The Wood Game

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I have been slowly amassing a VERY large pile of firewood for this season. I estimate that what I had left over from last winter, combined with what I have added this year, that I have about a 2 year stash of firewood. If you look at the old pictures of my wood shed from a previous post, all the wood to the right of the picture was burned up last year. What is in the shed and the logs to the left are all still there...so I have started off the year in the "black" so to speak.
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I really paced myself this year with acquiring wood. I never once got burned out or over worked. I also came across a lot of wood that was already cut...the owner called me up and asked if I would take it off his hands. I got seven full pickup loads of wood this year that was already cut. Funny to me about wood that is already cut...is I still have to lug it, haul it, and stack it...which is all work. All the fun...the cutting...was done by somebody else!
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Most of the wood I cut came from local farmers who bulldozed down trees. They know I am always looking...and pretty efficient...so they call me and I go cut it up and haul it off. The farmers around here just seem to despise trees. Trees do nothing good for them. Trees shade their fields and take up valuable space that could otherwise be used for corn or soy beans. Also, the farmers around here have no use for firewood as most of them have gas wells on their land and get free gas at their house. It is nothing for a farmer to bulldoze all the trees into a city sized pile and torch it. So when they call me about a row of trees just knocked down, I am on it like a hobo on a hotdog. I get it while its gettable. Another benefit from getting trees from farmers is that I can usually drive my truck across their field and back right up to the tree I am cutting to load. That saves my back and saves me time.
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If you are considering purchasing an OWB...I hope a Hardy H2...you have to be ready for the work in finding wood. It is a never ending game. To me, the "Wood Game" was the most pleasant surprise...other than the warm house...in buying the OWB. The Wood Game was the one thing I failed to recognize when deciding to go with an OWB for heating my house. It is A LOT of work. Don't be fooled. Even if you buy your wood...which I would tell you to NEVER buy wood...you still have work to do. It will never go away. To some, The Wood Game is the reason they hate their OWB or have given up on it. At least for me, I get a lot of satisfaction looking out at the enormous pile of wood by my Hardy and know that my hands have touched EVERY single log out there. The Wood Game is my favorite hobby now. To find people who have the wood I need...then working out a deal for me to get it...then me working my schedule to cut, haul and stack is a great sense of pride.
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Smokin