Ok, really it was chop wood, carry wood…
Our new year’s eve day was chilly but bright and sunny, allowing us to spend much of the afternoon outside (a welcome change from the bitterly cold winters we’re used to).
I finally harvested what was left of our rose hips (if you don’t know already: rose hips are the fruit of the rose plant, and are very high in vitamin C – a good food to preserve for the winter). I’d been itching to get at them for quite awhile, but they weren’t ripe and weren’t ripe and weren’t ripe…
Then I went away for a week, and by the time I returned, most of them were overripe and mushy (above). But I still managed to get a decent harvest, which I’ll next need to clean, slice each of them in half and scoop out the seeds, and then place in the dehydrator for drying. (If we’d ended up with a larger batch, I would’ve been tempted to make rose hip syrup or rose hip marmalade. But that’ll have to wait for next year.)
The next and best part of the afternoon consisted of Peter teaching me how to split wood rounds into pieces small enough to fit into our wood stove. I’d been quite nervous about swinging around a heavy sharp object (I’ve been known to bonk), and I’m sure that my first several swings were pretty girlish.
But as I got the feel of the tool and began to feel more confident, my swings improved (as well as my success in actually splitting the wood).
As you can see, we can easily tell which logs are the ones that I split – for some of the more stubborn ones, it took many, many, many tries!
But what a satisfying feeling, at the end of the day, to see the new pile of wood that I helped create (and which will keep us warm for several days). And to continue closing the circle, inch by inch. And as we enter the new year, to be, quite literally, chopping wood and carrying water.
You GO Girl!! You’ll soon be splitting little sticks for kindling! Hope you got the wood piled up before the latest storm. We’re down in Southern CA. camped at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area. The driest place around the west coast right now we think!
A friend of mine heats his house with wood and told me that he loves chopping it in the winter b/c the wood warms you twice.
I thought that was a great way to think about it!
Miss you!
Hello!
I just read through your entire beautiful blog, and you guys are wonderful! I’m planning a trip to Alaska with my girlfriend Jessi in an 85 Vanagon camper and stumbled on your site through The Samba.
I’m a Sunny socal transplant from Indiana, and I’m a little tired of this vast strip mall. The Pacific NW is my dreamspot, and you guys combined 2 of my favorites into one blog. Nice going!
The website is my band, All Marbles- have a listen when you get a chance.
Be well!
Phil
OK I NOTICED ALL THE AX MARKS GOING ONE WAY IN THE WOOD ,SO I WILL HELP YOU OUT HERE, ITS REALLY SIMPLE ,JUST CUT OFF SMALL TRIANGLES OF WOOD INSTEAD OF TRYING TO SPLIT IT DOWN THE MIDDLE WHICH IS A LOT HARDER BUT WATCH OUT FOR THE TOES :),IT WORKS LIKE YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE AND WHEN STARTING ON A SAY 10 INCH PIECE OR BIGGER JUST SPLIT INTO THE EDGES SAY 2 OR 3 INCHES ,SO THAT THE PIECES SORTA LOOKS LIKE A FLYING SAUCER AND KEEP DOING THAT ALL THE WAY AROUND LIKE PEELING A POTATO AND THEN START AGAIN PEELING THE LOG UNTIL IT SO SMALL YOU CAN JUST TOSS IT IN THE FIRE, THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO MAKE KINDLING OUT OF A BIG PIECE, HOPE I HAVE HELPED YOU SOME BY (RIBIN21)