Thursday 2 March 2017

I kept the home fires burning.



                            

September 2016.

                       

March 1st 2017.

Goodness, we've used a lot of wood this winter, and it ain't over yet.

This was my Chestnut pile. Nice dry wood that burns beautifully; so much so that we've used it almost exclusively since before Christmas.

I've now started to use my pile of Oak, it burns much slower, and I still have plenty.

I have both Oak and Chestnut on order for later-on in the year, I think I'm going to need it!


38 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I was amazed when I saw the top picture; it goes so quickly.

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  2. That is a lot of wood - I thought you had a mild winter.

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    Replies
    1. Lady Magnon feels the cold; me not so much.

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  3. I was going to say we burned about the same until I read that this is only one of your wood piles.
    As you say it's not over yet. We are still having fires though it's not very cold at night but it is very damp.
    We need to stock up before next winter but it all seems to be a last minute thing here. Even suppliers don't have stocks till november

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    Replies
    1. I suppose I have about 12 cubic metres of wood left. In the evenings I now light the fire quite late, and probably burn just two whole Oak logs (i.e. 6 33 cm lumps of wood). We should be OK.

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  4. Just think of all the exercise you got sawing and chopping it - no wonder you don't feel the cold so much.

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    Replies
    1. That's the one thing I really enjoy. Me and my chainsaw make a good team.

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  5. There must be something very satisfying about chopping wood and keeping a log pile...in fact there was a book about it a few years ago I seem to recall.

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    Replies
    1. It's certainly very satisfying seeing a big pile of wood pre-Winter.

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  6. No one is burning wood here, i used to like the smell in the air when some people did burn wood here around.

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    Replies
    1. I'm surprised, I would have thought that wood would have been popular.

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  7. We still have enough wood to just about finish off the winter, thank goodness. At one point we thought we would have to buy more in but haven't had to.

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    Replies
    1. I think we'll last until next winter, but we'll need a lot more quite soon.

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  8. There is just something so reassuring and satisfying about a healthy log pile.

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  9. As we use oaks and chestnuts as decorative trees so there aren't forests of them. Our favourite wood to burn is river red gums, a very dense wood that burns slowly and hotly. I don't know what a Mallee root is but it is pretty good to burn too.

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    Replies
    1. Along with Atlantic Pine, our most common trees are Chestnut and Oak. Plenty around.

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  10. That reminds me of the days when every rural house in the Western Isles had its peat stack. Now they are few and far between.

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    Replies
    1. There was Peat in Shropshire; I found a small pile at my people's house.

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  11. Our 'log pile' for next winter is probably still underground in the Middle East and with a touch from our nearest Nuclear Power station. Not quite so pretty but fingertip controls.

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    Replies
    1. Flicking a switch has its plus points. I've occasionally been very grateful for UK central heating.

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  12. I miss open fires. Here in Bath, they have laws against smoke. If you light a bonfire in your garden, a neighbour will report you to the authorities. One of the many downsides to living in town.

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    Replies
    1. I was once shouted at in Brighton for having lit my BBQ. These days, as soon as it's dark you can smell wood smoke.

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    2. There is an old man in a village near here - a bit of local colour - who burns car tyres in his hearth just to piss off the neighbours.

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  13. Sue beat me to it... I was going to comment that there is something very comforting in having a wood pile at the ready. We did not burn as much wood this winter because it is not our primary way of heating. The cost of oil was lower than the cost of electricity (two other ways we heat this big old house), so it was oil for us. -Jenn

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    Replies
    1. I think the main problem was that our Chestnut was very dry; some days I was burning two whole wheelbarrow loads.

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  14. You must have some great muscles from just stacking all that wood.

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  15. Too many people burning wood here. Some days air not fit for purpose.

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    Replies
    1. You should see our neighbour's smoke. It fills the whole area.

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  16. Nothing nicer than an open fire. As children, my sister and I used to sit as close to the fire as we could and got blotchy legs !!!!!

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    Replies
    1. You sound like Bok; he only moves away when we smell smoke!

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    2. Me too! Love the chestnut and have also burned some very dry oak. Nothing like a wood burning stove and the pictures are better than the telly!

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  17. I have almost no firewood except the sticky bits that fall off my oak, all gathered painstakingly over the entire summer, and which will probably last three days ha ha. Perhaps I will come to the northern hemisphere and escape the winter here.

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    Replies
    1. We've had some strong winds recently, so after every walk I return with an armful of 'fire-lighters'.

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  18. We have gone through a reasonable amount of wood this winter; it has been a mild one. I like burning maple... not a lot of oak to burn here. Or chestnut!

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