Firewood Season

Off the Grid | Woods
March 7, 2020

Each winter I cut, split, and stack firewood for the next heating season. In recent years the trees cut have all been windfalls and since our woods is mature second growth the trees that fall can be large.

This is a red oak that blew over a year ago. The top broke off about 10 feet or so from the ground.

There is a yellow handled splitting maul leaning against the tree. The yellow handle is 31 inches long which helps give an idea of the size of the log. I’ve already been cutting and splitting some of the large limbs.

The top of the tree is quite full of limbs. I’m working on cutting limbs before beginning cutting the tree’s trunk. There’s at least a month’s supply of wood when I get it cut and stacked. The tree is close to a road which is nice.

Willow

General
February 3, 2020

My mom’s cat Willow has joined us up on the hill. She’s a bit younger than our guys but not overly rambunctious. Here’s a photo by Molly:

Willow is an adventure cat. In this photo she is sitting on a beam near the upper tier of windows in the main part of our home. The ceiling at this point is about 12 feet above the floor. The shelf where the plants are, over the kitchen, is one of the favorite spots in the house in summer when those plants are outside.

Willow, like the rest of our cats, likes living in a house that has so many cat-friendly above-the-floor routes and napping spots.