About a week before major snow was expected, we started collecting truck loads of firewood. With access to hundreds of acres of downed trees we had many to pick from, just needed to be cut up and hauled out. We probably spent 3-4 days of collecting firewood and bringing it back to the homestead before the storm came through.
One place had cows around, that was interesting. And they did not seem all that bothered by us.
We split up and he cut up logs and I hauled them over to the truck.
I love my sawzall, it works so well for cutting up smaller trees.
Sometimes we spot trees we plan on coming back for.
The hollow ones are the best.
We split up the wood so the small pile can but cut up with the sawzall and the bigger pile can be cut up with the chainsaw.
The chainsaw is used for bigger logs.
With all this wood I can haul it back to the furnace when we need more.
Before the storm arrived, I got myself a second battery bank to keep the power to the pump house heat going. Figured we may have multiple days without being able to collect sunlight in the worst case.
Then finally the day arrived with snow, and we had a big ol pile of firewood. So were in good shape for awhile.
The UTV does great in the snow. I put it in 2wd when the back is full, and with the added traction from the weight of the wood it does well. If the bed is empty I keep it in 4wd otherwise control is a bit difficult in the snow and ice.
I bring load after load over throughout the day.
We can see the snow is pretty flat but its quite icy so you can slip easily.
Most of the wood we collected is really dry, only going after dead trees we find many that are sitting off the ground and are good to collect. The cedar trees have bright red colors inside.
While unloading I had some company, my farm foremans dog was wandering around in the snow. She does not seem to mind the snow at all, having a good time running around outside.
Going back to the barn, I load up another bedload.
This should last us a few days to maybe a week.
I keep smaller piles over by the wood furnace, usually lasts a day or two.
Just cut it down small enough to fit into the wood furnace. Usually no taller than my hip is how I measure them. Sometimes we need to toss them to the side and recut them if they do not fit.
We got lots of pine trees too, but the needles need to dry up before we end up using it. But when it does it should make some good firewood. It may need to wait until next year though.
Might need to fix the barn roof soon, but its holding up for the moment. Good to have cover from the snow.
Now they are calling for even more snow this weekend. Hope we have enough for more bad weather. Seems like the snow is not even going to completely melt between the last storm and the next possible snow storm.
Luckily having large amounts of wood ash makes for a great deicer, so we can use that if need be. So as long as we have firewood we should be warm and ice free mostly.
