Dave
Well-known member
There is no shortage of juniper trees on my place. First they take up space that could be growing grass. Then they claim a mature juniper uses 30 gallons of water per day. In an area that only gets 10 inches of rain a year that is a lot of water. They seem to grow in the areas that would have the most potential to grow grass. Good soil and the base of draws which would have the potential to have water. They grow around the springs which supply water to the cattle. For this reason people cut a lot of them down. They are listed as a noxious plant in Oregon. Controlled burns have been used to control them. But we all saw what happened to the Hammonds when a "controlled burn" gets on to BLM.
So scattered around on my place are junipers which were cut down some years ago. They have so many limbs that the trunk of the tree is held up off the ground. They haven't rotted at all. Lots of people claim they are real good fire wood. So I went to cutting them up. If I hate live junipers and really hate dead dry junipers. They have a ton of dry stiff limbs that are all tangled up. There is no give to these limbs. They grab you, poke you, trip you, and even tear your cloths. It takes twice the saw gas and three times the effort to cut as decent wood does. I cut about 3 cords. My daughter in law who lives in Northern Nevada says it is great wood. That is because she never had to hold on to the snotty end of a chain saw and cut this stuff. She was paying $300 a cord for it. I decided the guy cutting it for that price works too cheap. Did I mention that I hate juniper!!!!
So scattered around on my place are junipers which were cut down some years ago. They have so many limbs that the trunk of the tree is held up off the ground. They haven't rotted at all. Lots of people claim they are real good fire wood. So I went to cutting them up. If I hate live junipers and really hate dead dry junipers. They have a ton of dry stiff limbs that are all tangled up. There is no give to these limbs. They grab you, poke you, trip you, and even tear your cloths. It takes twice the saw gas and three times the effort to cut as decent wood does. I cut about 3 cords. My daughter in law who lives in Northern Nevada says it is great wood. That is because she never had to hold on to the snotty end of a chain saw and cut this stuff. She was paying $300 a cord for it. I decided the guy cutting it for that price works too cheap. Did I mention that I hate juniper!!!!
