Hello All:
Just a note from my experiences, there is a possibility that if you cut and pile the squared timber like you suggested with stickers, you may notice a dark streak across the timber where each sticker lays. Now maybe you can remove this, but it may go down in quite deep, and you may have to remove an inch or more of material to remove the dark streak--I am suggesting cutting alittle oversize so that you can freshen up the surface just before construction starts. We used this technique to remove a bit with broadaxes to put on a new hewn surface to speed up and meet deadlines of raising bees.
Another idea is to strip the bark off, and let the outside dry somewhat That will help to keep out the pine worms, or if you have a small pond close by float the timbers, and that will keep out the little creatures, and the eventual timber will be of good quality, but will have a high moisture content, but no check marks or cracks. This is a trick used by the oldtimers, and they always said that materials cut from logs floated in the water was far superior to land dried logs.
Maybe someone would like to comment on any of these sugestions,

NH