“If you keep saying it the way it really is, eventually your word is law in the universe.”
Werner Erhard
Saturday morning was typical of the way Smudge and I begin our days. Nothing out of the ordinary. It was comfortably cool indoors, and a bed of bright orange coals made it easy to kick-start the woodstove without drama.
I guess it was around 9am that I settled the Heeler, left the cabin and guided the Ranger down toward the east slope. Rather than doing more clearing and extending my new trail, I decided to pick up after myself — that is, I wanted to buck, load and haul back to the wood yard everything I’d set aside on Wednesday as potential firewood.
For the first time, I drove the buggy on the fresh trail-in-progress. As usually happens when I cut a new way through the woods, it was still too narrow in places. Also, two immovable rocks that I thought the undercarriage would clear left a shiny scrape on the Ranger’s frame rails.
And so I have more work to do. I expected that.
After dispatching a couple of piles of small hardwood trunks, producing dozens of stove lengths, I turned my attention to the downed oak crown I’d found the other day. I cleared away brush, briars and branch wood and was left with something worth mining.
I snapped the photo above, then took a moment to look around and fully appreciate where I had the pleasure of working. The result was an unsatisfying photo (below).
Natch.
Beyond the trees and tangle is the valley to the north. Long, high ridgelines define the horizon. It’s grander than you can imagine, certainly grander than that photo conveys.
I dug into the fallen oak. Disappointment soon followed — the tree had been on the ground longer than I thought. Encased in overgrowth, it stayed damp. Every cut I made exposed pith at best, rot at worst.
Even so, I found wood I can use. There simply wasn’t nearly as much as I suspected.
Now, a word about pithy wood — when dry. it’ll catch quickly but won’t last long. My personal rule is that if wood appears (by eyeball) to be mostly solid, I’ll take it.
The chunk of seven-inch oak pictured above is a good example of a keeper. The outer ring of sapwood is pith. The rest will burn hot and long.
My second chainsaw battery ran out of juice two cuts before I finished. That was my cue to load what I’d bucked into the bed and head for the wood yard.
Despite the fact that I didn’t harvest most of the downed tree, I still came back with a fairly respectable haul.
I stacked the load on the third pallet I have seasoning for next winter.
It’s pretty close to full now, which means I’m almost halfway there. Three more pallets to go, and then I’ll start working on a supply for 2027-2028.
Finally yesterday, of course, I brought up enough wood to fill the rack on the hearth. Life is good.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable