We are heating with wood now. Not because we decided to do this but rather we discovered we really didn't have another option. One week after moving in we discovered that we had used 40% of our tank of propane which runs at a replacement of $300.00 a fill!. The furnace , stove, water heater and dryer all run off propane. The furnace was already running non-stop at only 65 °. It is now set at 63 ° . With minimal insulation and heat ducts in only one half of the trailer we quickly realized that the not-to-code-wood stove was going to have to be brought to code and put into service. I have adjusted to the fact that when I am in public I no longer need to be concerned about the sideways glances I had been receiving nor that people seemed to be distancing themselves when in queues for groceries and the like. It's not personal. I smell of smoke. My furniture smells of smoke. Even the cats smell like smoke.
The first step was to have the stove W.E.T.T. certified....for a price of course. I am more than happy to pay for services rendered but $200.00 later we were informed what we already knew - it didn't meet code. So after securing an no-longer-manufactured piece of pipe and modifications to the trailer; removing a ceramic platform and refinishing it with another non-combustible surface 5 inches lower than it is currently plus adding another 9 inches to the chimney pipe ( which actually involves removing it and installing the newly located no-longer-manufactured pipe found somewhere down near Crystal Beach) we will be able to have it certified so that we can obtain insurance coverage - of course for another $200.00 plus the cost of the pipe; another $110.00.
So now to secure a supply of wood. A bush cord or a face cord? ; like fine wine how long has it aged?; where to store it? Very quickly on we realized that we were burning through the little wood we had scavenged rapidly. Hiking into the bush for kindling and dead wood was clearly not going to even get us through 24 hours. We were so pleased to find a source of wood in exchange for assistance in cutting up and stacking fallen trees in the nearby woods . The gentleman who we are working with seems to enjoy the company too and has generously offered to deliver it to our little lot of leased property in the scoop of his front end loader! This certainly was starting to feel like we were beginning to move closer to our goal of simple living!
A day of splitting, chopping and stacking made us feel like we were hardy souls living an authentic lifestyle. We had enough firewood to keep us going for well - maybe a long time! However a week later , Glenn is away and I am hauling my wheelbarrow through the frozen woods, up a hill to try to get enough wood to get me through the night!! So much for our 'stockpile'.
Yesterday I received another load, which is about two face cords ( I love just tossing that out there as if it is a normal part of daily conversation) and I am as happy as bird with a newly filled feeder! I spent some time chopping the choice pieces for kindling this morning. I am quite proud of myself now as I can split in a single pass and have learned how to split one log almost to the bottom , then turn and cleanly split all the way through the second blow and have four neat pieces ready for the kindling box. I was feeling pretty smug the first time I filled two boxes thinking I had enough for the whole winter. Quickly I discovered that this exercise would be repeated every other day! I figure in a couple weeks time Michele Obama will have nothin' on my biceps!
So this morning I am looking at the wood pile at the bottom of my front stoop. Clearly the only way I am going to be able to use the stairs is to move these two cords. What to do - invite someone for dinner and hope that when they see they have to climb over the wood to get in, they will take pity and offer to help? No, instead I decide that this is an opportunity to put theory into action.
I don't know about you but I am an experiential learner. So all this talk about Energy Transfer is very vague to me. I decide to try an experiment to understand what this means.From the website ask.com I have this definition ..."transfer is a process by which internal energy from one substance transfers to another substance"
So here is my experiment. Staying with the theme of simplicity and self reliance I use what I have handy to work with. I have a pile of wood that needs to be moved, I have a body that doesn't really seem to be adequate for the task however with the internal energy of 'need to get this done', I seek out tools that can help me transfer that energy to moving the wood pile. Whistling Mary Poppin's " Just a spoonful of sugar" and snapping my fingers wasn't at all useful so I resorted to another idea.
Using my axe; expending some of my own energy on chopping kindling which I know I can do and using the immediate and accessible Valentines Day chocolates I discovered that if you a) chop kindling for 10 minutes plus b) eat two chocolates this would result in more energy to chop another ten minutes of kindling and receive or I mean secure two more chocolates. This then resulted in increased energy transfer to the wood pile!
Now this was a much larger task and required a strong back, strong knees and a keen sense of order as three courses of wood needed to be created in such a way the the front door could still open , not too much interior light be blocked and ultimately that it would pass the BSG inspection in approximately one weeks time. ( Inside acronym which I may reveal at a later date with permission) Clearly this would require that greater energy transfer principles be utilized. Ten minutes of loading , lifting , unloading and stacking plus approximately 10 minutes of energy would require at least three chocolates.
Unfortunately I neglected to calculate the supply of chocolates in relation to the number of loads of wood .
Oh well, the wood is stacked and I have earned a hearty meal. Homemade celery garlic soup is simmering on the stove! It also helps to justify the outrageous amount of chocolate that was consumed.
