Visiting my mother today, I saw that her neighbor across the street had felled a large black cherry tree. The trunk was clear, straight, and limb-free for 15 feet. The largest diameter was probably 32", and perhaps 26-28 inches at the upper end. No evidence of rot or damage.
It had been down a couple of days, so the ends were a beautiful deep russet color. Not just "both" ends, but all 20 of them.
Yep, 20 ends -- several hundred dollars' worth of fine lumber had been cut into neat 18" firewood lengths. As we sat in my mother's living room for a visit, I heard the clank of a maul repeatedly hitting a splitting wedge. I cringed at each blow, and I think I have developed a tic in my eye.
*sigh*
Kevin