wood that burns for 8 hours?

Probably after 3 months, it was still green, with the high water content slowing down the combustion. Russian Olive (no relation to olives) is a very slow burning wood.

ok, thanks. i just won't burn it until next year.

I've always heard that unseasoned ashwood will burn.

Evidently, it will burn, but it will be a smoking fire and leave residue.

http://www.aie.org.uk/aie_data/aie_firewood.html

wood
actually, the longer the wood sits there especially wood like red ash the longer it is going to burn. as to the smoking it might have been damp or it just felt like it. So don't be surprised next time you find a piece of wood that can burn for a very long time.