Or . . . 'bout time we wised up.
For all the years up until the last couple, we've ordered our wood for heating in 8' long loggers' logs, cut them with chainsaw and much expended time and energy, then split them into manageable pieces either by hand or with our trusty wood splitter. This small (ha!) chore took the two of us a large part of our summer's time.
Then the light dawned (in the dim recesses of our still functioning brain cells) that buying our wood cut and split, even though costing an outlay of dollars that we'd always been trying to save, would be the wiser way to go. (You've heard the old saying, "We grow too soon old, and too late smart?")
I mean, let's be realistic about how much time and effort we both spent working up our wood from those 8' long logs which cost money in the first place.
So. This was our first 1-1/2 cord load of cut and split wood delivered this past week.
And this is the mighty work force who came to help us stack the wood into this year's make-shift shed. They were excellent workers.
A couple of days later, Papa Pea and I spent some quality time together getting the last of the wood under cover. Please notice dump truck which our littlest helper decided would be a good way for him to bring the wood from the pile on the ground into the shed.
Space cleaned up and ready for the next load. We guesstimate we'll need three more loads to fill the shed.
The wood we're getting now is green and won't be used this year as we have our biggest shed full to the brim of dried, well-seasoned wood for this coming heating season. We probably won't use all of this wood as our winter temperatures seem to be getting milder and milder. Where are those old-fashioned, snow-filled, frigid Minnesota winters we so love?
I maybe should be careful what I wish for.
19 comments:
Wish away, Mama Pea, please! Need to kill off all those nasty garden pests that are moving north. Great to have good helpers stacking that lovely looking wood. What a secure feeling those piles will give you.
Rosalea - You have stated a truth in that lots of nasty pests (both garden and otherwise) have been moving north because of our lack of severe enough winters to insure they don't survive. Years ago, there was no real tick problem here. Now it's quite a different story. :o(
That's great that you got some more wood!when I think of Minnesota I always think of Minnesota being buried in 25 feet of snow all winter long! I really like having a hard freezes it definitely keeps the bad bugs down in our area
I am so fortunate. I had a tremendous amount of wood if you remember when I first moved here waiting for me because the previous owner never burn and people kept giving them one and I kept stacking it for them. And if you remember PG&E came through late in October 2019 and deemed some trees that needed to be taken down by the lines on my property and arbor Works came and did the deed cut them to my specifications stack the logs for me and left. All on PG&E‘s time.
So add that to what I have waiting for me here which was quite a bit and still has quite a bit when I decided to get a new woodstove main reason is catastrophic failure of one that is 46 years old although lovely. I also ordered up a cord a third pine and 2/3 almond as almond is quite prolific out here due to the almond orchards in the valley. It also burns very similar to Oak in the pine is tossed in to add some heat. Makes an extremely efficient less than your old stove even more so. And they delivered it and dumped it and it was 225 bucks for a cord.
Due to the efficiency of my new stove I have calculated that with the addition of the Allman pine passing the leftover oak and the PG&E oak leave I will be able to get through at least the next two years after this if the stove burns as it did the dozen or so times I used it when I first got it last March. Time will tell but buying wood ( haven’t done that since 2007) is hard for me me to swallow as the Ash Creek years on 42 acres it was sweat equity.But if I have to buy it anyway it needs to come split. In addition the folks I buy my word from I’ve been doing this for years in fact we used to buy wood for him before we moved from Thursday of the first Time for a fireplace. And it is all seasoned and ready to roll when it hits the ground they are that far ahead of time so a win-win for sure.
Nancy - I know! Northern Minnesota (southern part of the state is quite different) is supposed to be buried under 25' of snow! (Oh gosh, here I go saying things again I could really regret.) Now even the snake population up here is growing when it used to be nearly non-existent. I much preferred the non-existent state. :o\
Goatldi - You are indeed blessed with wood! And an efficient heating stove. May you be so taken care of (by the wood gods and folks who look after you) for many more years.
Sometimes we need to delegate some of the brute force work down to someone younger who needs more exercise! Personally, I am reaching my lifetime limit of chucking wood.
That just makes me feel content, looking at your storage of wood! We have so much wood and have hardly put a dent in it (our wood stove is really just for "atmosphere" vs. how we heat our whole house, and I think we had two, maybe three campfires this summer). But, the pioneer in me just loves a good stash. -Jenn
SmartAlex - You're much younger than I . . . and obviously much smarter! ;o)
Jenn - Do you know, even though everything associated with working up wood for heating is hard, I've always gotten the kind of contentment you speak of in doing it. Maybe it's the knowledge that it will always warm you if/when you need it. Hang on to that stash of yours!
My mom's gleaning from the Farmer's Almanac is we are supposed to have less snow but much colder temps this winter. At least you're prepared for the worst!
I just put away the last little bit of wood and filled up my porch emergency stack before it rains tomorrow. The wood was full of earwigs taking cover. I don't know if that means anything, but ewww.
