Insurance Against the Cold

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Insurance Against the Cold
11.11.09

Nothing compares to the heat that comes from a wood burning stove. My husband and his family are wood cutters from way back. All Brady household uses wood to heat their homes, with a furnace as back up. Mother Brady has lived her whole life with wood heat.

Soon to be 90 years old, Ma does not consider living without her wood stove. Each fall friends and family gather at the homestead in Logan, Ohio, and fill her wood shed. The timber comes from the 75-acre wood lot purchased almost four decades ago for the purpose of harvesting wood, deer, squirrel, turkey, ramps and mushrooms.

Each year we cut enough for two or three homes attempting to keep plenty in reserve in case we miss a year. We cut for the uphill neighbor who heats with coal and wood. We cut for the brothers and in the past for ourselves from this same wood lot.

Not long ago we would haul wood from Hocking County to our home in Auglaize County. The emerald ash borer quarantine has brought that practice to a halt and we now find our wood locally.

Heating with wood is new to me. Fossil fuel-burning furnaces have kept me warm all my life. I find it invigorating each fall to head into the woods to cut, haul, split and stack. Henry David Thoreau made this observation about the logs he used for heat: “they warmed me twice, once while I was splitting them, and again when they were on the fire, so that no fuel could give out more heat.”

The modern conveniences of chainsaw, tractor, and wood splitter still require strong backs and arms. Push through the pain with the aid of pain relievers to get the job done. Even so, joints and muscles complain for days after.

Amazing beauty is found in a newly split log exposing insect-etched designs black against the light colored wood. Deep within one log tunneling grubs are exposed. In another, a colony of ants is disturbed in the rotting core of the log.

Split open a hollow log to see a cross section of a raccoon or squirrel den exposed, providing a view of their nursery and the mat of composted food and feces that acts as the floor.
 
 Ma Brady’s wood shed is full and ours is too. Our joints and muscles healed. We are already we are being warmed by our labors. A hot fire in the stove reminds us of the days spent harvesting the wood and the fitness gained by our labors. A shed full of split wood is insurance against a cold winter and saves money by using less fuel.

Auglaize County has good examples of sustainable wood lots dotting the countryside. When well managed timber, wildlife, and plants can be harvested and the woodlot community vigorously continues to grow.

The Heritage Trails Park District supports these conservation practices. Our goal is to provide public lands and access to these unique sustainable areas. Grab the kids and head out for a walk in the woods then return home to a warm fire in the hearth.

No hearth? No problem. Hot cocoa around a camp fire is equally delightful. Don’t forget the marshmallows!

Allison Brady, Executive Director
Heritage Trails Park District
Your partner for parks in Auglaize County