So I did the math on the OP's tree.
For every two 18" cookies on a 7' diameter tree you get a cord. That's incredible!!!!
For every two 18" cookies on a 7' diameter tree you get a cord. That's incredible!!!!
Giant firewood tree
- Thread starter StihltheOne
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StihltheOne
ArboristSite Guru
It really isn't that bad to split. I will noodle it down to chunks I can lift onto the splitter and have at it. There is a bit of logic when splitting cottonwood, follow the growth rings, avoid splitting it into pie shapes.
Dang, that is a good size cottonwood! I have cut a few dead cottonwoods and it is decent firewood, not the best, but it burns just fine. Plus side, it is already seasoned. One I cut this year was getting a little punky in the center at ground level. Was that one fairly solid? Looked like a little rot in middle. There are some monster cottonwoods in my area. I got one, about 4' diameter by my field/fenceline I girdled about 1 1/2 years ago and the bark is starting to fall off. Gonna leave it stand until ready to burn it. Be a couple years yet.
JeffGu
Antagonist/Heckler
I'm not too proud to cut up cottonweed trees... it burns fine in campfires and fire pits. When it finally dries out good it's not too terrible in a stove, really, but plenty of better stuff around here. We get huge ones here, too. In fact, it's our State Tree. I think they were confused, and thought they were choosing the State Weed. Ok, maybe not. Actually, the state tree was the American Elm until 1972 when they noticed that there weren't any left. Might have been smoking too much of the state weed, who knows?
When I was in the 7th grade, a friend of mine thought it would be cool to camp out in Wilderness Park even though it was supposed to storm that night. We did it anyway. Sign at the park said it closed at 10:00 PM but we figured that was just so the tourists didn't get frightened by small, fuzzy animals in the middle of the night, and end up drowning in the creek when they ran away screaming in the darkness. So, we pitched our tent underneath of this huge cottonwood, about 8' DBH and 90' tall. Streaked with black from lightning strikes, broken and split limbs and some that actually exploded from the steam pressure. Now, you might think that only an idiot would camp under such a tree, the largest within miles and clearly a target for lightning, when all the TV weather guys were predicting severe thunderstorms. You would be wrong. It actually takes TWO idiots to do something that stupid. We were ready, willing, and highly qualified.
During the night, the predicted storms came and were worse than those know-it-all weather guys expected. We woke up somewhere around 3:00 AM, with almost a foot of water in the tent, after hearing what we were pretty damn sure was Smokey-the-F*ckin'-Bear setting off a case of dynamite next to our tent. As we scrambled and swam out of the tent in our skivvies we discovered a limb about two feet in diameter laying over our tent, but about a foot above it. There was smoke and steam everywhere, looked just like a really thick fog, and the limb was still sizzling and popping like a hotdog in a microwave oven. Horrible smell of burnt plastic, mixed with a campfire smell (which was odd since we didn't have a campfire). Seems our nylon tent was now missing some critical structural components and about a third of the part known as a tent. We could hardly see, it was so dark, and we deduced (during the ongoing lightning flashes) that we weren't going to get any drier or warmer standing in the rain in our underwear, so we finally got up some courage and fished our stuff out of the tent. Now, we were able to stay cold and wet while standing in the rain fully dressed, so that no Park Rangers or tourists passing by would laugh at us.
Since we didn't have a ride home until about noon, we grabbed everything worth saving (which did not include the tent) and hiked back to the entrance and parking lot. On the way, the rain stopped and the mosquitoes came out in full force. The temperature dropped into the mid forties. We figured that whatever gods look after tardsticks and foolish teenagers felt we hadn't been punished enough. Neither one of us went camping for quite awhile after that. Days, maybe even weeks.
Many years later, my current wife and I were riding our mountain bikes through the park, and stumbled upon what was left of the tree. Nothing left above about 30 feet up, where the broken remains of 3 to 4 foot diameter stems were still there. The limb that was just above our tent back those many years ago was still there, although much of it had rotted away. My wife was stunned, and couldn't believe that we survived that night. I guess that looking at a blackened, broken tree that was once a majestic giant really made it easy for her to picture our misadventure in her head. I had told her the story years before. What she couldn't believe was that we were stupid enough to think the whole camping trip idea was a smart thing to do. I could only tell her that we never did think it was a smart idea. We were trying to elevate stupidity to an art form.
And there you have it. Life in Nebraska in a nutshell.
When I was in the 7th grade, a friend of mine thought it would be cool to camp out in Wilderness Park even though it was supposed to storm that night. We did it anyway. Sign at the park said it closed at 10:00 PM but we figured that was just so the tourists didn't get frightened by small, fuzzy animals in the middle of the night, and end up drowning in the creek when they ran away screaming in the darkness. So, we pitched our tent underneath of this huge cottonwood, about 8' DBH and 90' tall. Streaked with black from lightning strikes, broken and split limbs and some that actually exploded from the steam pressure. Now, you might think that only an idiot would camp under such a tree, the largest within miles and clearly a target for lightning, when all the TV weather guys were predicting severe thunderstorms. You would be wrong. It actually takes TWO idiots to do something that stupid. We were ready, willing, and highly qualified.
