Early Spring!

Early spring. Time to drag out the log splitter and begin the process of splitting wood for the coming year. It's never too early, but I don't enjoy doing the job in winter. Spring works best for me. Before the blackflies, mosquitoes, and no-see-ums. A perfect time to work.

After splitting a pile too high to see over, I transfer those pieces to the field. Fortunately these days, I have a Kabota with a front end loader. I'd like to think my wood rows are straight and firmly held together. But sometimes the turkeys hop on top to preen and knock over one entire section. That's why a friend of mine used the term, 'turkey tight', when referring to my rows. Generally I split four or five cords each spring.

Back to the splitter. Repeat the process again and again. I usually take at least a month to get enough wood in the field to fill each row once more from the previous winter. I use different amounts of wood every year, but always have a lot left over. That wood is what I'll begin my woodstove days with this fall. It's the driest.

I love this business of wood. It warms me many times over and the aroma that comes from the log as it splits is a fragrance that brings back many memories. My life in western New England as a young girl found me working alongside my dad. He was a lumberman, a sawyer actually. So 'wood business' comes naturally to me. Each spring I'm filled with love from nature and what deadfall it gave me from the harsh winter storms. I am grateful for what I receive. A blessing, really.

I may be in my seventh decade, but wood splitting keeps me fit, happy and ageless!