Today's work.

The following photos represent approximately 8 hours of work (for the neophyte woodcutter)!



I feel a tremendous satisfaction at being able to see concrete results of my labour and it makes me happy to know that my work directly benefits my family - in this case, in the form of heat for the winter.

First I cut the wood into lengths, then in stages I dragged it out of the woods.  This is it's final stop, just in front of the house.  This much took me about an hour to split, thanks to my magnificent Fiskars axe.  You can see that big grandmother spruce wood at the right.  I might be wrong, but I think this is about a half cord (when I split up the rest of Grandmother).  I can fit 3/4 of a cord in the space I've made under the deck.  With a nice tarp, it should be just fine.  According to the builder, who has the same fireplace as we do, he can heat his 2400 square foot home with less than 2 cords.  Our home is 1000 sf (2000 if you include the basement, which has ducts leading from the fireplace). I'm thinking I can put up that much in the next week or so - if it would stop raining!

Grandmother spruce - almost 100 years old.  It's amazing to think that she was just a  sapling at the start of the First World War.  Sad to know that someone else cut her down and left her to rot by the side of the logging road.  I should have put something there for scale - but it's approximately 24" across and this particular piece (approx. 18" high) weighed at least 40 lbs.

I've cleaned out the back of the truck and started drying it out back there. It was so damp back from dog breath and the moisture from evaporating rain.  Poor doggies!

I hope to drive the truck as far as Five Corners (just across the brook) to get more wood.  I can't take the truck any farther than that, despite the road going to the top of the mountain, because of all the stumps left between the ruts.  However, just across the bridge will be far enough, as there is a lot more wood just laying in the underbrush. Luckily for us, it's well seasoned and a pleasure to split.  I'm sure it will burn just fine.

My forearms are a bit sore, but my axe splits wood with very little effort. I'm glad I went with the Fiskars - 230 five star reviews can't be wrong!