Never Enough Wood

I’ve been busting my ass outside for the past few days trying to gather as much firewood as possible. Do you want to know what I’ve come to realize? It’s never enough. The craving will last forever. As long as I’ve got someplace to store it, I’ll keep collecting it.

I was talking to one of my buddies in jiu-jitsu class last night and I mentioned that my world would be so much less strenuous if I had an ATV and a trailer. He agreed. He’s got one and he told me it makes all the difference. I then mentioned that I would feel somewhat empty if I had finished gathering all the wood I needed. I said, “If I had an ATV to help with the speed of the whole thing, I’d be done.” He smiled and said, “No you wouldn’t.” He got it, I got it – you’re never done. Especially after you get used to the fact that once it’s cut, split and stacked, it’s money in the bank. All this wood cost me was my time, some gas and oil, a chainsaw and a house with five acres of property. Wait, that is kind of expensive. Well, the land would’ve been here regardless if we installed a wood burning stove or not. The trees would’ve just gotten larger and larger until they died off naturally.

So far, I’ve got about two cords of firewood for next year. I have no idea how much I’m going to need, but it’s not a big deal – I’ll just keep going and going year round. Pellets are going to be our primary heat source with wood cooking in the background, if need be. I have two tons of pellets already with another two tons floating around in the back of my mind. I’ll pick them up eventually. Pellets, like firewood, are easy to store indefinitely, as long as you’ve got the space.

It’s funny, the more trees I cut down, the more I scout out for removal. And now that the leaves are off them, I can see what’s what. The vacant area left behind from the trees I’ve already removed is barely noticeable, which is good. Just yesterday, I took down a huge quaking aspen (popple) from a stand of aspens and don’t even know it’s gone. That’s what I like. Just a bit more sun for future trees to grow.