CatieG, as I posted in another thread, you need to get your wood now or sooner! Most wood will be okay to burn after it has been cut, split and stacked for a year. Some wood takes longer. What about the dead standing stuff? Most times we find that the very top of the tree can indeed be burned right away but the bottom of the tree will still be very wet and need time to dry.
In general, this is what we recommend. Cut your wood in the winter months if at all possible. We cut from December through February and usually stop March 1 but have cut some in March a few times. We like to leave the trees alone when spring arrives keeping in mind the birds and animals that depend upon the trees for nesting. So we stockpile the wood in the winter months, split it when the snow melts, usually in March or April and then stack it immediately.
We stack so the wood is off the ground a few inches and do not cover the wood until the following winter or late fall. Then we cover only the top of the stacks.
If you need the wood soon, stack in single rows and leave a good amount of space between the rows. You will also need to stack rather loosely to allow the greatest air circulation. This also means you should stack the wood where it will get wind. Wind is more important than sunshine.
Here are a couple pictures showing how we do it:
Cut wood during winter months.
Stockpile the winter's cutting and wait until Spring.
Spring! Time to split.
Now it is time to stack the wood. Notice the poles under the wood to keep the wood off the ground.
All stacked and then wait until snow flies to top cover. The closest stack in the second picture is covered with rubber roofing. We still prefer old galvanized roofing for the top covering though.
Ah winter! Now the wood is covered and it will just sit in the stack a few years before being burned.