Firewood 101

This should be an interesting day. We are running out of dry firewood before we run out of winter. Oh, I know it is a rookie mistake. We have been burning wood covered in snow and ice for a couple of weeks. Once the ice and snow melt it burns pretty well. We have plenty of firewood, it's just buried under several feet of snow. Not light fluffy snow, but something heavier, with a more glacial quality. Digging in it is done by breaking it up in chunks and throwing the chunks out of the way. It is making the wood shed move up on my list of construction projects. I had hoped by covering the wood piles with metal roofing, they would stay accessable and mostly dry.

I suppose I am unimaginative, but I didn't forsee the snow being deeper than the wood stack was tall. The possibility that I would have to dig down to reach a four foot stack of wood just whizzed right by me. It's March and we should see some melting and eventually, perhaps in Aril, I should be able to reach some of the tons of wood we have out in piles. In the mean time, I will dig out my chainsaw and cut some standing dead wood to get us by. I am hoping that I can stand on the snow crust, cut the trees down and buck them up. This will have to be near enough to our drive way or road that I can toss the pieces into the cleared area and haul them to the barn. I know of one good sized birch tree right beside the driveway that the horses girdled and has been dead for a year. At the time I was irritated because they chose such a nice big tree and one I thought quite showy. Now I wish they had girdled a couple more.

I haven't used the chainsaw for a couple of months and of course the chainsaw gas is buried under four feet of snow beneath the job trailer. So, first, I need to run to town and get a new gas can and put some gas in it. Then, if I am lucky, I will be able to get one of the chainsaws started. Then, if the snow crust holds me, I shall cut down and cut up a few trees-- I hope enough to keep the fires burning until next weekend, and then, I can repeat the process every week end until the sun melts enough snow to expose the wood piles and dries the top layer.

I imagine this expedition will go pretty well, right?