what to do with huge tree trunks

We are in a rural setting in NE Texas.  I have 4 post oak trunks (8' long, 2' diameter) that were cut about 7 years ago and left to rot.  I also have 2 post oak trunks about the same size and some smaller chunks that was cut last year, so have been "rotting" for about 1 year, but really there is no visible change in the trunks.  

The 7yo trunks are just under the power line connection where the electricity comes off a pole and to our house.  The trunks are not near the house, but they are under this serious looking electricity thing.  (sorry!  not my area of expertise!)  I do not think these trunks could be moved easily without falling apart.  We had our chickens around them for about a month and the chickens really worked on breaking them down.  They are still big trunks of wood though - not thoroughly rotten.  This area gets direct sunlight about 2 hours a day, and otherwise sunlight filtered through tree leaves.    I have considered making these hugels.  It's not a great location, but could be workable.

The 1yo trunks are in a place where they need to be moved.  

My husband's plan was to buy chains to drag these pieces of 1yo trunk to our "burn pile" and burn them.  He has also considered burning the 7yo trunks just where they are (that concerns me for the electrical thingy above).  

Our house sits at the top elevation of our 3.5 acre property.  The main water flow out of our property is through our driveway (which is native soil - white sand!)  There are other "streams" of water when it rains when toward the back of the property (which is forest) and toward the front (which has many trees, but is mostly barely covered with grass).  

I was wondering if we could drag these trunks to the front and make some way to keep more of the water (and sand that it erodes) on our property.  Interrupting the large yard area will make it more of an issue for my husband to mow (which he does maybe twice a year - the grass does not grow that well).  Because of the very sandy soil, we usually have no standing water 5 minutes after a heavy rain ends.  The soil just soaks it up.  

Any suggestions on how to use these tree trunks rather than just burning them?

I borrowed a friend's "swing blade sawmill" and it would be perfect for your newer logs.  You can set it up on top of a log wherever it's sitting (as long as it's somewhat level).  Then you can cut lumber from the log in any increment up to 6" by 6" (some saws are bigger or smaller than mine was).  If the outer bits are rotten, once you cut through them you'll be into some nice wood inside.

Also, moving a 2' diameter log isn't impossible by hand.  Just roll it with a cant hook.  If you need to turn it, roll it onto a chunk of 2x4 (centered on the weight of the log) and spin it on the chunk of wood till it's pointed the way you want to go.  Then keep rolling.  Unless of course you're in some brush and then you need a tractor....

As for the older logs, maybe just throw some dirt on them to help them rot faster and maybe plant some things on or next to them.  If I remember correctly, Texas is a bit on the dry side so a moisture holding hugle that is in part shade could be a great spot for plants that don't like the dry heat of texas...

Wendy said, "husband's plan was to buy chains to drag these pieces of 1yo trunk to our "burn pile" and burn them.  He has also considered burning the 7yo trunks just where they are (that concerns me for the electrical thingy above).  

It would be a shame to burn those logs unless biochar was wanted.  They would make great hugelkulture beds.

We used heavy ropes to tie around our large limbs from the Dec 2020 ice storm that had to be taken down from very large cedar tres.  These limbs were as big as most tree trunks.

We used our tractor the move these though any vehicle of some kind would work.  These were easy to move several hundred feet.

A hugelkulture would most likely not work near or under power lines.  Even if those logs broke when moving them this material will still be good in a hugelkulture bed.

NE Texas would be a great location for a hugelkulture.

Best wishes for the hugelkulture if that is the way you decide to go.

The utility company will need to clear under the "electrical thingys" once in a while. Hugels can last many years so I think moving the logs to a different location is a good plan.

I put big logs like that next to seedling trees to shade the soil and block the wind.

Got a woodstove?

Arrange them in squares and fill them with soil -- free raised bed.

To most they are just "logs".  But in their permaculture dreams, huge trunks become:

Artwork

Beehives

Benches

Biochar

Chinampa bones

Compost

Deadman sand anchors

Erosion stoppers

Future forests

Garden backdrops

Habitat for fish and bugs

Hügelkultur

Initials carving spots for lovers

Mushroom chow

Net and pan systems

Path edges

Raised beds

Sitting spots, horizontal or vertical

Stored warmth of the sun = firewood

Trail markers

Termite food = chicken food

Terrace retaining walls

Vehicle or path barriers

Water troughs

Wind breaks

Edit to add:

OP wrote:I was wondering if we could drag these trunks to the front and make some way to keep more of the water (and sand that it erodes) on our property.

And I think that's a brilliant use of old decaying logs.  Mini "check dam" logs can slow down the water to stop erosion, and it will break the logs down into soil faster, too.