During the night, the predicted storms came and were worse than those know-it-all weather guys expected. We woke up somewhere around 3:00 AM, with almost a foot of water in the tent, after hearing what we were pretty damn sure was Smokey-the-F*ckin'-Bear setting off a case of dynamite next to our tent. As we scrambled and swam out of the tent in our skivvies we discovered a limb about two feet in diameter laying over our tent, but about a foot above it. There was smoke and steam everywhere, looked just like a really thick fog, and the limb was still sizzling and popping like a hotdog in a microwave oven. Horrible smell of burnt plastic, mixed with a campfire smell (which was odd since we didn't have a campfire). Seems our nylon tent was now missing some critical structural components and about a third of the part known as a tent. We could hardly see, it was so dark, and we deduced (during the ongoing lightning flashes) that we weren't going to get any drier or warmer standing in the rain in our underwear, so we finally got up some courage and fished our stuff out of the tent. Now, we were able to stay cold and wet while standing in the rain fully dressed, so that no Park Rangers or tourists passing by would laugh at us.
Since we didn't have a ride home until about noon, we grabbed everything worth saving (which did not include the tent) and hiked back to the entrance and parking lot. On the way, the rain stopped and the mosquitoes came out in full force. The temperature dropped into the mid forties. We figured that whatever gods look after tardsticks and foolish teenagers felt we hadn't been punished enough. Neither one of us went camping for quite awhile after that. Days, maybe even weeks.
Many years later, my current wife and I were riding our mountain bikes through the park, and stumbled upon what was left of the tree. Nothing left above about 30 feet up, where the broken remains of 3 to 4 foot diameter stems were still there. The limb that was just above our tent back those many years ago was still there, although much of it had rotted away. My wife was stunned, and couldn't believe that we survived that night. I guess that looking at a blackened, broken tree that was once a majestic giant really made it easy for her to picture our misadventure in her head. I had told her the story years before. What she couldn't believe was that we were stupid enough to think the whole camping trip idea was a smart thing to do. I could only tell her that we never did think it was a smart idea. We were trying to elevate stupidity to an art form.
And there you have it. Life in Nebraska in a nutshell.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Heat the shop on cottonwood and processor junk. Last summer had about 500 cords. Down to around 250 now. Sold quite a bit at $250 for a truckload (about 1.75 cords)
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
It cuts and splits real nice, least the variety we have hear. I love processing it, can do a cord in 30-45 mins.
I don't think it will dry on the stump, just go punky. Cut it and half the rounds now IMHO
YEP!! here also..
lindnova
ArboristSite Operative
Great story JeffGu! I have memories of a big cottonwood on our property that repeatedly got struck by lightening until it died. I was scared of it when little and didn't spend time underneath it.
Cottonwood is still the wood of choice for campfires in the spring, summer, and fall. Easy to light, burns fast, great flames, etc. I wrap 8 to 9 logs in a bundle. Sold 700 bundles last year. Could have sold more.
I have cut numerous standing dead, or dead then blown over that have been solid. Only the last one was a bit punky. And only at the base.
Great story above too. Good read
Get out in the Midwest and the only trees were in the creek bottoms, cottonwood and willow mostly. Lots been planted since but usually only around farmsteads and towns.
Harry K
J. Talley
I know nothing.
So many hating on cottonwood. I burn it and elm, and rarely have issues. That's gonna be a pile of work to get processed!
I must admit that you told a great true story here and you were lucky to be alive. Unfortunately, not all have been quite so fortunate. A man and a woman camped out at the Louisville, NE park about 10 years ago when a mammoth wind storm came through. Their tent was underneath a huge cottonwood tree that was blown right out of the ground, root ball and all. It landed on the their tent and killed them both.
Nobodies hating on Cottonwood , it's just that most people have limited time and space and they reserve it for wood that doesn't suck
!I've got space for around 15 cords of wood and I guess if I it wasn't full of Ash,Oak,Cherry,Maple,Hedge and Hickory I'd have to settle for Cottonwood & Willow. Ive heard guys around here say " it burns better than snowballs" and that's very true .. crappy wood is better than no wood.
StihltheOne
ArboristSite Guru
This one had one side that was punky for 4 foot or so
StihltheOne
ArboristSite Guru
We have it down to a science, big saws, sharp chains, 2520 john deere and beer afterwards!
I judge that 5% of something is better than 20% of nothing, especially when you are trying to stay warm in winter. Thousands of American Indians heated their tee pees with eastern cottonwood. Deer and duck hunters around here do the same thing.Nobodies hating on Cottonwood , it's just that most people have limited time and space and they reserve it for wood that doesn't suck
I've got space for around 15 cords of wood and I guess if I it wasn't full of Ash,Oak,Cherry,Maple,Hedge and Hickory I'd have to settle for Cottonwood & Willow. I've heard guys around here say " it burns better than snowballs" and that's very true .. crappy wood is better than no wood.
JeffGu
Antagonist/Heckler
The limb that came down that night still had a lot of canopy on it, which held it from coming right down through the tent... it did not escape us, at the time, just how lucky we were. Being young, we easily blew it off, but if the same thing happened today... I'm pretty sure I would be dancing in the rain, and looking for a clean pair of shorts. I don't think we're given too many of those lucky breaks, and I think before I start a tree job. Mostly, about how luck isn't reliable and about what I can do to ensure that luck isn't needed. Funny how enough time passing by turns even the most reckless urges into dust, and gets us thinking more about removing luck from the equation and replacing it with common sense!
I've heard that people eat asparagus. I envision hell to be a place where people eat asparagus and try to heat with cottonwood! lol I burn some for daytime wood but if I have to keep walking around a round splitting off flakes I prefer doing it to cherry. And I'm giving away cherry
