Still do not have power, it will probably be another week or more. Here is a photo of some of the damage, taken next day after storm ended.
(https://s702.photobucket.com/albums/ww28/southernsis/)
(https://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww28/southernsis/DSC_00441.jpg)
Thanks Mountain Don for the help on the photo.
((The image number was missing. ??? Anyhow if you look at your post using the modify feature, available to you and not others. I added the correct tag under yours to make it show))
Sorry southernsis I am not getting any pictures. I did go to your picture and will try to post it here. I am not high enough on the "need to know" basis to modify your post but here goes.
(https://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww28/southernsis/DSC_00441.jpg)
FIREWOOD, FIREWOOD, FIREWOOD
Thanks Red. Yes lots of firewood. A lot of the trees that went down are pines and not good for firewood. Just heard that we might not have power restored till around March 1. This is getting old fast, but just have to make the best of it.
Welcome to offgrid power, Sis. Looks rough.
Hope things improve.
What's wrong with pine for firewood? (Unless you have more hardwood than you know what to do with ;)) We burn about 80% aspen. Your typical wood heat purist cringes at that, but it burns hot and is free...
A little more often to clean the flue and is especially good for kindling. Burns a bit fast.
Typically you will burn about 1/3 more wood with the softer varities. I use pine as kindlin but after it has started I switch over to the harder woods. You get more bang for your buck and you cut your stoking down to half. Not to mention the buildup of pine. Hardwood is bad enough but pine is worse. I don't think you can get enough softer wood into a stove to make it last 8-10 hrs and still have enough to get it going easily the next morning. But I have to admit that not everybody has the abundance of harder woods so rather than being wasteful burn what you have.
Nothing wrong with pine when it's virtually all ya' got. Ponderosa Pine, Spruce, D Fir are out main trees. Plus some Aspen. I believe many in the east don't realize that the west is mainly SPF. Sure, if we had oaks, birch, etc. I'd like it better, but if it's free and the only other choice is to haul it off... burn it.
Softwoods are best for cordwood building also -
Long burning time really isn't a problem for us, since the stove is right out in the open with plenty of people passing by to stoke it. We don't run it at night, either... We'd definitely save our hardwoods for the night if we did.
Quote from: glenn kangiser on February 06, 2009, 11:12:42 PM
Softwoods are best for cordwood building also -
Really? Why is that?
Dry hardwoods will bust up your mortar and possibly do lots of damage to the wall if they get wet and expand...
The dry and shrink and stay that way pretty good. Hardwoods on the other hand will expand with so much pressure that they can break a cordwood wall destroying it. Rob Roy? Can't remember.
Andrew beat me to it... He is probably the one who said it.... :)
Yeah, he figured it out the hard way. Can't remember how far his wall rose up after the log ends got wet...
EDIT can't keep up with the posts! I was referring to Rob.. :)
Also, softwood has a slightly better R-value.
"The R-value for wood ranges between 1.41 per inch for most softwoods and 0.71 for most hardwoods."
Got on line for a few minutes. So the soft wood is better for a cord wood building? My husband wants to use hardwood, oak and cedar. He thinks if he seals the ends there won't be a problem. I don't want to go to the trouble of building and have problems.
We have a lot of oak down also. We burn oak and some hickory for heat. We are going to have enough firewood to last for along time.
It isn't so bad with the generator. It has warmed up, but There are so many power poles down that it will take a long time to get them back up. There are power crews here from a lot of states.
The generator we bought is doing a great job, we run lamps, coffee maker c*, heater, and my husbands 50" plasma, home theater and sat receiver. He didn't miss the Super Bowl. That was his biggest worry. We could use the dryer if we had a 220 cord for it. It is a large one. We had to drive 400 miles to get it and stand in line for 3 hours, but we were not going home without it.
Got to get out and crank up the chainsaw [chainsaw] and do more cleanup work. Sometime I think I am getting to old for this.
Some people in dry climates have used hardwood with large overhangs, ie. wrap-around covered porch, but I wouldn't recommend it. Cedar is ideal. If you seal the ends make sure you use something breathable, as the logs have to be able to wick moister through them in order to last.
Ernest and Glenn,
Thanks. I learn something new all the time from y'all. Cedar is an invasive weed in pastures around here, yet I love cedar wood in looks and smell. Maybe if we clear some of the cedars off the land we're buying we could build a cordwood chicken house or something ;D.
SouthernSis, it looks like a mess to clean up. Around here they are still trying to clean up from the ice storm LAST year (the place we are buying has a LOT of storm damage from last year's storm.) I don't think the storm we got a few weeks ago did a whole lot of damage other than to bring branches down that were already weak from last year's storm, but it was worse east of here from what I understand. Hope your power is back on before you know it, but glad you got a generator... good to have for future use.