I remember when we were cutting down our own trees, dragging them in, cutting and splitting and stacking for the winter. We'd fill our shed, have a big pile outside and a few uncut logs on hand just to be sure we got through winter. Then in 2011 we got free gas from a gas well drilled on our property. I admit, I do not miss the wood-gathering days at all. It took so much time and money and energy. The wellhead gas isn't perfect, but what a blessing it is now that we're in our 70's. I am deeply grateful for it. We still have a wood-burning fireplace that we use almost every night in winter just because we like it, but it's no longer a necessity to fill that shed. I hope your winter is mild enough to leave some extra wood at the end.
Wow! That’s a lot of wood! We just use our fireplace as a supplemental heat source. That being said, we converted to a pellet stove two years ago. It starts at the push of a button! It’s a lot cleaner than wood with less ash. We bought, literally, a ton of pellets last week. It took two loads in the truck. We’ve managed to off load it into the car port, next, the pellet crib. My guy is finishing up some modifications to that. We have to be careful because if the pellets get wet, they turn into sawdust. As we are not spring chickens, those 40 pound bags are heavy!
tpals - I don't like to hear of less snow and colder temps! That's hard on people and plants as we all need the insulating snow. Earwigs are a bug I don't like to see. They give me the creeps!
Granny Sue - Free gas! Now that's an enviable asset! It's a rare heating season when we completely empty that wood shed as it's our largest. But like you, it's great to have extra on hand!
Katie C. - I have a friend who has, uses and loves her pellet stove, too. Cleaner and less wood ash sounds really good as I have to admit our wood stoves create way more "dirt" than I like no matter how tidy I try to be!
I think you made a wise decision. Remember, these are the Golden Years...yeah right! LOL! I can remember back in the day when I took the stairs 2 at a time, worked from sunup to sundown or longer, and loved every bit of it. I wish I could still do that but those days are gone. I still work all day but it is slower, much slower and I take a lot of breaks. But it could be worse! I am still ambulatory, not in any pain, and able to live independently so I have nothing to complain about. Enjoy your wood deliveries!
Sam - No matter how you may look at it, you still get A LOT done in a day's time. I don't mind what some might call hard work, but I really need to restructure my days so I have more time for my handwork pursuits as that's what centers me and brings much joy! (We're waiting for the second wood delivery any day now. Wonder if anyone has ever learned to knit while stacking wood?)
Working wood is definitely a chore! We have had a local company deliver cord wood - usually 5 cords at a time. It fills our driveway until we get it all moved and stacked :).
Last year, my MIL and her neighbors had some trees taken down, and they gifted us the wood. The arborist dropped the trees (sans limbs, thankfully) at my daughter's house, and we now have the chore of cutting and splitting the trees, and then loading the wood in our pickup to bring back to our house to stack. So fun (ha). But it's free wood, and it's enough to do us for a couple of years.
But, yeah, it's definitely a lot of work to heat with wood. The flip side is that wood heat is so much warmer than the heat from the oil furnace, and the added benefit is that I can also cook on my woodstove. So - definitely worth the time and effort- for me.
Wendy - Yep, the wood you get for free is an extra added bonus. But there is still a lot of labor involved with getting it from the "free" state into the wood stove! A couple/few years ago we experimented using only our L.P. gas heating units instead of wood. That didn't last more than a couple of weeks as we found the warmth radiated from the wood stoves to be oh-so-much more comfortable. I'm with you in that heating with wood is definitely worth the time and effort. :o)
Hello! So i somehow lost my blog log-in a couple of years ago and with Covid and life (hubby was diagnosed with lung cancer a year ago) I felt like I just wasn't up to the struggle to reconnect. But I missed your blogs so much. For some reason (I blame my own version of "cancer brain) I never thought of simply googling you until tonight. Yay! I can't wait to catch up on all of your posts. Hope you are well and Papa Pea as well. With love, Ruth
Oh, that is so much better! Your minions (the cuties) did such a good job. I am hope, hope, hoping for a good, old fashioned winter myself, now that I don't have to commute in it!
Ruth - How great to hear from you again! I've often wondered how you were and hoped all was well. So, so sorry to hear of your husband's health issues. Wishing both of you the best outcome of it all. We are all staying fat and sassy here on our little oasis and continue to strive for the "balanced life." (Is that a possibility these days?) Hope you can find the time and oompf to start blogging again. I've missed your posts. Hugs.
Susan - Yes, this winter you can look out at the blowing snow, snuggle back under the covers and not give a whit to road conditions! That would be after you go out to do animal chores, give the dogs a run, shovel the paths, deck and driveway (just in case) and stoke up the fires. (Hee-hee.) Supposedly our area is to have a colder than usual, but dry, winter. Well, the only good thing about that would be the chance of freezing off nasty insects that are becoming more and more prevalent. I'll vote for that!
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