If I hoped to stretch my winning ways to four days in a row — and get after it early Monday morning — I’d have to contend with temperatures that were less than hospitable. The wind wasn’t blowing that hard, but when the still-air reading is 20°F, even a gentle breeze drops the “feels like” chill to within a few degrees of single digits.
Still, the hours after dawn are my most productive time. I dressed for the work, in layers so that I could peel them off as I started warming up.
Split five rounds. That was the mission, because that’s all that remained. Three were knotty, and one of them was massive and solid as a rock. I began with the gnarliest chunk, mostly to see if I was up to the challenge.
The first hit answered that question.
My ax and I handled the first four rounds without any particular drama — tough, sure, but it was as if this red oak and I had reached an understanding. I saved the most difficult piece for last.
It was the base of the trunk, just above the stump, broader and denser than any of the others. One end included my felling cuts, which meant that I likely wouldn’t be able to flip it and attack from both ends.
Having rested awhile on the pile since it was dropped and bucked, its end grain showed promising checking. Strangely, the medulla — the vessel at the heart of the heartwood — was significantly off-center.
I commenced swinging, probing for weakness. I found none. The cracks were teasing me. This round wouldn’t give up easily.
I changed tactics, choosing instead to try chipping off slabs of sapwood around the edges.
Success. It was still a bear of a round to process, requiring dozens of strikes, but I got it done.
In front of me, then, was a heap of stove lengths, the last of the east slope oak.
To my left was an empty pallet.
Somehow I’d managed to split it all by hand. That made me smile.
I smiled again when I placed the last length on the current pallet. I’d split just enough yesterday to bring it to the top.
That, of course, meant it was time to set a new pallet, which I did. By my calculations (or re-calculations), that’ll be the last one I need to fill for next heating season.
If I’m able to bring in more than that before spring, I will. Better too much than too little.
It’s not even March yet. I feel like I’m playing with a lead.
I accept that not everyone who reads Ubi Libertas Blog is Country. Not all of you will understand why this stuff is a big deal to me.
Not everyone is wired to find such joy in hard, grimy, physical labor. I know that.
I will, however, ask all of you to do this — imagine sitting in front of a woodstove on a cold winter’s morning, knowing that you alone are responsible for that glow and comfort. You own every bit of it.
Surely you can understand that.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
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