Lost Firewood

[WV Sawmiller]

  Yesterday i went out and unloaded a trailer and truckload of benches, birdhouses and crates from Saturday's Christmas show and decided to stock up on a couple/few weeks worth of firewood. I might even get a sawlog in the deal. I had spotted about an 18-20 inch ash snag behind my old bee supply shed. The top had already fallen (I have the metal to replace the roof on the shed thanks a lot!). Anyway this snag is about 50-60 feet tall and close enough to access with my tractor and ATV and cart and ash splits and burns really good. Once on the ground I might even decide to saw the butt and first upper log if it looked good. I walked over and was checking the lean and how to cut it down and survive the tree falling (Always a good thing to think about before cutting the tree) and when I looked up near the top I spotted about a 4-5 inch oval hole in a 10" diameter X 5' long fork coming off the main tree. Drat! That is probably the screech owl I heard all summer. If not then it is certainly a pileated woodpecker hole. Of course by now the fox squirrels may have moved in. Anyway if it is a screech owl or pileated woodpecker they both rate among my favorite birds so there went my planned firewood supply. I guess I will have to go cut and drag up some of the other dead or downed trees on my property.

[thecfarm]

There is always more dead wood.

[Magicman]

Yes, there is always a purpose for wildlife "den" trees and a reason to let them be. 

[WV Sawmiller]

  I was out there a little before dark with my wife and was going to show her the owl den and spotted movement at the hole and looked up to find the head and face of a gray/cat squirrel looking down at me. I don't know how deep the hole is and if he just ducked in there when we came by or if that is his hole. The hole is much bigger than is normally used by them but fairly common for a fox squirrel.

[SwampDonkey]

Maybe he'll stay out there and not get into a building. 

There is a red squirrel trotting about here now to. They usually get in the barn. He's more shy than some in the past and mostly stays out of sight. He was busy cutting cones and he had lots of acorns this fall.