Making it thrugh another year, '24-'25

[Peter Drouin]

I think if a new neighbor came over and started this BS. I would say it's not going to happen and if you don't weave now you won't like what's coming next.

But, I do like Docs Idear if you can get the neighbors to help. Maybe Stupid has had words with them too.

If he thinks the whole road of neighbors hates him he might come around.

Ask barge monkey to take him fishing.

[Nebraska]

Could go to burning Green Willow or something else obnoxious. 

[Rhodemont]

Old G do not let this guy ruin your life.  If he comes over again ask him to finance and install in the shop a certified energy efficient clean as can be stove and chimney system and you would be glad to have him pay professionals to install it.  Then just back off close the door and load the stove.

[Wlmedley]

Tom,I've got a neighbor about like yours. Dumb as a rock. It used to upset me as I like to get along with everyone but I think some people enjoy conflict. I've found it's best just to ignore him for the most part. I've never heard of any laws against burning wood for heat so he needs to accept it or he could always move out. That's what I keep hoping my neighbor will do.

[SawyerTed]

Do what suits you because NOTHING you do will ever suit the neighbor.   You've capitulated to his first round and now he thinks he can demand more concessions.  Forget it!  You'll never satisfy him.  

Who can he complain to?  EPA?  You think he wants authorities coming around to check on your smoke when he has illegal dumping activity on his property?  

And don't let him have space in your head rent free!  

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I thank you all for your empathy. I don't want to enter a 'race to the bottom' with this guy and I refuse to do mental battle with unarmed people. But something in the back of my head says he might do something stupid and he is not telling me what his real issue is. It cost me some sleep last night for sure and I wound up sleeping in until 8am this morning. I mentioned it to Bill today on the phone and he nearly went ballistic and wants me to set him loose on the guy. I don't think I want that either. Bill too has a history with him and it's not a good one. Bill's elderly Pop lives right across the road and there have been 'incidents'. No, it's not just me, I am just the latest attraction for him. But I will admit, he now has me second guessing everything I do with regard to my shop. I didn't re-fire the stove until 2pm today which is about when he finally went out to work or whatever it is he does. It was warm and I only got the shop up to 58 but it was adequate for the work I was doing. I just know this isn't over yet and I am trying to pre-plan my responses. The next 'conversation' is going to go up a level.
--------------------------------------
The wind finally died off today and the temp got over freezing so I headed to the mill. I finished off the logs I have on the deck and marked another for bucking and loading, then I just need one more to complete the current order. Next up id some 3x18x12' for Bill's top boards on his F750 dump truck. It's not going to be as warm tomorrow, nor as sunny, but the wind should remain low so that will be good enough for me. If he is around to lend a hand here and there we may be able to finish it all off. I haven't even looked at next weeks weather yet, but I am thinking I would love to get some hardwood milled up for my own projects and there are a few nice logs that have to get milled soon or become firewood. I found a WO the other day that I really wanna slice up and it's aging quick.

I piddled mostly in the shop trying to find my way and I put an old handle on a cheap ax head whose handle rotted and broke off. It was a 3/4 ax head and I hung it on a hand ax handle, probably from the 40's or 50's. It doesn't fit fully and properly but is secure. I will fille the gaps with epoxy the next time I mix some up. I am having good success with that. Did the same on a maul handle and it is holding up great. I find these short handled tools to be pretty handy although I have a bunch of camp axes around already. I figure it's better to have a usable hand ax than a head laying in one corner and a handle sitting in a box of handles anyway. It didn't take me long to get a good edge on the ax either.

Tomorrow is another day.

[21incher]

I bet he was recording the conversation on his cellphone.  Just show him the certificate of compliance from when the stove was installed and tell him to pound salt. He can then fight and loose with the code enforcement officer because  it meets all town codes. Woodstoves are still legal in NY so he doesn't have a leg to stand on. If you know the local sheriff call him and file harassment charges. Be sure to get next conversation in front of your security camera. It's not going to end on its own.

[doc henderson]

I would try to start the stove earlier not later and it will already be in the no smoke stage when he gets up.  As you know good dry wood puts of less visible smoke and if starting from coals, start with some small kindling so it flames up fast and fully burns all the volatile stuff.

[Big_eddy]

Don't listen to me, but I'd likely toss a couple of railroad tie pieces in and choke the damper down. And maybe a chunk of an old tire.

If you really want to tick him off, toss in a roadkill squirrel or rabbit (or skunk).  That'll get his nostrils flaring. 

I have no use for dimwits and busy bodies 

[Peter Drouin]

Maybe when the next time he comes. Call the cops first then open the door. Don't listen to his BS. Just say get off my land. If the cops get there soon enough tell them you want him off your land and not come back. The cops will record that and the next time he will get arrested.

