Storm Damage

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

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. 

[southernsis]

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.

[MaineRhino]

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! 

[cordwood]

 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.

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.

[MountainDon]

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.

[glenn kangiser]

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.

[MountainDon]

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

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.

[glenn kangiser]

You are sitting on a fortune, Don.

[MountainDon]

Too bad most of it is 8" dia. and smaller.   

I could capture and ship some beetles to anyone who wants some.   

[glenn kangiser]

Lots here already - pines dying without their help.

[southernsis]

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.

[fishing_guy]

Welcome back to civilization!

[southernsis]

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.

I hope this shows up.

[southernsis]

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.

[glenn kangiser]

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.