Y'all'er welcome, Homey. rofl
I wouldn't chance it with hardwood, myself. Not only do the ends need to be unsealed, the checks in the sides are near impossible to seal. I have seen hardwood change as much as an inch in diameter when drying a 5 or so inch eucalyptus log.
It is an extreme but still, any of that coming back would have enough pressure to break up a wall.
Sis - in an emergency I make my hookups out of solid wire Romex. I strip the ends back enough to make the spade terminal part of the plug folding the ends back long enough to makea flat "U' foe each of the two flats. A voltmeter will tell you which terminals are hot if you don't know. Secure the other ends around the drier plug with a pliers for a tight wrap and tape so it cannot get loose.
Secure everything well and be sure you are safe if you try this. I don't suggest anyone try it if they are not sure of their own safety. It is just what I sometimes do in emergency. [shocked]
Check the oil often on a generator when new - sometimes they use a bit extra when new.
Quote from: Homegrown Tomatoes on February 07, 2009, 10:31:45 AM
Cedar is an invasive weed in pastures around here,
Sheesh, I wish
we had that problem. ::) Aspen is our weed tree, and it's pretty hard to keep it from rotting.. Makes nice rustic furniture though.
That's funny. People around here sometimes plant "specimen" trees of aspen because they're so pretty in the fall. However, most farmers and ranchers have to actively fight the cedar. What happens is the eastern red cedars start invading your pastures, and then before you know it, birds roost in them and spread seeds and you get blackberry thickets, stands of sumac, and before you know it little blackjack and postoak trees popping up. Allowed to continue unchecked, you'll have a cross-timbers forest. I always wondered why since the cedar grows so well around here and is here anyway why more people don't make good use of it. We mainly have two predominant species of cedar that are native to the state... ash junipers (Juniperous ashii) and eastern red cedars (Juniperous virginiana). Think a lot of them got started here as wind breaks during the dust bowl.
Quote from: southernsis on February 07, 2009, 09:11:52 AM
We have a lot of oak down also. We burn oak and some hickory for heat. We are going to have enough firewood to last for along time.
Wish i had some of that hickory for the smoker. Seems a shame to burn it without cooking something with it. :(
We often barbecue steaks in our wood stove in a barbecue basket.
Pecan is really nice for grilling on... probably something like hickory. We used to save windblown branches out of our pecan trees for stuff like that.
There are a lot of hickory here. We do use some for cooking, but there is just too much of it. We had a nice time yesterday cutting up some pines that went down. When the tops (15ft) came down they stuck into the ground about 4 ft, plus they pinned some smaller oak with them. The oaks were like a strung bow. Started cutting, trying to figure out which to cut first. Even though it was planned out, the oak came springing back up. If we hadn't planned it out could have got hurt. We have a lot of large limbs hanging and they are dangerous. They are to high up for us to cut, about 25ft or more. We are getting a storm with wind, so perhaps they will come down on their own. The weather is predicting a thunderstorm tomorrow and Wednesday with possible tornados. Don't need that as it has only been a year since the EF4 went though here last year.
Just will have to keep my fingers crossed.
I really wish the power would come back on. :(
11 years ago we had an ice storm here in Maine, and had a situation similar to yours. For several years we had to watch for these "widowmakers", the broken branches hung up in the treetops. The bent trees are called springpoles, and are very dangerous. I've known of several professional loggers that have been killed from either of those.
Conditions in the woods are much better now. There have been many windstorms that have taken down most of the broken tops and branches. What we are seeing now is the trees that broke off their tops have rotted from the top down.
Be safe! :)
Hey Sis; If you need some help cutting downed trees I can come help as soon as I finish around here,...........I'm guessing September or so. [chainsaw] [chainsaw] [chainsaw] [chainsaw] [waiting]
As for burning the pine, I like to cut pieces about 12" long that are full of sap (pitch) and split them into small strips to store for fire starters in the winter. If have some larger ones you might get a hillbilly (if you trust them) to haul them into the sawmill and get some $$$$. But no matter what you do with them I would suggest getting rid of all the fallen pine by haul away or burning because the parasites will infest the fallen trees and then move to the healthy trees. I'd bet Glen can add some thoughts about bugs in pine trees :( California's forests have been devastated by poor bug management and drought.
And another word of caution, When you leave your house and they are working on the power. Turn of your MAIN BREAKERS!!!!!!! We have had several houses burn down around here because some thing was left on that had no obvious ON-OFF tattletale. After a few weeks it's easy to forget what was on when the power went off. ???
