Comments on: One More Winter, Warm

By: Jes

Jes — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 04:45:16 +0000

As someone so disconnected to my landscape, by nature of the city and legal code, I’m slightly jealous of your backbreaking experience!

That photo is quite lovely too.

By: Wanda

Wanda — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:24:29 +0000

I like cold weather, but Maine sounds like it would please me a little too much! Brrrrrrrr!!!

By: Marion

Marion — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:52:31 +0000

My grown daughter up in northern Maine just got her delivered wood down into the cellar in time for an expected 10-20 inch heavy snowfall the next few days.

I am SO glad I retired to Rocky Mount and a thermostat after 19 years of hauling, limbing, splitting and stacking wood, then bringing it into the basement to the woodstove in minus 40 degree actual temperatures. There are some things I do not miss about Maine!

By: bluemountainmama

bluemountainmama — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:20:52 +0000

we lucked out…. a friend of ours moved and gave us all his wood he had chopped for this winter. lucky us!

By: Wanda

Wanda — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:07:52 +0000

Oh yes! I do understand everyone’s feeling on this one. There’s nothing like wood heat, and the workout you get by preparing for it.

Many a morning, I’ve backed my butt up to a wood stove and felt that wonderful warm glow, like no other heat. And the gratitude for that big pile of heat, stacked outside the door.

By: fred

fred — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:57:37 +0000

Ninety percent of our land is “mountain land” and in many places, rocky to boot. We cut it up the slope, end-over-end it down into the creek, then against gravity back up out of the creek, through the trees to the truck, unload, cut, stack, carry in the house and load the stove. It is, as I said in SRH, not the path of least resistance. However, it sure feels good heating the house after heating the body in the gathering of a winterss-worth of wood.

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:52:07 +0000

Fred, my husband and I empathize. Though we still have plenty of deadfall in our woods (love that locust!), getting it up the hill was considerably harder this year, mostly due to the fact that BOTH our stalwart children are now in college. I’m quite certain they didn’t miss being here for our fun-filled wood hauling weekends, but we certainly missed their sturdy young legs, arms, and backs!

By: fred

fred — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:40:45 +0000

I think I heard you mention you have your chimney inspected every year. This is especially crucial if you’re burning green wood, as this is much more likely to produce creosote from cooler stack temps. Als0, of course, the btu’s you get from a pound of green vs a pound of seasoned wood is much lower; more of your energy goes to turning water to steam before the wood fibers can ignite.

By: David St Lawrence

David St Lawrence — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:28:35 +0000

Hang in there Fred. In a few more years of self-imposed pain, more years, you may consider a log-splitter a desirable alternative to manly thwacking with a 15 pound maul.

A chain saw and logsplitter go a long way toward extending the working life of one’s body.

I have been burning almost green wood for several years now and the trick seems to be that the fire needs to be bigger so that the green wood can dry out in time to burn nicely.

Taking smaller bites has been essential. I do not try to move logs until I have cut them into 50 pound chunks. It is more work, but my back lasts longer this way.

I agree that there is nothing like the satisfaction of heating a house through your own efforts.