: Most days I take the dogs for a hike in my local park, which is
: also where I usually kayak. Much of it is a tree plantation with
: mixed species, planted close and growing tall and straight.
: every now and then one falls, and I have to leave it! It is very
: frustrating seeing all that wood on the ground just rotting, but
: I am told the mushrooms, squirrels and ants need it more than I
: do . . .

Did you see a few weeks ago where one of the giant redwoods fell and some guy actually got a video of it falling? My first reaction was "oooooooh, I could make so much stuff out of that tree," but I figure they will leave it there to naturally do what it's supposed to do- refertilize the soil for the next generation.

Down here anything that hits the ground is termite food in a very short time. We do, however, have some beautiful Cuban Mahogany trees, and every time a big storm hits us there's always one somewhere down. I wish I had the funds to get one of those portable sawmills, but even if I did I don't have room to dry the wood out properly, and actually it's kind of hard to dry lumber down here. Another tree that grows naturally down here is Lignum Vitae- the stuff is so hard that they used to make ball bearings out of it. I'm not sure how I would even resaw one if I got my hands on it.