Firewood Replenishment - January 2020

I shared the sad state of our firewood hoard a few days back and mentioned that another split (50/50 Oak/Cherry) Face Cord was on it's way.  Welp, today, it is here.   This is the second year in a row that I had a third Face Cord delivered during the year.  In 2019, it came in mid-February, so we're running a couple of weeks ahead of last year.  Last year, I turned to the 50/50 Cherry/Oak blend for a couple of reasons (they were out of birch, I didn't want Ash, and this was the only 50/50 mix they had at the time) and those mostly held up this year.  We'll burn this stuff up over the next few months as the weather stays cold and hopefully, this load will take us until the weather breaks.  

One thing to note:  quite a bit of this wood is split what I'll call 'larger'.  Larger pieces overall and what seems like more heartwood and less sapwood.  Not sure that's possible, but it seems that I'm getting my hands on a bunch of interior/heartwood pieces that aren't split to include a bark section. 

This late-Winter delivery has been a mixed bag over the years with the quality that I got last season being not as good as what was delivered in the Fall.  

Last year, our firewood hoard was exhausted by Spring and I ended up having very little to burn over the Summer and Fall outside in the screened porch fireplace.   That make me consider buying two Face Cords this round (one to burn this Winter and one to take us through until Fall), but with all the fallen Ash from next door, I think we're good to go for what I'll call s'mores burning throughout the warm weather months.  

Here's the full 2019/2020 Firewood consumption posts:

• Early October 2019:  Face cord of Birch.  Face cord of Cherry.  Delivered and stacked. 
• Early December 2019:  About half of the wood consumed.  1/2 face cord burned per 30 days.
• Mid January 2020:  A couple of dozen pieces remaining.  1/2 face cord burned per 30 days holds up.  

If I had the storage, I'd think about taking all three face cords for delivery in the Fall.  I could work through the piles in a way that would allow me to 'replenish' the very racks you see here on my own over time, I suppose.   That would ensure that the quality of wood that I get is consistent, but at the same time, it also means that I have to store the wood instead of Best storing it.  I suppose it is a mixed bag, right?  I can control the quality, but I also take on the cost at the upfront and have to do the moving/stacking myself. 

My plan for the Summer/Fall burning is to start to use the Ash firewood that I've split and stacked in the outside fireplace.  With the stuff being infested with the EAB, I think I want to keep it outside for as long as I can.   With whatever is remaining once the cold comes back in the Fall of 2020,  I'll start to 'blend' it into the process for indoor burning.  Something like 1:1:1 with the Cherry and Birch?  If I end up having close to a Face Cord of Ash on hand come Fall, who knows?  Maybe I'll not end up needing to make the post-Christmas order like I've done the past two years.