Well, I started on next year's wood today. Yesterday my power was out for oh a good 8 hours thanks to a wind storm running through and splittin a third of my next door neighbor's soft maple onto the power lines. I didn't know what had happened, but I was outside smokin a cigarette and heard my neighbor on her cell phone sayin she had a big problem, so I walked over and sure enough a huge limb is layin on the lines. Asplundh came out and cut it up and got it off the lines. Nice fellas, talked with em on my porch while it was pourin and they were on the phone with their boss tryin to get permission to cut it up since they thought it might drop onto the lady's fence. Real pros though - no damage to the fence. In any event, this mornin hear the chainsaw start up over there so I grab mine and head over and help cut it up, then ask what she's gonna do with it. She says theyre gonna take it down to the dump!! I told her that's way too much work and I'd take it off her hands. All told it looks like it will end up bein bout a half cord or so. I tried to split some of the bigger rounds (theyre probably 28 inches or so) with the 8 lb maul - yeah, I'm going to need to rent/buy a splitter.
It may be soft maple, but it's free!
It may be soft maple, but it's free!