I've lurked and learned long enough, now I've joined your club. Where to begin? I have an old Thor insert that I hope will offset my really high gas bills this winter. Has the flu liner inside an internal chimney. Not heating the house, just trying to raise the temperature on weekends to save some money. I scrounged wood (habit forming) with some success, but from the picture (if it posts) you can see I have some wood around the house. That oak is really leaning over the house the way it looks, and we finally decided to take it and another larger oak down before gravity dropped them on the house. Also dropped a small maple rubbing against my deck. My tree guy seen in the photo says the oak will be ready to burn in 4 months. I've read enough here to not believe that. I was surprised to see sap literally flowing out of the tree during one of the lower cuts. It flowed for 20-30 seconds. They were living trees. Just too risky to leave up any longer. And I got a great deal for the cutting. Yes, I saved the wood. Luckily, I ordered a Fiskars that should be delivered next week. Lots of splitting to do. I've learned a lot reading here and enjoy seeing the passion for wood and fire. Hope you enjoy the photo of a job I will never do. gp