I used to spread firewood across several phases and all over my land. A bunch of felled logs out in the forest. Some piles chunked up but not split. Another heap by the woodshed, chunked and split but not stacked. A bit split and stacked too. Especially vexing, my trailer was always loaded and never available for other uses. (Now that trailer is occupied by a boat.)
Lately I’ve been doing the opposite; to the extent time and energy allow I’m going all the way from standing tree to stacked firewood. (Several steps in the same day.) Also, if the wood’s on my lawn I’m trying to cleanup with fire. I used to drag logs wherever, and cut it whenever, and split it as I could… leaving big piles of debris (which I never cleaned up). This year’s experiment is to start a fire and keep it going as I work. Instead of cast off limbs here and there and bark and crap from the splitter… I end with just a pile of ash and a hole burned in the sod. (Obviously it’s weather dependent.)
This weekend I dropped a tree on the lawn. I had a fire going in no time. Trees have tons (literally) of small limbs that aren’t suitable for firewood. If you don’t clear it quick, the grass intertwines with them and it’s a bitch to clear. Also the tiniest tree has a huge amount of limbs that’ll jackstraw and fill a truck bed super fast. Raking is a PITA for which I never have time. This time I was also tossing shit on the fire instead of the truck and watching it out of one eye as I was running the splitter.
Progress was much slower but since I was creating a finished product I’m not sure it’s less efficient overall. It’s a lot nicer work area. The cheery fire smells better than sweaty laborer. Instead of my lawn looking like WW 1 trench warfare just happened, it’s just a little rough around the edges when I’m done. I suspect a little ash in the soil might be decent fertilizer too.
Also, time is catching up with me and I take more breaks. This weekend I hit a point where I was physically tired. I just sat in a lawn chair burning debris. Beats TV and I was still slowly getting stuff done.
Very relaxing. After a second wind and few more rounds hauling and splitting I called it a day; but I stayed out there to enjoy the already fading season. I sat by the fire listening to coyotes until the wee hours. I chuckled thinking of the looming specter of white privilege the New York Times invented out of lawns. I mentioned it last month:
Here’s a description of my “lawn of privilege”: There’s still a half processed log lying on the lawn. The area has been scattered with pencil sized twigs that are too numerous to pick up and pointless to rake. I think I found any bits that could do harm to a mower deck and that’s good enough for me. The soil is compacted from driving back and forth hauling finished wood but I don’t care. The ATV is hanging around hitched to the splitter. There’s a chainsaw on a stump nearby. But all the various limbs are already gone; because I burned them.
I enjoyed sitting in a lawnchair watching a campfire burn through my sod… pretty fuckin’ upscale! I present a photo of my lawn of privilege:
Privileged? I’m damn near a Rockefeller. One who gets shit from condo dwelling dweebs who’ve never had a lawn that wasn’t maintained for them. Of course unemployable whiners are always welcome to visit my house. I’d hand ’em an axe and say “get to work, there’s a bottle of water on the stump for hydration but no beer until sunset”. They’d learn what work gloves are for. They’d need a month cowering in a safe space to recover from a weekend of my luxurious privileged lifestyle.
spread the ash around else it will burn your lawn. its really high in potassium(potash)
I was thinking of that. Right now it’s a heap. I’ll probably crudely hurl it about with a shovel and call it good. “Burning” the lawn isn’t a big concern. (After all, I “incinerated” the lawn below the fire. Experience tells me it’ll take 2 years before it’s unnoticeable at that completely cooked spot.)
My lawn isn’t like suburban landscaping. It’s just a demilitarized buffer zone between my house and the forest. So long as it’s green and no more than ankle high with some sort of greenish groundcover I’m happy. (Anything from clover to grass to ferns to dandelions is OK with me. Thorns and burr docks are my nemesis.) Also, I’ve been spreading ash from my fireplace for years and it seems fine. Usually I put woodstove ash on the driveway to help melt ice but inevitably the snowplow shoves it onto the lawn. The only downside is a small amount of charcoal the cats like to track on everything.
Two things.
1. Work gloves are for before your hands are tough enough ya dont need em anymore. Callouses for the win!
2. Potash (Potassium from burning wood) is an excellent and ancient fertilizer!
GMTA. A few weeks ago, I coulda taken that very same picture. Too bad the my garage stove’s duct work rotted out . Thank dawg I noticed in time. AC, you’re an inspiration for those of us who are (infrequently) tempted to do things the hard way.
OT, but these guys are REAL men:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm70G5dJILQ
}:-]
That is AWESOME!