Who's run out of wood, now scrounging?

[greendohn]

ha you all talking like you got a cord or so left, I got enough till about 4 o'clock

I feel for ya'. I've been there.
My buddy has been by twice in the last 2 weeks in the same boat. Last week he catches me in the shed while I'm unloading and splitting an Ash I got on the truck. I sez to him lets throw a row of this on your truck,,He doesn't want it he says, Let me just grab a couple armloads of that purty orange Hedge!! I couldn't believe it, he starts grabbing my Hedge,, I ran him off.
If you were close, I'd get ya' couple days worth of Ash, unless you were to get to eyeballin' my Hedge!! LOL!

 

[Vibes]

You know I passed up a couple loads of really heavy duty pallets and cribbing that were left over from a pipeline job that was in my area this fall. I thought I had enough wood. I'm layed off because of this weather, and oak pallets make really good day wood. I had some rotten locust that I just took off the drying rack that's serving that purpose now, but I'll be back to throwing in 16 inch oak splits by weekend.

People talk about those sea cans for firewood storage. I would say just put one in the sun and fill it up. May be paint the roof black, cut a few more vents in it, and open the doors and point the open doors north. That's all it wood take. Those things are like ovens in the summer time.

 

[sunfish]

I stopped scrounging years ago, when I decided I didn't like cutting in the snow & cold.

Dry wood stacked in the shed is so much better!!!

 

[BRW0525]

I am down to scrounging as well. This is my first season of burning wood and I was able to get about 3 cords last summer split and stacked. I love the snowmobile idea with the sled! Much better then hand hualing it through the snow! Nice work!

 

[lapeer20m]

I've been scrounging all winter! Fortunately I live on 60 acres of forest. There is plenty of dead standing under 20% moisture content. I had been using my tracked atv to bring home the bacon, but its currently broken.

Going to take the backhoe out today skidding logs. It works well but cannot access the places the honey badger can go.

I spent the summer building/installing my owb and didn't have much time for gathering firewood.

 

[BRW0525]

I've been scrounging all winter! Fortunately I live on 60 acres of forest. There is plenty of dead standing under 20% moisture content. I had been using my tracked atv to bring home the bacon, but its currently broken.

Going to take the backhoe out today skidding logs. It works well but cannot access the places the honey badger can go.

I spent the summer building/installing my owb and didn't have much time for gathering firewood.

Thats Awesome Lapeer20m! My scrounging has been taking a 250 mile rounf trip with a 16 ft trailer up to the White Mountain National Forest! I should really move North!!

 

[Vibes]

You know the more I think about it this keeps coming to my mind on this topic. We as wood burners do nothing more than scroung year around to get wood. At least I do. If I see a tree that falls along a public right of way any time of the year, I"M ON IT!!!! Really doesn't matter what kind of wood it is. As long as it fits through the stove door. The better scroungers get the best parts of the tree.

Kind of like an opossum. They are the first critters out on the ground at nite, so they get the best scraps.

 

[BRW0525]

You know the more I think about it this keeps coming to my mind on this topic. We as wood burners do nothing more than scroung year around to get wood. At least I do. If I see a tree that falls along a public right of way any time of the year, I"M ON IT!!!! Really doesn't matter what kind of wood it is. As long as it fits through the stove door. The better scroungers get the best parts of the tree.

Kind of like an opossum. They are the first critters out on the ground at nite, so they get the best scraps.

HAHAHA Your comment about the Opossum cracks me up! So very true! I've been thinking about keeping my saw in the back of the truck for that exact reason! I see so many trees on the side of the road on my way home from work thinking......hmmmmmm

 

[zogger]

HAHAHA Your comment about the Opossum cracks me up! So very true! I've been thinking about keeping my saw in the back of the truck for that exact reason! I see so many trees on the side of the road on my way home from work thinking......hmmmmmm

Pretty much that is it, year round, targets of opportunity.

 

[Chris-PA]

If I see a tree that falls along a public right of way any time of the year, I"M ON IT!!!! Really doesn't matter what kind of wood it is. As long as it fits through the stove door. The better scroungers get the best parts of the tree.

Kind of like an opossum. They are the first critters out on the ground at nite, so they get the best scraps.

This comes up regularly - while it may be a figure of speech, keep in mind that a "right of way" does not mean ownership, just specific rights to do specific things there. If the land was owned by the entity then the would not need a right of way.

On my road, I pay taxes on the land to the center of the road. Best not to be scrounging there! Of course, some roads are owned by a public entity, but likely they have rules about taking wood too.

 

[ReggieT]

I can see it now... everyone remembering the cold of this winter, stacking up firewood until it covers every available storage space. Then next year will be another mild one like a couple years ago... there'll be a firewood glut, prices will bottom-out, the sellers will be complaining about overstock and no money from what is sold. There'll be plenty of firewood left after next winter... guys will get complacent about their supply... and then, a couple years after that, another cold one will blow through.
And then the cycle of moanin' 'n' groanin' can start all over again
Ain't it great??

Hey... not that I'm immune to the moanin' 'n' groanin'... 'cause I sure ain't.
*

opcorn:

 

[Vibes]

This comes up regularly - while it may be a figure of speech, keep in mind that a "right of way" does not mean ownership, just specific rights to do specific things there. If the land was owned by the entity then the would not need a right of way.

