Firewood Strategies
December 12th, 2013 · No Comments · Posted in farming, rural life
One of the biggest changes for us since starting a farm in Upstate New York is our new closeness with the elements. That’s especially true as winter wraps its arms around us. Our comfort–even the viability of our living arrangements here–depends on maintaining a fire in our wood stove and an adequate supply of firewood to keep the fire burning.
We weren’t sure exactly how much wood we would need when we bought the place. We were told “about three cords” would last the season. So we bought four cords, figuring a little surplus couldn’t hurt. That looked like a lot of wood when we laid down pallets and stacked it. But after had our new wood stove was installed in October (just in the nick of time) and we actually started to heat with it, that stack didn’t look nearly as huge.
We burned through a stash left in the basement by the previous owner and started on the pile outside. That made me a little nervous, as I figured we’d be using the stove at least through the end of April. Would our four cords really last that long?
So I was happy to find we had dead wood to harvest along the hedgerows. As I’ve written earlier, one of our new friends, David, is a genius with the chain saw. We cut several trees and I rented a splitter to turn those harvested trees into firewood. The wood isn’t seasoned in the traditional sense. But it is old enough to burn. The American cherry and the ash, for instance, aren’t especially good to start fires with–they burn too slowly. But I’ve found that if I use the oak, birch or maple cord wood we purchased to build the initial fire–get a really good pile of embers burning hot–the cherry and ash added later ignite slowly but surely.
Thus, my thoughts are never too far from the stove, especially in the morning when the outside temperature is in single digits and the house has taken on a bit of a chill. But even during the course of the day the fire requires regular maintenance. I now have several stacks of wood divided by burnability. Depending which stage the fire is in, I can choose from different woods, my goal being to conserve our best firewood for as long as possible.
Would that the sun were always shining, for when it does the house stays toasty without much need of the stove. That’s not to be the case for the next several days. We’re bracing for another arctic front. And we have a long winter ahead of us.
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