What have done towards your prep?

[Tartar Horde]

(22 February 2016, 17:59)Straight Shooter Wrote: The tree surgeon turned up today as he promised , three bloody huge trees to take down and all are awkward and have to be climbed ....one oak ,one beech and one ash ....not cheap either ..but way beyond my remit ....as i watched ....and felt money escaping from my already vacant wallet i realized how hard these guys worked and the danger involved...my only saving grace was all the nice firewood being created and some payback....i will save some beech and oak to make stuff in the times to come...the well head for example.
On another note ....the bitchy brakes have gone....brake pipe corroded on the back axle so been fixing that or i should say my mate has ...with some unwanted help and interference from me ...i love the way i am told to fuck off in a real nice way ...followed by "put kettle on lad" do sumut useful ! that done ..."cut me some wood about 12 inc long .....how many i say.....enough to keep you in that shed for half an hour ! and out of my way.....cheeky bastard!

You do of course realise how much money Oak and Beech trees are worth if full grown and felled in one piece mate.

[Straight Shooter]

Not a clue TH is the truth....but it would be impossible to drop them in one piece (i did ask) the main reason is the proximity to a main road,a quarry and electric cables plus the lay is shit should get some 8-10 footers though.

[MaryN]

We're about to tackle the same problem with an enormous willow tree, SS. It's completely beyond us, and the tree surgeon reckons it will be two days in the doing. Still, I calculate that what we pay out in fees will be saved in buying wood in. The amount we will be getting should keep us in wood for several years (it's that big!). The one good thing about having it done this time of year of course is the lack of leaf anf also... no wasps. I also get a goodly pile of chippings for use round the plantation.

[Lightspeed]

Mary and SS,

I've been reading a bout a system used in Scandinavia, where thy fell trees in he early spring when leaf buds " are as big as a mouse's ear" then they leave the trees on the ground for a month or so. Apparently the leaves continue to grow and n so doing suck sap out of the wood.

This method means that wood can be ready to be safely burned the same year.

If you can afford to let them lay a while, it might be a good idea for speeding up the seasoning of your firewood too?

[MaryN]

I have never heard of that method, LS, but it definitely sounds interesting. Storing wood to dry it is always a bit time consuming and space-wasting. Unfortunately for us, the tree is right in the entrance to our stable yard/field and will block everything, so we have no choice but to have it cut up and moved away, but we will probably leave it lying outside through the spring/summer before we stack it in autumn. Have you got a link for the Scandinavian system I can have a look at please?

[Lightspeed]

Hi Mary,

Its in my new wood bible:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Norwegian-Wood-C...egian+wood

J

[Straight Shooter]

My thanks also LS .....but in my case i might awake to find nothing left...given where it would have to lay and on a hill where it could be winched away....as was once done when we were away for a weekend...but on other locations about the ground i could try it out.

[Steve]

You can also "ring" the tree and let it dry out vertically - lots of air circulation, little rainfall, no moisture from the ground.

[Straight Shooter]

Well all trees are now down, and loads more light (the main reason )
managed to get a 25 ft row of spuds in today ...hard work .

[MaryN]

Thanks for that LS - looks very interesting.