Got Wood? page

[Mainer]

Ok, so my wife calls me a "Wood Slut". I will accept firewood from any source or anyone that wishes to "donate" it to me for free. There are very few limits I place on myself for gathering such wood. I will drag it out from the woods for great distances. I will make several trips where necessary. I will handle it many times. I will stack it in neat piles or in a Holz Hausen. This is all in the name of contributing to a larger wood pile for the upcoming colder weather. These activities are quite the workout, almost as much as splitting it by hand. This I enjoy much to the amazement of my wife, who wonders why I don't purchase a gas wood splitter?!?!

The ultimate goal is to be able to sit around the fireplace and enjoy the warmth of the fire after a great day outdoors enjoying the freedom to participate in many fun activities such as mountainbiking, skiing, hiking, hunting, fishing, and geocaching to name a few.

Am I the only one with the bizzare affliction?

[beckinwolf]

It might be a form of "hunting/gathering"! My uncle hunts and gathers wood for our spring/summer camping trips. One of the best way to get free campfire wood is to scope out Craigslist. Someone is always trying to get rid of old dead trees, and/or old pallets.

[worthc]

My dad has this disease. He is primal and uses firewood splitting as part of his exercise. For months earlier this year, every time I talked to him he was gathering firewood or splitting it by hand. There is something instinctual about it for him. He can't get enough firewood and he can't stop talking about it. The man is obsessed!

[tulipwood]

we heat with wood too and figure each piece of wood has been handled a dozen times or more by the time we put it in the woodstove. Since we started heating primarily with wood 4 years ago we've both been much healthier in the winter - not so many colds etc - we like to think its from the wood - i.e. spending more time outdoors, regular lifting, moving around etc. We are in the process now of splitting and stacking all our wood for next winter. (shoulder injuries for both of us rule out manual splitting but we still get plenty of lifting, tossing in. Seeing our woodshed stacked with 4 cords of wood is a great feeling.

[Cynarin]

Yeah, I was about to say, "Dad, you're on MDA?!"

[mayness]

I grew up in a home heated solely with wood. I think there is technically a furnace in the building, but it hasn't been turned on in 25 years or so. My dad used to do a lot of the wood gathering and splitting and whatnot by hand (he has a big chunk of land a few hours away that provides most of it)... but then he started selling it, so he needed to get efficient, and got a gas splitter. That provided a fun workout and a few extra bucks for me... "Hey, I'll give you $5 to come with me and deliver firewood tonight!"

I miss it sometimes... no matter how hard they tried, the house was always freezing cold when I woke up in the morning about 8 months out of the year... and I'd sit on the floor a few feet away from the newly-filled wood stove and slowly warm up and wake up before breakfast. =]

[Grumpycakes]

I would love to get wood, but in southern Saskatchewan there is more swathing of grain than chopping of trees.

[Ika]

hahahahaha The first thing I thought of when I saw this is--my dad!! He has two HUUUGE hoop-shed thingy out back FULL of firewood. Whenever any of his friends cuts down trees, he's right over there chopping up the wood. In the winter they always have a fire going in the fireplace...its so cozy!
I think I must of gotten the wood-gathering/campfire gene because I absolutely LOVE bonfires and fireplaces....that reminds me....I need to buy one of those fire-pit thingys for this summer (I unfortunetly live in the city now so no bonfires at my house).

[Stu]

Where I live they open up the forests in the spring and fall and you can come cut down what is dead. There are rules and limitations on how much per season and you pay like $5 for a permit to cut a cord.

My roommate and I would go get wood, it is a killer workout. Flipping 10 ft logs end of end back to the truck, lifting, hauling, chucking rounds of wood. Then nothing better than the reward of having a nice warm house when it dropped to -20 at night this past winter, and was still that way when the sun came up.

[jermicide]

firewood warms you three times... 1 when splitting it, 2 when stacking it, and 3 when burning it!