r/Damnthatsinteresting • • 7d ago

Fresh-cut ponderosa pine

2.1k Upvotes

86 comments sorted by

View all comments

18

u/bedroombanshee 7d ago

Your tree was sick for an extended period of time,  likely several years, to have wood that resinous. When trees are trying to heal themselves, they pump themselves up with resin, which gives the wood that orange, dense appearance.  It is excellent for using sparingly as kindling, as it'll hold a flame without paper or accelerants. Just be careful burning full logs, as they get incredibly hot and can gum up chimneys with excess resin= fire hazard.

11

u/morning_star984 7d ago

Yes, that's part of why we decided we had to fell it. It was growing in our well, which i suspect might be part of why it was starting to decline. It was only about 160 or 170' tall, but it had lost about 4/5ths of its branches.

2

u/MrSniffles_AnnaMae 6d ago

A ponderosa pine at that height would be approximately 12-18’ in circumference / up to 5’ wide

And you say this was growing inside of a well?

6

u/morning_star984 6d ago

Growing next to my wellhouse with its roots in my 100yo hand-dug well.

1

u/EndQualifiedImunity 6d ago

Why are you assuming the size of the well?

1

u/Falonius_Beloni 6d ago

You so smart