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Ah, the science of cordwood management! Over 30 some years of wood stove heating my home, a couple of contrarian practices evolved that work for me. First, I don’t cover stored wood, but rather stack it on a ¾-inch crushed stone base. It drains well, gets plenty of air and sun, saves work, and burns well after a year’s aging.

Secondly, to get the cured wood “stove-ready” I stack enough inside the house to allow several days drying and warming, so what goes into the stove ignites quickly and burns efficiently. Drying wood inside also adds welcome humidity to interior spaces, alleviating a common winter issue. That actually worked well enough that I give away my room humidifier.

I own just over 3.5 acres of land outside of Providence. Luckily, I have plenty of room to space out my wood processing operation. First of all, I am like Dave, I squirrel for wood across the region. I have been fortunate enough to find enough wood to cover our needs for the past three seasons. I process my wood at the front of the property where I can back my trailer loads far enough back to keep the entire process away from the house. Over the past three years, I have built three shelters to house my wood. Two sheds are located near the house along the driveway, close enough to dump wood from the processing area. That wood is stacked in the sheds around mid April and left alone until October. On my covered front porch, I have a rack that holds about three weeks of wood when we are really burning. In the meantime, at the front of the property, I process the wood I find around the region. This wood is 95% hardwood with some pieces of pine mixed in for burning during the end seasons. There, I built a large platform with a tin roof where I can store the firewood until the following year. The shelter holds about 31/2 cord of wood while the others hold about two 1/2. Typically we burn only 2 1/2 cords of wood a season since it is not our primary heat source. I spilt everything by hand on a contraption I built using a old tire from the side of the road near my home. I have been burning for three years now and all my firewood has dried well below the 20% mark. As most of the people who read this magazine who burn wood, the entire experience is daunting by truly rewarding.

We don’t have a woodlot, unfortunately.  So we buy from a good supplier already cut and split, with mixed satisfaction over the years.  But, finally, he seems to understand “small”, as required for my Dutchwest stove.

If I can’t purchase it in the fall of the previous heating season, we’ll get winter-cut wood delivered in spring.  It’s immediately “stacked in full sun with good air circulation”.

The best devices we’ve found are “Stack-it Brackets”.  You can build the racks to your own specs.  They’re steel sockets that hold 2x4s at right angles.  We make racks 12 feet long and 4 feet tall, with pressure-treated lumber. They’ve been lasting many years now.  Sure beats the old free-standing stacks, cross-cribbing the pieces at each end, and hoping the winds and settling don’t cause it to topple!

Then the top of each stack is covered with a recycled rubber roofing material.  Also, re-used for many years as it is highly durable.  It drapes down the 4 sides and we staple it in place.  Come October: beautifully seasoned firewood!

All logic dictates that he lets his arrow go. Illogic and conflicting emotions have no place in this scenario, otherwise why is he there in the first place? If he cannot understand this, he should just go home and take up some other endeavor.

Because woodcutters seem to not be passing on the lore in my area had to keep two seasons worth of wood stacked in the yard to make sure it’s really seasoned. The oldtimers felled trees after leaf drop and pulled the limbed logs out only when the ground was frozen and there was snow cover. the logs were bucked into four footers and split or not, stacked in a row in the sun, usually edge of pasture or meadow in January and February. Eight feet of this could be called a cord even though when cut to stove length it shrinks 10%. In September it could be called seasoned and cut to specific stove length, split if needed and delivered. a cord could be measured by the truck cubeage as well, though if thrown in loose it will shrink another 10% when stacked. If that wood had been bought anytime before September it would have been considered green. and it used to be sold for a lower price.The key being to cut wood when the sap is down n give it a minimum of six months in the sun at least partially processed. AND to minimize damage to the woods. Now I see cutters going year round destroying the understory and cover, and no idea what green wood is and how one could save a bit of money that way. And buyers not knowing the ways to measure a cord. It is hard to find a knowledgeable and ethical woodcutter. They sure do get sorely underpaid for their back breaking work and youngsters just don’t seem to want to apprentice.

