Downed trees supply firewood

In all the years we've lived at Holly Tree Manor, we've only bought firewood once. That was strictly a thing of convenience, not lack of resources. We wanted to allow what we had split from on the manor to season for another year. 

We rarely even need to cut down a living tree just for firewood. Enough large limbs come down to allow us to build our woodpile throughout the year. During the summer, we keep an eye out for trees that have naturally died and those we harvest. 

A couple of summers ago, a large cherry tree uprooted and crashed to the ground in the middle of a dark and windy night. We'd been watching it, thinking perhaps it wasn't in the best of shape and sure enough - BOOM! This year, it will meet with my Stihl 192.

I've mentioned this downed tree before when one of the local bucks used it as a rub. The scars are still on the trunk but it's more difficult to tell what caused them than when the rub was fresh. 

Depending on how dry the wood is, we'll either stack the rounds to continue to dry, or go ahead and split it. Performing this task in the summer, I'd prefer to stack the rounds and wait for cooler weather to do the splitting. The optimal thing would be to leave the tree where it is until next fall, but we really need to be able to do some weed control in that area. The green briars look to be gaining on us. 

And If you think we should simply allow this huge tree to decompose, I have a caution for you. Termites like decaying wood. Would you coax them to come in close to your house? I thought not.

This land has been providing for my family for over one-hundred years now. I'm very blessed to be its steward. I hope those who come after me will do the same. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

There's video of our young buck here.