We are in the process of taking 90 mature trees out of our woods. Its been an interesting job. The fellow who doing the cutting has offered a lot of good advice on storage.

Maple and oak will rot quickly, walnut and cherry can lay on the ground for a couple of years before serious decay begins. Hickory is pretty but not much fun to turn. Ash is wonderfull but starts to "stain" when exposed to air.

I suggest you keeping the logs as long as possible and leave the bark on. It will assist in slowing down the drying process. Look for rot in the centers of your logs (especially cherry). It you find it, cut and split the pieces, then gouge out the rot so the piece can dry.

If you have to cut the logs into smaller rounds, the length should be a little longer than the diameter of the round. Seal the ends of logs and pieces. Second best solution is to split your pieces into halves or quarters removing the pith. Again, seal the ends

Storage is a problem unless you have a barn or garage large enough. At the very least get your wood off the ground. I keep mine covered to slow down drying.

We use wood shaving for horse bedding. Ive buried several large crotch/burl pieces under several feet of wood chips hoping to equalize the drying.

Lastly, dont make any more blanks then you can use in a couple of days. It will split and check faster then you think.

Good luck!