You know your ash trees are dying sooner, not later. The emerald ash borer has been in Southern Illinois for several years now, and blonding of ash bark is common. Wait until the trees are dead and you will have limbs raining down on you, and the trees will become brittle and dangerous to cut. Wait a bit too long and your trees will topple. Pick your conditions and take those trees down safely. We have a couple more to do this spring yet, and that will give us a good jump on firewood for next winter.
Maybe fine for you.
ReplyDeleteWe got hit starting 5 years ago. In a 10+ acre area have about 400 dead trees now, over 1500 on about 75 acres. No way to take them all down. Did what we could on paths, but now, you are right, too dangerous.
Ash borer is asshole as is globalization that brought us to us, lost about 50k$ by not being able to lumber, needed until about now.
Most of the ash trees in our timber died off from Ash Yellow disease, and when EAB came along it was the final nail in the coffin. I quit planting ash, and I tell people to take every merchantable ash when they are doing a sale, because it won't be there next time. Forest pests are discouraging. The Chinese also sent us the Asian Longhorn Beetle.
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