Every Time the wind blows

[JacksonCash]

I wonder if any of that dead ash turns nicely? I've seen some beautiful ash lathework, but I'm not sure how the standing dead stuff would take to being turned - worried it might try to fly apart.

[bjrogg]

Jackson  I'm sure most of it would turn just fine yet on my property. The bores just eat the cambium which kills the tree. The wood itself is basically curing standing. Of course this isn't an idea environment to store wood long term and some other bugs seem to invade crotches and sometimes right at ground level making cutting them down with chain saw a bit unpredictable. Other than those areas and if they have only been totally dead 3 or 4 years the actual wood is still beautiful. I bet someone will find a special name for it and sell the lumber for good $$$$. The real problem is time isn't on the ash trees side, and right now there is a over supply of dead ash trees to try to do something with. I'm sure some of these guys that are sawing them are making a big profit especially when people are paying them to "clean up their woods". More power to them as far as I'm concerned, it just breaks my heart to see them go to waste. I guess they will put nutrition back in the ground eventually but it will rob nutrients 1st to break them down. Eventually Mother Nature will take care of them, but it won't be anything speedy about it. On the bright side it is amazing how the maple saplings are shooting up everywhere and reaching for the sun. I do wonder if the ash will ever come back. The saplings have smooth tight bark that the bore don't seem to get in until the tree gets bigger and gets the rougher bark of a adult tree. You would think eventually the bores would starve. Hard to believe a little bug can kill so many huge trees
Bjrogg

[Zuma]

Thanks BJ for a good education of the ash bore and the trees
they eat.
Things like this always remind me of---
"Under the spreading Chestnut tree the village smithy stands---"   
Zuma

[mullet]

We had the same problem a few years ago with the Pine Beetles. My Grandson and I were hunting with a group of people running dogs when the wind picked up and started blowing hard. I don't know how we got out of that huge Pine Forest without getting squished by a tree. The tops of 50-60' trees were falling everywhere. One of the guys had the bed of his new pick-up smashed.

[JoJoDapyro]

We had the pine beetles here too. Where the family cabin is at they don't allow any standing dead trees on the property. My father in law said he has cut over 100 standing dead trees off the property, 2 acres. I bring back a cord every time I go up there, and we usually burn about a half per trip while we are there. There is still more than we can use. I would bet he has 10 cords cut, split and stacked at the cabin.