I was sitting here not a half hour ago thinking that Tennessee weathermen are a bunch of fucking drama queens when my neighbor across the road called and asked how much damage we had. Lisa told her none and Kathy started laughing and said "You didn't hear that big ass tree snap and go over?"
Uh..... no, we didn't.
I walked out and saw we had not one, but two trees go and from the porch, the fruitless cherry appeared to have landed right on top of my truck. You know, the one I just put a new engine and transmission in?
Fuuuuuck.....
You want to talk about a stroke of luck. Last night I was sitting here thinking that with the winds coming out of the south, I should probably back both vehicles up about 10 feet so they'd be protected by the house.
I'm glad I didn't. As it was, the cherry tree barely clipped my truck. No dents and from what I can see now, probably not any scratches either.
What fucking sucks is now I'm going to be out a pretty penny to have somebody come out to cut and chip that big spruce up because I've got no way to dispose of that soft wood and I'm not going to burn it as firewood.
The spruce that came down was every bit as big as the one in the background of the second picture.
I bet I'm looking at a thousand bucks or more. I'll call my insurance company Monday but I'm not expecting them to cover it seeing as there's no damage to the house or my property although it did land on my neighbor's place. And because me and Tyler get along, I need to get that damned tree off his property in a timely manner.
But at least I'm not looking at a new truck payment.
Can always post as "free firewood"; there's usually someone who'll bite.
ReplyDeleteNobody around here will burn that soft shit when they have plenty of oak and maple.
DeleteStack the branches and logs and let it dry until about fall, then get 5 gal of diesel... and a 12 pack of beer.
DeleteLet the cherry wood cure for a bit, and either use it on the wood lathe.
DeleteDon't you have a burn pile? Cut it up into manageable pieces, and burn it. Then burn the trunk where it lays.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you understand how big that fucker is/was.
ReplyDeleteBesides, my yard and my neighbor's property is covered in dried grass. No way am I going to take a chance on burning his place down.
Well then, I guess you're SOL.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I envision at least four more posts coming out of this.
Sure looks that way, huh?
DeleteI'm going to hire it out. I need to get it off Tyler's place ASAP.
It'll take months to dry enough to burn. But you can rent a chipper at home Depot and turn all the brush into mulch or compost.
ReplyDeleteIf you can let it set till next winter and dry up it'll make a nice bonfire right after a rainstorm.
I put a couple sheets of trashy old paneling or plywood over part of the pile right before a rainstorm. Then light the dry part during our right after a rain and it'll be safe.
I'm not too worried about the branches and shit, it's that big-ass trunk that I don't want to fuck with, even though I own a splitter. I'll hire it out. They'll have it done in 2-3 days whereas it would take me a month or more.
DeleteAlright, that sucks. We had 50 mph winds down here, but no trees down, only power off for a couple hours. Too old and out of shape for volunteering for tree clean up at 72. If it were hard wood, it would be recreational exercise and some brush chipping (makes great mulch) for a day. I was so surprised to find tree service here costs about the same as So. Cal. That sucks, sorry Ken
ReplyDeleteI feel ya on the age thing. I'm 63 and just groaned when I saw it.
DeleteHey, if it was hardwood, my neighbor across the road would probably be here already cutting it up. He heats with wood and this would save him a bundle next year.
Hey Kenny;
ReplyDeleteGlad your vehicles missed the "Treemageddon", and yeah, there are enough folks there that would haul that puppy off for firewood. P.S If something had happened to your truck, I would have called "Dibs" on parts ;) Hey Friends are mercenary ya know...LOL
Not gonna try handling it by yourself again? Guess you learned your lesson from a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt landed on my neighbor's property, so I want to get it done quickly. I t would take me a month, working by myself.
DeleteSpruce is not good firewood at all. However, the species prompted the construction of the mill in Toledo, Oregon, a couple of miles up the Yaquina Bay where I live. The original mill was built there to harvest Spruce wood for building airplanes for the First WW. The Spruce Goose had a reason for it's name.