I'm not sure what NY laws are, you could look it up. Maybe you might have to put a restraining order on him.

If your not doing to just punch him in the head.

Either way, someone said [nip it in the bud] if you don't
 stupid will drag this on forever.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I'd just tell him "I have tried to be a good neighbor but it isn't working so I am done trying. I am in compliance with all New York state and local ordinances and am done with the issue. Next time come with a court order and the sheriff. Now get off my property and go home and play in your junkyard."

    Then afterwards I would call the sheriff and tell him what I had said so he is aware and prepared.

[Old Greenhorn]

I am slowly learning to ignore that neighbor.
---------------------
Today I managed to make another step out of my winter funk. With the coming snow and my very low wood reserves, I decided I need to get a move on here and suck it up. Also Bill needed some stuff from me this week that we should have gotten done more than a week ago, but the grapple on the toolcat blew a line just before ew got that log loaded and it's not fixed yet. But he did find a log we could use and put it on the mill a day or two ago. He also needed to get firewood out to 3 customers and I needed a load too. So yesterday I went down in the afternoon and helped him run off a truck load through the processor. This morning I went down and we ran off another load, then while he was delivering it, I walked over to the mill and milled out his 3" top boards for his 750 dump. Then he came back just after I finished and we ran off another truck load and he dropped it by my shop. After that we both had family stuff we had to do. But it's progress anyway. It's good to get out and do something even if I can't feel my feet after a few hours. If he can load me up some logs I might go back and mill up some 4x6's tomorrow from hemlock for shop builds during the deep freeze coming this week. He wants to keep his carpenter busy, but not outside.

 As for this week, I think I am just going to read. I am nearing the end of my current book, but I have 2 more ready and one is about600 pages by the looks of it. For some reason my reading lately seems to be interrupted by unplanned naps. So these days it takes me longer to get through a book.
Anyway, I seem to be working my way back a little at a time.

[SwampDonkey]

I usually plan them afternoon naps in winter.  I'm an old ground hog.

[Peter Drouin]

I usually plan them afternoon naps in winter.  I'm an old ground hog.

If I were up at 2 AM I would be taking a nap too.

[Old Greenhorn]

For me it seems to be affected by how hard I work. Yesterday, 4 hours of steady work outside with a fair amount of physical exertion was enough to force a one hour nap while I was trying to read in the afternoon.

[SwampDonkey]

Hard work will definitely do it. 

[GRANITEstateMP]

Tom,

I was thinking about your post yesterday afternoon.  We had done up a cord of wood, did a 15 mile atv ride, got the plow on the truck, and readied the yard for snow.  I was thinking of your post in my chair..next thing I knew it was half an hour later!  I think better when I am napping

[WV Sawmiller]

   You guys talking about firewood now make me think you are burning a lot of green firewood. I confess I do. I have a supply of dry split ash I mix with the green maple and beech that fell. I kind of mark the location of fallen trees for future use and take my ATV up and get the ones I reach as I need them. I also have a few dead standing locust I can cut as needed. With them I generally save anything that will make a 7' fence post or 12-15 ft pole and cut the rest up for firewood.

   As to books I am constantly reading a book. I read a few pages every night no matter how late it is or where I am. I just picked up a Cracker Western my dad sent me 20-30 years or so ago I guess. They are written about Florida and often include cow hunters (they weren't called cowboys there) and their whips they used to drive the cattle and hogs and such out of the thick brush where ropes could not be used effectively. 

    I have heard 2 versions of the term Cracker and one was they were named after the sound of these whips. The other version is they were called crackers because they cracked their corn to make their grits which was a staple food item for the region.

   Anyway, you guys stay warm, take care and don't slip on the ice.

[SwampDonkey]