Good luck and I hope you get off the gas burner soon. ;)
Quote from: cordwood on February 09, 2009, 10:10:54 PM
some thoughts about bugs in pine trees :( California's forests have been devastated by poor bug management and drought.
Add NM, AZ, UT, NV.....
If the pine bark beetle is around your area there is a solution to preserve your wood and the remaining uninfested live trees.
First a little background. The pine bark beetle smells it's way to the wood by following the scent of the pine sap. So cut wood is a prime magnet. Trees with damaged bark (that one you backed the trailer into) are also targets. The adult beetle lays it's eggs under the bark; bores a hole and it's in. The newly hatched bug is the one that does the serious damage. A tree hit by many adults leaves many hundreds (thousands?) of eggs behind. Bad news.
There are no practical sprays to kill the larvae or the adults. The key to forest health is control of the number and size of the trees and control of the freshly fallen trees. I'm not certain of the temperature ranges for the beetle activity, but cold weather stops their activity, but does not kill them off.
So here's the plan, according to several NM foresters I've spoken to. Gather the usable wood now. Divide into firewood and lumber suitable. Cut the firewood up, no need to split right away but you can. Stack it neatly. Buy 6 mil; don't go cheap and get anything thinner, clear plastic sheeting in rolls. We use 10 ft wide x 100 ft long. Cover the wood pile(s) with the plastic. Yo must be able to get the plastic to go over the pile with sufficient plastic on the ground to allow you to hold those edges down with dirt. You have to make it next to impossible for the beetles to crawl under the edges. Let the pile sit through the summers heat. That will bake and kill any beetles, larvae or eggs that are under the bark.
The sawmill lumber should receive the same treatment if the wood is going to sit there as the weather begins to warm.
Removal of all the bark is another method of control. All the slash should be burned soon. If it sits around in the warmer weather beetles may make use of it for breeding.
The beetles need the fresh moist cambium layer to lay its eggs. Old dried wood is not a problem. So it's more important for beetle control to get rid of the fresh fallen trees first. The deadwood should be cleaned for fire prevention of course.
Tree thinning will make more water available to the remaining trees. Tis in creases their health and ability to fight off beetles. It is the overgrown and deadfall laden forest conditions of the west that, couple with drought conditions, has made the beetle problem so much worse.
Cutting trees (selectively) = Saves a forest. Something some "greens" can't get their mind around.
Yup - we got bugs. They make nice decorations in the wood though and the highly coveted blue stain pine that used to be thought ill of. Very pretty. :)
I once heard of some guys drilling worm holes in wood with a dremel and it sold for much more than non wormy wood.
Blue stain...
Blue stain is caused by microscopic fungi that commonly infect only the sapwood of trees, using parts of the sapwood (including simple sugars and starches) for food. They cannot grow in heartwood or most wetwood that does not contain the necessary food substances. Blue stain fungi are prone to cause bluish or grayish discoloration of the wood but they do not cause decay. Blue stain has no effect on the strength of the wood.
The blue stain fungi are carried by the pine bark beetles. For those who simply need to know more....
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/blue-stain.pdf (http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/blue-stain.pdf)
BTW, It appears that all the firewood we collected and covered with plastic had beetles. All the woodpile sections that were covered over the past couple years up in our mountains exhibit great amounts of blue staining. I believe the trapped moisture from being encased in plastic accelerates the formation of the fungi induced blue stain. People pay extra for wood like that.
You are sitting on a fortune, Don. :)
Too bad most of it is 8" dia. and smaller. :(
I could capture and ship some beetles to anyone who wants some. d* d*
Lots here already - pines dying without their help. d*
The power came on last night about 4:45 pm. My husband had left the light switch on in the small dark bathroom, He had a candle buring in there. We were getting ready to go to a meeting when we notice how bright the bathroom was. He went in to blow out the candle and then it hit us that the power was on. We got so use to not having power that it took awhile to sink in that it was on.
I sure hope we don't have an ice storm again. Too many people died from this one.
Pines here are very healthy, they do not seem to have any pine bark beetles. We always strip the bark off when we store it.
Welcome back to civilization! :)
It is good to have power back. Here is picture of the mess we had on the side of the house, near the white shop.
(https://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww28/southernsis/DSC_0096-1.jpg)
I hope this shows up.
Here is a picture of the neighbors 5th wheel, across lake from us, that was crushed by an oak tree that came down in the ice storm. The oak tree was huge. Luckly the old man and his dog were not there. He comes and stays during the spring, summer, and fall to fish. Just him and his dog. I feel so sorry for him. I hope he had good insurance.
(https://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww28/southernsis/DSC_0181.jpg)
We lost a big bull pine last winter - one big fork - nothing under it but if the rest goes it may hit some of my pile of unnatural resources.