It could just be the true weather pattern, or it could be us. It has gotten beautiful and warm (48-52) in the valley. Our wonderful cloud patterns are back in the sky. The birds are singing and the flies are waking up (well, you can’t have everything).
Last year, when all the other squirrels were gathering nuts (or in this case fire wood) for the winter, we were cleaning barns, dealing with new animals and enjoying a wedding. We have been scrambling ever since it got cold. How much I’ve learned about fire wood, might boggle my Southern Californian friends’ minds. Willow – stinks, literally, it is very, very smelly wood and it doesn’t burn very hot (who knew), so of course we have plenty of that, but it is barely worth the effort of cutting, splitting and stacking it. The spruce we took down was great and would have been even better, if we could have waited until next year to burn it, but in the effort to stay warm and thereby sane, into the stove it had to go.
My Loving Spouse has been worried about our having enough wood to get us through this cold season. The great thing about having a good partner is, that you don’t both have to worry about everything. Sometimes you can just let one of you worry and so in this wood procuring incident, I did. Of course The Teen and I don’t do very ‘well’ when we are cold (freezing), so he was probably just protecting the sanity of his hearth and home.
There is fire wood one can buy. All different woods (apple and tamarack), all different prices. Some of the other ‘squirrels’ had even gone with fire wood permits into the forest and harvested downed trees for their winter wood. However, we were again, doing other things… growing pumpkins, etc. So, long story short (although whenever people say that phrase to me, I never believe it.. always more like.. long story, longer) we finally broke down and bought some expensive (which we’ve learned is all relative) wood. We are sort of in love with this wood. It burns HOT, it is easy to light and easy to split and it does NOT stink. Also, we’ve got a LOT of it… so of course the weather has gotten warmer, you’re welcome Ellensburg.
All in all, it is okay. This squirrel is finally ready!
I remember when your Dad and I got the log splitter and made manly efforts to split up the huge amount of oak that resulted when the old oak tree had to come down, either with skilled assistance or by itself across Chritine’s and Brian’s bedrooms. It burned really well though.
Ok, how much DOES good firewood cost by the cord?
I remember that well, with lots of helpful people happy to play with the log splitter. A crate of apple wood is $75, but we don’t know what a crate carries, not nearly a cord. A cord of seasoned tamarack that is dry and burns well is $255 to the young man putting his way through college selling firewood.
Ellen
That’s one good lookin wood pile. Just curious…. how long does it take to split and stack a pile that big?
The question is how much does it cost? Wood was brought cut and split. We just had to help stack it (and pay for it). The stacking went quickly as The Teen helped… the wood cutter guy was ‘cute’.