I cut mine the fall/year before, it's bone dry. And I cut a substantial pile of it. I ain't run'n out of dry wood.  Shop only takes a stove full for heat in the morning, I don't add none until the next morning. Well, now that I see if I load it a second time it will go to 100° in there.  80° out there now, nice and toasty for the next 18 hours. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, this last load has more drying left to do than I would like, that's for sure. I bring in several days wood at a time to the shop and park the carts right next to the stove and that helps take a lot of the surface water off quickly. When they are froze solid like this current load, it takes a lot longer. So when I fill the stove, I put in a bottom layer of dried wood, then the newer stuff on top. None of the wood I have is fresh cut, it's all from standing dead trees.
 Now Ash is my favorite, if it have been standing dead for 5 or more years, I can go from stump to stove in an hour and it burns fine. It also hands splits like a dream. If it was on the ground and pick up water it will still dry very quick after it was split.
Most of the firewood guys around here have several years worth of logs, including bill, so they sit in a pile and do dry a bit at a time. If taken dead, they likely already had a few years of drying on the stump. So when you buck and split them open, the remainder of the drying goes pretty quick if stacked and covered from rain/snow. Airflow is critical. My preferred system is to buck and split standing dead in the spring and have 8 cords stacked by June 1st. This gives about 5-6 months of airflow and works pretty well. When stacking I separate the pieces that feel more wet and burn those at the end of the season or the following year. This year, given very poor planning and mental attitude I really blew it and was the least (worst) prepared that I have been in at least 10 years and am paying the price.
Bill has no setup for drying or cutting ahead yet. But he just bought a skid full of 1/3 cord bags and is working on a hanging rack for them now that he can put under the conveyor. This could allow him to cut and split ahead or split wood whenever his guys are available and not have to worry about delivering it just then. As with every wood guy, he tries to get his customers to order for spring/early summer delivery, but hardly any do. The load we did Friday was to begin filling a woodshed they had just finished building for a client. That 8 x 16 shed should hold a bunch.
------------------------------------
Granite, there are several ways to interpret your comment:
Are you saying my posts put you to sleep?
Are you saying that simply thinking about my posts put you to sleep?
Are you saying your are a slow reader?
Are you saying it takes a long time to think and consider what it in my posts?
Are you saying it takes a long time to figure out what my posts are trying to say?

I'm confused, so come on man, which is it?

[SawyerTed]

My confession is I'm behind on firewood much like you, Tom.  It's a downer to think about.   I commiserate completely.   Working in firewood not as much "fun" as it used to be...

There's no lack of firewood on our farm, I can't keep up with it.  Between standing dead, dying red oaks and blow downs, there's plenty of ready to burn.  If we get a green blow down, I usually cut it to log lengths to mill or cut for firewood.

What has me behind are the house renovations.  Between the renovation work and routine chores, the firewood work got a backseat.   Now the weather has curtailed firewood work the last couple of weeks. 

If I can get my son and my neighbor/buddy to help, we can put a month's worth of firewood in for two houses in a day and a half. 

Right now I'm burning sawmill slabs in the fireplace insert and regular firewood in the water stove.  Running the insert stretches the water stove firings out a bit.   I kept a stockpile of slabs just to help me get by.   So far it's working out by a slim margin.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I have excuses and I made choices on how to spend my time thinking it would lead to better things. I spent most of my time working on that trailer to get it ready for shows and building sales stock and all that, then there were the shows to chewed up a lot of weekends, plus the milling work in between. Live and learn, right?
 But the firewood is getting harder to do for me. It's a lot of bending and handling and I just can't do 8 hours sessions of it anymore. Also, since I am not running my sawmill all the slabs I cut (pine and hemlock) go into Bill's OWB. If we run hardwood I will take those home.
 But now that I spent all that time on the shows and trailer, I really won't be doing as much of that this year. I'll have to come up with a new plan. Part of that plan may be to shut the shop down for the coldest months of the winter and read more.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   You mention Bill's 1/3 cord bags. My dad used to call that a Strand which was equal to a stack of wood 8' long, 4' high, 16" long and stacked tight.

    I have also heard people talk about a Face Cord which was 4' high, 8' long, stacked tight but with an indeterminant length. I don't know if either of those are standard terms or measurements.

[GRANITEstateMP]

Howard,

I burn wood that has seasoned at least a year, I like 2, and when my sheds are full next year, it should put me on a 3 year rotation...that is the plan at least. 

Speaking of Westerns, I just finished a "Sackett" book, I really enjoyed this one.

Swamp,

If it gets to 80 in my house, it means my wife's been feeding the stove!  Damper full open, spin the air adjuster all the way open, modulate heat via windows!  She doesn't do any of the firewood work so I get a bit ornery when the windows are open and its 15 outside.

Tom,

To answer your questions:
No
No
Sometimes
No
No

I was just pointing out that hard work (or play) sometimes leads to a "siesta of tranquility"  . I may have googled "fancy name for a nap" for that description!

Ted,

I've found that making firewood a group activity helps me get more done (for myself and helper, not customer stuff).  A lot of times we'll shoot to get a cord done for each of us, then either do an atv ride, or bbq, and sometimes during summer, the family's will meet up at the lake after and have a fun afternoon

[Old Greenhorn]

Howard, I am sure I mis-spoke, they can't be 1/3 cord bags, they must be 1/4 cord bags, but I could be wrong on that also. I'll check into it further.

 I consider a face cord to be a half cord, I use 18" wood. But there are all kinds of terms and misrepresentations to go around, like 'ricks' and such.

 I'll put my book comments in the 'goo reads' thread at some point.

 I'm tired of plowing and shoveling today.