On this fourth Sunday in November, I could talk about the weather — sunshine, mid-70s, south wind gusting to 42mph. I could tell you about “re-purposing” a couple of decrepit cable spools into a platform for slingshot targets next to the archery bag, or that Deb and I cleared a shitload of unnecessary stuff out of the cabin and trucked it to storage.
I could say that 12/2 solid with ground, on a thousand-foot spool, costs a shade under 48 cents a foot, or report that we followed a neighbor’s pickup truck down off The Mountain this morning and, in the bed, we saw clear evidence of a successful morning hunt.
None of that is quite as important (to me) as what happened yesterday.
At precisely noon on Saturday, November 23rd, 2024, the hearth in our cabin came to life — we lit our very first fire in the woodstove.
This was a long time coming, of course. And maybe it wasn’t the ideal day to bask in the warmth of a roaring fire. But sooner or later, there had to be a test — would the stove draft? Is the chimney tall enough? Will the heat shield I built work as intended? Is our cordwood seasoned enough to give us a hot, controllable burn?
To all of the above, yes — hell, yes, in fact. I’d rank it as perhaps my most gratifying day (so far) since we took up residence on The Mountain.
So much led up to that fire. Every chunk of firewood I put up. Deb finding a great woodstove secondhand. The hearth I laid block-by-block, the shields I fashioned from reclaimed barn tin, the flue and chimney I calculated carefully and hoisted.
And it all worked. Mistakes and false starts and imperfections that haunt me didn’t make one damned bit of difference yesterday. If only for a day, I felt like a winner.
Deb and I sat mesmerized by the flames dancing behind the glass. By late afternoon they’d faded to glistening coals, reawakened after nightfall into a cozy fire that we enjoyed long into the evening.
A heat-activated stove-top fan that Deb bought, a gadget recommended by a friend, moved a surprising volume of warm air. The vintage teakettle we picked up last weekend simmered and steamed gently.
Naturally, little wisps of smoke would escape the firebox each time I tended the fire. Far from a problem, that’s one of the best things about heating with wood — the cabin smells absolutely amazing.
So we’ve passed an important milestone here. Our humble Home has heat. In more ways than I can tell you, that’s a big deal.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB