I have lived in the Mojave desert for most of my life. All I know of wood is that you buy firewood from another state, popsicle sticks are made of it, and one can make houses out of it.
Last week, my 5'2" wife and I, new Husky chainsaw in hand, felled a 60" diameter base tree at our Utah cabin.
We were overjoyed at the thought of having fresh firewood for free. We cut it up into short pieces.
Then we tried to burn it.
How long does pinyon have to sit before it dries out enough to burn?
How long does most wood have to dry before it is good firewood?
Does it have to be covered from snow and rain?
We can get "fuelwood" permits to go out in National Forest areas, and harvest wood. There is pinyon, quakies, and pine, but pine only at the upper elevations.
Just looking at things, I thought it would be easiest to just go up and harvest the dead wood, as it is already dried out. Also, in quite a few places, there are 12-16" diameter round sections that people either didn't want or didn't load up. They need to be split, but they are already sawn. Why didn't people take these? They appear to be solid wood, no rot.
Give me some pointers about the gathering and care of firewood. I don't really want to get into splitting other than small diameter pieces.
Steve