My husband has been busy this last week. He has taken a week vacation from work in order to catch up on chores about the place and to get in the last of his vacation days before the new year begins. Being off at this time of year allows him to be about while the children have free time from school which is a really nice thing as well. One of his chores is cutting wood for the woodburning heater. It has warmed us nicely for 25 years. The use of the wood heater cuts our electric power bill in half during the cold months which is an important benefit as well. This week he's been cutting up a windfall tree in the river bottoms and bringing it up to the house and stacking it. It's one of the pretty things here in the winter... a nice big woodpile, laid in against the cold. This stack is located on the front porch for our ease in getting to it and to keep it nice and dry. The stack is contained by a rack that was recycled from reclaimed metal. He's pretty good at coming up with useful repurposing of goods as well. It's not very scenic, oh, say from the decorator standpoint , but it comes in very handy when the cold winds blow.
I appreciate his efforts in keeping the home fires burning all these years and teaching the children the skill of laying and keeping a good fire. Waking in the morning, to find a boy asleep on the couch, kitten alongside, with the embers still aglow is pretty nice. In the quiet of the evening, with a fire blazing and warming the house, with a good book or some knitting and excellent companionship it's easy to be content.
***Modern woodburning stoves are built to be environmentally friendly and are an alternative to using fossil fuels. Wood, on this farm, is a renewable resource and does not have to be transported from another location. We manage our woodlot in a manner that is sustaining to wildlife, with many dead trees left standing as homes for woodpeckers and other wildlife.***
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