We had two things going for us: we lived in an area where wood was a way of living, and we had parents who knew what to do with it. As a family activity, the woodpile was high on the list. Every one of us kids (four of us) swore we would NEVER have a fireplace or subject OUR children to such menial labor. Mom still lives in the home where we grew up, and wood is still a high priority.
My dad was a mason. Among many, many others he built around the county during his career, he built this rather unique and very lovely fireplace in our home. The stone is Arizona flagstone. The picture of the Oregon trail scene was sandblasted into a sandstone slab. In the beginning it was a regular fireplace, but in later years a firebox insert with an air blower was put in, which heats the house quite comfortably.
Although tons of wood were cut and hauled out of the surrounding Coast Range, often woodcutting started on the waterfront. After a good winter storm, which can bring logs down out of the hills in the swollen rivers and on into the bay, Brother Terry hauls some of the humongous logs with his little boat, parks them on the landing, and tackles the cutting job with zeal.
The wood is aromatic Douglas fir, sometimes cedar, making the job even more enjoyable. This log was harvested in March, 2008. (check my older posts for that time frame, for a complete step-by-step of this beautiful wood)
After cutting rounds, he splits the wood into chunks that are loaded into the back of his truck, hauled home, and stacked to season for the summer.
By fall, wood which has been protected from the weather is ready to use. For mom, some of it needs to be a little smaller. She has done her share of splitting and stacking firewood, ever since she was a little towhead. Recently she got herself an electric splitter, to make the job more managable - but she still stacks it and hauls it to the porch in her wheelbarrow...
The splitter has become the latest popular toy in the family. It sure makes short work of this straight-grain fir.
Wood has to be in at least three sizes. Large, for the main fire. Medium "starter" wood...
and small kindling, for starting the fire. Terry has this down to an art, cutting square blocks into slices...
then hand splitting several slices at a time into kindling. It is fast, fascinating, satisfying work. And the reward is boxes and boxes of dry kindling, which makes starting the fire a pleasure. Scouts should be so lucky to have this stuff!
Some of the larger pieces are now split to half-size, making it easier for mom to tote them down to the porch stack, and to handle when loading up the firebox.
Woodcutting has long been a family job. It still is. My brothers help get the wood to mom's, where she usually does all the stacking (we still can't do it "right"!). Then every few weeks, sis-in-law Diane joins the crew to help split, and get the porch loaded for convenience.
And don't you dare think this ol' lady is going to sit back and let us do the work. As far as she is concerned, we would be hogging all the fun! Mom still loves to handle wood. 81 is NOT too old!
With each wheelbarrow load, the porch pile grows, until it is about twice this size. Good for a couple of weeks worth of warmth and comfort.
A cozy fire is our reward.
A lot of memories are tied to woodcutting, and that fireplace. It speaks HOME.
And yes, everyone of us "kids", now grown with our own families, has a fireplace or wood stove (or both), and we all still cut wood. With our families.
Only now we appreciate it more than we did as kids.
1 comment:
I love the woodcutting pictures...so many years, so many memories!
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