ReplyDeleteSpruce, strong but light, bad for firewood, good for aircraft construction.
DeleteInteresting vantage points of both of your neighbor's places taken from your property. I had no idea the barn(?) to your east was as big as it is, and that's an interesting perspective of Tim's place across the county road.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your loss of trees and glad no major damage was done.
The barn's to our north. If you'll look close, you can see Tyler's house behind it. That's the one he's converted from a pole barn into a house. They've been working on it for a couple years now, a little at a time, and he should be moving in any day now.
DeleteSee if a local sawmill would come and get it. It would make some great boards and they would do all the work.
ReplyDeleteOof... glad y'all are okay!
ReplyDeleteHere in western Colorado, spruce and pine is all we burn. There's lots of oak, sure, but it doesn't get bigger than about 3-4" max. Just not worth the time. Lots of Aspen too, but that's even worse.
ReplyDeleteI must be weird. I'll burn anything, especially if it's something that I need to make disappear. Green wood, soft wood, limb wood, chunks, I'll mix it all with the good dry wood I've got and burn it. But then, I'm a freak about not wasting anything. If it will add a few BTU's to the interior of the house, into the woodstove it goes.
ReplyDeleteLike a dear friend who passed away 25 years ago once told me when I kidded him about what he threw into his stove to heat his 4,000 square foot shop, "It all burns".
Love you, George. Miss you every day.
I hope you're cleaning your chimney frequently. Pine, fir, and spruce all emit lots of creosote when burned, and that will deposit in the chimney. Don't clean often enough, and your chimney will be blocked if you're lucky. Or else it will catch fire, and a thick enough creosote deposit can burn hot enough to burn through stovepipe or tile and set the house on fire.
DeleteYes, you can throw anything that burns without emitting poison gases into a wood stove - if you don't put much of anything that burns fast or hot in at one time, and you keep a sharp eye on the chimney. Hardwood lets you be more casual about maintenance and feeding the fire.
I've been in this house 28 years and have had the stovepipe cleaned once, believe it or not. I burn mostly Water (Valley), Blue and Live Oak that I cut at a family ranch.
DeleteI keep a close eye on the pipe's cap. When it starts getting hard to see through that's when I think about cleaning it. Works for me.
Talk about burning hot, are you familiar with Madrone? It's like a big Manzanita tree. Very hot burning. Run you out of the house hot. I don't burn it here but did in the house I moved from, where lots of it grew nearby.
And on the subject of softwood, my favorite firewood of all to cut and burn is Douglas Fir. Easy to cut and split and puts out a fair amount of heat. I'm going to try to swing a deal with a guy up the road from me to buy a bunch of Doug Fir he's got this summer. He said he sells it cheap because all the city people who live around here won't buy it for firewood because they don't know what it is, even though their houses are all framed with it. Their loss, my gain.
The same storm blew about a tenth of my shingles off my roof this afternoon. Have a roofer coming tomorrow…
ReplyDeleteShould be able to buy a chainsaw and cut up, or have a neighbor cut it for you cheaper...
ReplyDeleteI own a chainsaw AND a splitter. Go back and read the other comments about not having any way of disposing of it and me needing to get it off my neighbor's property ASAP.
DeleteSorry that happened Kenny. I read all your comments, but I understood when you said it the first time. A neighbor that knows is worth more than some money.
ReplyDeleteWe are still out of power in Scottsville.
Ridgeline is blown off our roof, and big patches of shingles. I gotta take pictures and tarp it this morning.
God is Good.
On another note I announced my call to preach.
You post or keep this private as you see fit. If you would like to listen it is short, and to the point.
https://youtu.be/SFmpalYRX0k
Steve in Ky
That cherry wood might work well in a smoker. I don't have one anymore so I use a pan with a little water or apple juice and use my grill. Kamala may have some tips. I hear she is pretty good at smoking meat
ReplyDeleteReally? You're gonna eat bugs and own nothing. You will burn softwood and like it!
ReplyDelete