OT: All my ash trees are dead, or almost dead

Did lose a couple Sycamores -- a couple hundred feet apart, too coincidental they both died the same year. Don't know what did them in.

Dutch Elm disease was before my time -- that went through here in the 1960s. Funny thing is although I had seen pictures, I didn't know what an elm "looked" like in person till I went up and looked at an ancient one still alive on the commons in Oakham, MA. Since then I've found a couple others near me just growing on the side of the road -- both look young enough to have been planted after the great wave of DED. One seems healthy, the other is dying.

And don't forget about the Chestnut Blight...my father could remember the tail end of that destruction.

One is in Virginia, one in Maine, and of all places one is in Amherst, MA right under the nose of UMass (they found it on some conservation land the town owned and was doing a biological survey).

Gives a little hope their may be some good genes there.

Minnesota is really frowning upon importing firewood - folks in campers coming with firewood from home to our parks & forests - into the state, or even from one area of the state to another. all firewood should be local.

I agree with that, but unfortunately then the local firewood seems to cost like 10x what it is worth.... This doesn't seem fair, & I'd guess a lot of folks will go back to smuggleing in forewood from home.....

We don't have the ash borer - yet. Likely only a matter of time.

--->Paul

Sorry to Hijack your post, but I grew up in Dryden, MI and moved to N. Branch about 3 years ago. My parents still live in Dryden. They live on Crawford Rd. inbetween Rochester Rd and Mill south of town. I may know your friend. Also we are having a saw party there this summer to cut down all the dead ash there also.

Now, even the state of California recognizes it's a problem, and they have instituted a massive program of cutting and chipping trees. If California, with it's goofball government can do it, I'm sure Michigan will figure it out sooner or later. Sounds like it won't be soon enough for you though. Sorry...

I've noticed some of the elm does get punked out reasonably quick, others do not, I've found pieces that I've cut, that had no bark and have been on the ground for 2 years, you can see the full grain, no punk, dark weathering on the outside, entire inside is very hard. I think what happens is that the pieces that split allow water in, the others that don't split just weather on the outside. Even punked up it's a decent wood fuel when dry, or has some moisture when used on a hot bed of coals, it does burn clean, I'll mix it in with better ones once the fire established.