The only tip I would add to your excellent account would be to run stacked rows north south orientation, particularly single width, if possible. Spring thaw on the south side of a pile will heave the row right over. I also found heavy rubber swimming pool liner material the ace for covering piles.  :)

Useful and amusing article - BUT -  I’ve got to blow the whistle on the gender bias. My spouse had little interest in firewood work and I enjoyed working with it.  A stack of drying wood near the house is a lovely thing - sort of like well filled canning jars.  Splitting wood is great for the abs, and testosterone is not required to run a chain saw.

Dave, GREAT article!  I did a similar method years ago!  One thing you neglected to mention: providing a “foundation” for the stacks.  I used cinder blocks and 2x6s as the base, allowing no ground contact. Thanks, Bruce

Fascinating article. Thank you.

Maybe the dragonflies are gathering there to feast on other insects that are coming for a sip of nectar?

We are retired and live on 5 acres of land retained from our farming years.  We are blessed to have Mourning Doves every year.  This year we had about 100 of them here and absolutely loved it!  Now, in October, we have had some cold temps, they are gone.  We truly miss them.  My husband takes such delight watching and listening to them.  I do also.  We miss them during the winter months but look forward to having them back next year!

There are so many sound variations, and even after a couple of hard frosts, I’m still hearing katydids during these warm days. Here’s a good resource for the sounds of specific species: http://songsofinsects.com/.

I was happy to see your very accurate article! It’s difficult to find correct information about these species online, because wives tales often predominate. One thing I will mention though, is that shrews do eat bird seed. They will also eat sweet corn that is cut off the cob and offered to them in a cage situation. At Blendon Woods Metro Park in Columbus Ohio, there is usually one shrew that lives directly under the bird feeder near Walden Nature Center. This shrew is overweight and eats bird seed predominantly.

What should I do with the tadpoles that are in my fountain? I have to empty for the winter as the fountain cannot have frozen water in it or it will crack.  Can I take the tadpoles out and put them in a near by pond?  I live in Middle Tennessee and we can get cold winters.

It was just after 9pm on a mid October night. When I went outside to the back porch to put some recycling away. It was then that I heard the scurry of leaves and the nipping noises. I had a flashlight that had a red cover on it if there were animals in my back yard I wouldn’t scare them off with the bright white light. That’s when I saw their sleek grey bodies. Their long black tails with just a tip of white at the ends.They sauntered on the edge of forest line and then right across my lawn. As they moved they were sniffing the ground forging for anything they could find. They moved slowly but gracefully. They were so beautiful. I am unsure if they were male and female or siblings. They crossed to the other side of the lawn reaching the forests edge where they followed it until it led them into the woods. I was sorry to see my new little friends leave. I do hope they return. I am anxious to see them again.

We have a sugar maple in the backyard which is split forming a v shape a couple of feet up. I have seen this many times in other trees.  I have often wondered what causes this, as opposed to having one single trunk. The tree is about three feet in diameter just under the split so I would estimate the tree to be one hundred or more years old. I’m wondering what causes this. Any ideas?

The songs of crickets, Katydids, Grasshoppers, and Locust are the song of summer. 

Do you happen to know which Katydid/Grasshopper is the one that sounds like teeth chattering? 

Why can’t infected moose be sprayed to save their lives instead of letting them die?

It all depends on the wood. If I saw someone trying to split with an axe I’d gladly pick up a beer and sit back and laugh. Our spongy black pine will bounce an axe like a thick piece of rubber. Maul is the only way to go here in the PNW.

Just wondering, I have tadpoles in a small water fountain base, bought seaweed for them, My fountain will freeze solid, Will they live thru winter in the solid ice?

Thanks Dave. As an emerging writer, it is always nice to hear these reminders in a down-to-earth tone with a bit of humor :)