I have to agree with sycamore being better than burning a snowball, but only slightly. Maybe it is the Missouri variety, but once the stuff around here dries I don't think I could put it in the Hardy as fast as it burns it.
I have figured out that everything is not the same around the country though. I always find it hard to believe that any kind of pine is firewood, but I know some of it evidently is.
The worst stuff I ever got ahold of and worked my rear off splitting was a big silver maple in a friends yard, I ended up shoving most of it out of the back of my truck into a gulley on my farm.
You know, I don't expect this tree to make good firewood, I kept it anyway since I don't want to waste it.
I have already noodled a good portion of the trunk into usable sizes, and it makes the prettiest mulch you laid your eyes on. Both my parents and my wives parents are going to be getting a lot for their gardens. It rots so fast it almost qualifies as a soil amendment.
I gave away some nice sized limb pieces to my sister in law because she thinks it looks "pretty". It actually does look nice with the contrasting white and brown mottled bark. Sister in law has a fireplace that she doesn't use, she is just going to stack it inside next to the hearth.
I process so much wood, that I always end up burning mostly odd stuff and less desirable pieces in my stove, and we seem to keep nice and cozy at our house. Wife calls what we sell "name brand wood", and we burn the rejects. I am keeping a couple of cords of hedge for myself this year, unless someone wants to pay enough for it.
On another note, wood orders are picking up, I started back up at nursing school and have deliveries each night after school. All of it is repeat customers, I put my CL add up yesterday for the first time this year, so we will see. I am proud to say I am getting a respectable client list. I will never be big time, 40 to 50 cords is all I would want to do a year anyway. I am not in the biz long term, just to help ease the winter bills while learning to be a nurse.
And on the silver maple, I cut down a "monster" once, and it was hollow, mostly rotten in the trunk, and some of the most effort I ever put into a tree, so I feel you. I gave it away to a builder I work for while he was building his house and didn't have a wood supply yet. About a year later he asked me what kind of wood it was.
He said "you can't split it".
I told him "I don't know some kind of maple, and why do you think I gave it to you?"
He is a good friend and a mentor to me still to this day. But I don't know if he ever got it split. Hopefully he got some campfires out of it.
Thanks
Dan