cords in it.

[woodroe]

Blowdown carnage from December wind storm. A couple white spruce trees the one on the left measured 85' and the other 80'. Probably a cord of wood there. They grew in a Pine stand where a field was once upon a time. Looks like the taller one took down the other one that was broken off at 30' or so.

[Old Greenhorn]

Tom,It's 5' deep and 8' wide and I stacked it a little over 6'high. I cut my wood around 22" so I've only got 2 rows of wood in it. Mostly built it to sell and since it didn't I decided to use it. My main wood shed is behind my barn and it holds a lot more.I've got 4 cords in it.

So that comes out to just under 2 cords (1.8 or so). Not bad, I like it a lot!