16 year old Red Oak - pics

[albertj03]

A little bit of a long story but for anyone who wants to read here it goes. My wifes father (who passed away 16 years ago when my wife was 14) used to heat their house mostly with wood. He cut all of his wood from their 30 acre lot of land here in Southern Maine. When my wife and I got married her mother carved out a 3 acre lot for us to build on so I have access to the entire family lot which is loaded full of red & white oak, maple, birch, beech, poplar, pine oh and of course deer and all kinds other great wildlife. While I was out hunting in November I walked down an old over grown path that I had never fully explored but had noticed that deer had been going through there back in the summer so I thought I would check it out. Well I didn't find any deer down in there but I did find two stacks of what appeared to be red oak rounds equalling probably a cord. Except for the rounds on the very bottom of the stacks the wood appeared to be very dry and very solid. My mother in-law said that my wifes father had been cutting wood like he always did in the spring of the year he passed away and what I found must be the wood he cut before he got to sick to cut anymore.

Curious to see what shape the wood was in I went out and grabbed a piece then cut and split it today. I cut the round right in the middle to check it out and based on how dry and solid the outside of the wood was I was really suprised when I found some rot in the middle. I split it small since I figured it would be best used almost as kindling in the morning to get the fire cranking. I'm glad I did because I threw a piece in the stove earlier and I barley got it in before it took off.

My idea for the wood is to take my son (who is 4) out every year on his grandpa's birthday to get a piece of wood from the pile and burn it in the stove. We'll call it Grandpa Ray's wood pile. Finding the wood has been a great experience for me since I never knew my wife's father but I always feel connected to him everytime I'm out in the woods where I know he loved to spend so much time.

Here are some pics. Wish I would have brought my phone out in the woods so I could have gotten a pic of the stacks.

 

[hareball]

Thats a great story! I'm sure the old guy is happy that wood is finally getting burned too!

 

[Jfk4th]

Albert,
This is one of the coolest things I have ever reads on hearth.com, thanks for sharing this with us. My father owns some property, 15 acres, that was my Gramps, and he was a wood stove guy. I have small pieces left from when my Gramps cut some wood, it is in pretty cool squares. I only burn it once in a while and I think how lucky I am to have had such a respected and caring Grandfather. My Dad always tell me a story about my Gramps when we throw a square into the fire, a nice tradition.
Again thanks for sharing this :smirk:

 

[peterc38]

nice story, the landscape in the last pic sure looks famaliar.

 

[gzecc]

Albert, Nice story. Do you have a moisture meter to put on one of the freshly split pieces. I'd love to see what 15yrs of seasoning in the rounds has done.
I also have some oak that looks just like that. I call it my petrified oak! Mine has deeper/ larger fissures. I don't know how long mine was down. But it was still a trunk, not in the round.

 

[f3cbboy]

thats a pretty cool post. thnks

 

[raybonz]

Good story and post... Both will keep you warm for a long time..

Ray

 

[mainstation]

Great story, thank you for sharing.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Good story and a great find.

It sounds like a good idea to take your son out annually to grab a piece, but why waste what you have found. No doubt it will not take much longer before the wood is punk and you won't have anything to take your son to anyway. Perhaps a different tack? Why not take your son out every year and cut down another oak...like the oak you found from your father-in-law's work? Just an idea. That way you can burn what is left of the wood, enjoy the heat and still have the closeness.

 

[albertj03]

Thanks everyone. I don't have a moisture meter but have been meaning to get one. I'll do a search here on the site for recommendations. I was thinking of bringing the best pieces of wood from the stacks to the house and stacking them up off the ground and covered under my deck. That would hopefully keep them from rotting much more.

 

[hareball]

Maybe you can preserve a few? I'd worry about mold during the warm months.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Nice story, makes me think of my dad and our hunting and fishing adventures. Still like seeing some his old lures or guns or tools.

The splits don't look pretty good, I am sure some might be a little punky, but I would burn it for sure and enjoy the memories.