On my road, I pay taxes on the land to the center of the road. Best not to be scrounging there! Of course, some roads are owned by a public entity, but likely they have rules about taking wood too.

I hear you on that. I'm talking about along the expressway, or on this old abandoned brown site in my area. Theres a very large cloverleaf out along the highway where 2 mains meet. There is probably 40 acres of woods among this area. All Penn Dot property. I cut wood there on a don't ask don't tell kind of arrangement. So do other people. If a tree falls there you best have a saw with you because its gone quick. Theres another large track that's owned by an old mining company. Our Township guys can't even tell you who exactly the owner is. That's another hit and git spot. Like I said wood opossums.

 

[zogger]

This comes up regularly - while it may be a figure of speech, keep in mind that a "right of way" does not mean ownership, just specific rights to do specific things there. If the land was owned by the entity then the would not need a right of way.

On my road, I pay taxes on the land to the center of the road. Best not to be scrounging there! Of course, some roads are owned by a public entity, but likely they have rules about taking wood too.

My criteria back in the day was open in the road blocking or partly blocking, fair game. all the way down on the side/someones land, their tree.

I am sure technically I was wrong, but I took branches off the road all the time. It wasn't until I was on this site that I heard different. About everyone I know who burnt wood treated it like that. And cutting for the town, all trims were ours, they didn't care, we gave it all away or kept it to use ourselves.

Now, to me, just supposin'..if joe homeowner wants his tree out in the road, he needs to be out there patrolling and cleaning it up, real quick like once it falls, 24/7..or perhaps an accident caused by his tree, be prepared to tote the note for willful negligence, or some other legal term.

 

[Chris-PA]

My criteria back in the day was open in the road blocking or partly blocking, fair game. all the way down on the side/someones land, their tree.

I am sure technically I was wrong, but I took branches off the road all the time. It wasn't until I was on this site that I heard different. About everyone I know who burnt wood treated it like that. And cutting for the town, all trims were ours, they didn't care, we gave it all away or kept it to use ourselves.

Now, to me, just supposin'..if joe homeowner wants his tree out in the road, he needs to be out there patrolling and cleaning it up, real quick like once it falls, 24/7..or perhaps an accident caused by his tree, be prepared to tote the note for willful negligence, or some other legal term.

On my road if I clear it I claim it, but then again the people there know me and if they had a concern they would say something. I would not clear a tree off a road elsewhere unless it was an emergency.

 

[mainewoods]

Ahhh- the life of a wood vulture. Circle -wait - swoop in. They should thank you guys for cleaning up the environment!

 

[zogger]

On my road if I clear it I claim it, but then again the people there know me and if they had a concern they would say something. I would not clear a tree off a road elsewhere unless it was an emergency.

You know what is weird..way back then when I was scrounging and my friends were, none of us thought two seconds about leaving a saw in the truck. Wasn't near the sneak thiefery stuff going on.

Also, if you didn't clear, well, big branch in the road, someone would hit it maybe later. Trees got bucked to chunks and either chained and dragged over, plow pushed out of the way, or bucked and thrown in the bed. if you waited for the officials to do it, might be three days.

No one hesitated, first guy who went by a branch or tree dealt with it, if they had a truck and saw. I never recall anyone getting upset over that either.

Now I get all off the farm here, but I have thrown a few big branches in the truck from the local roads, but that is rare, I would imagine guys grab them fast around here. The bucket truck utility guys just buck to man nadle size and leave chunks next to the road, they disappear fast. Well, not pine, that will hang out a little while, I am the only guy I know who actually cuts pine for firewood, but people will take it for free if it is cut already, you can get pine all day long around here, leftovers from folks yards or the mech loggers.

I bet this last extended cold snap though got folks thinking!

 

[leftyz]

I have about a face cord and a half left, I cant believe I went through 2 trailer loads in 2 weeks, that's a lot of wood to burn..

I'll get the Long 4x4 tractor fired up this weekend and go cut some more, but we are scheduled to get 3-6 inches tomorrow, on top of the 14" we have sitting out there already. Not the best cutting conditions, but at the rate I'm burning, I barely have a week's worth left.

Might have to scrounge up some slab wood to help float me by..

 

[ReggieT]

Great thread. Let me ask something, I've been watching a 12 ft black locust laying in the ditch on this country road for a couple weeks...about 2 1/2 feet around. It's right next to a wooded area...could I get in trouble by hooking mu chain via P/U truck and skidding it out and bucking it up??...hate to see it go to waste...My God its locust!

 

[zogger]

Great thread. Let me ask something, I've been watching a 12 ft black locust laying in the ditch on this country road for a couple weeks...about 2 1/2 feet around. It's right next to a wooded area...could I get in trouble by hooking mu chain via P/U truck and skidding it out and bucking it up??...hate to see it go to waste...My God its locust!

Call the county maintenance dept, give them the location ask them maybe? Or is there a house right there, looks like it fell off their land? Or does it look like a log that fell off a truck, no nearby stump or anything?

 

[Steve NW WI]

2 words: plat book.