Living by fire

In the wintertime, my life  revolves around the woodstove.

We heat our house — an adorable, 1200-square foot cottage — with fire. It’s the only thing that keeps us warm in the wintertime. I never thought I’d live in a house heated solely by wood. Like most Americans, I took it for granted I’d always have the luxury of a central heating system blasting a cozy 70-degree wind into my face whenever I’d walk into the door.

Not so. Not only is heating one’s home with oil now quite expensive, but my husband, a builder, comes home with a seemingly unending supply of firewood. He’s constantly clearing trees for building projects, and being the scavenger he is, he’s not one to leave a free and precious resource behind. There are now approximately 12 felled trees in the far corner of our property waiting to be sliced and diced by us.

Now I have become something of an expert in building and maintaining fires. I know which types of woods burn better than others. I know how to make a fire burn super hot and how to make one that lasts throughout the night (though Jake would surely beg to differ on that point). I have the dexterity of a Girl Scout when it comes to making kindling catch and burn.

When you heat your house with wood, it means you must constantly feed the fire. Each morning before work, Jake goes downstairs and stocks the stove, opens the dampers to allow in enough air to make the flames burn extra hot. I then venture down later that morning to restock and turn down the dampers once a toasty temperature has been attained. (The entire main floor of our house really does get toasty. We didn’t even bother to cut vents in the floors.) I usually don’t have to feed it again until Jake comes home. And he always stocks it full right before turning in for the night.

This fire that warms my feet through the floorboards right now will probably burn without interruption (except on the rare occasion when we both leave town) until the end of March, or beginning of April, depending on the weather. We go through an incredible amount of wood. But given that it was discarded wood to begin with, neither of us feel too guilty about it.

Living by fire also means chopping and stacking and carrying A LOT of logs. All winter long. It’s grueling, tiring work, even with the aid of a mechanical log splitter. I call it the Lumberjack’s Workout and it’s one reason I’ve been able to let my YMCA membership lapse and still stay in shape. It’s not an easy workout, but it has its rewards.  Namely, I stay warm.

Tagged as: lumberjack's workout, ymca