Keep home fires burning
Trees must be chopped, cut up and left to dry
These days stoking a woodstove wouldn’t be a homeowner’s first choice when it comes to heating their home during the colder months of the year. For most, gone are the days when they would chop and gather wood in anticipation and preparation for the long cold winter ahead.
Not so for Ian Cunningham, he likes to do things the oldfashioned way. Cunningham is from the southern part of Nova Scotia but spends a lot of time with family in Ross Ferry.
He said he has been chopping wood for as long as he can remember and he will continue to do so for as long as he can.
“I remember being a child out in the woods with my Dad and watching him cut down the tree, limb the branches and chop the tree into wood for the fire.”
As a child, Cunningham said he enjoyed helping his Dad stack the firewood and prepare the stove for the first fire of the season.
“It was always around the second week in October when Dad would start the woodstove for the first time. Back then I didn’t even think about all of the work that went into keeping the home warm. Chopping wood was just what Dad did and I was happy spending time with him. My Dad is 90 and he still likes to go into the woods, but now I am the one doing most of the chopping. We own a lot where we cut the wood we need to see us through the fall and winter.”
Getting the timber ready for the woodstove is a process that usually starts months in advance. After the tree has been chopped and cut up it needs to sit for a while until it dries out.
Cunningham said once he knows the firewood has dried enough he throws it into the back of his truck and transports it to his backyard. He said it takes several loads to last the winter. The larger pieces of wood must be split and then stacked, and Cunningham said that is when his wife Cathy and daughter Joy are called on for help.
“After all of the firewood is dumped in the backyard the pile can get pretty high, I usually get help from my wife and my daughter stacking it. We would normally stack the wood by the side of the garage and cover it over with a tarp, but this year I started building a wood shed to store the firewood. It isn’t finished yet, but what is done will keep the wood out of the elements.” Cunningham said once in the shed, the wood has to be stacked in such a way that it will be easy to access and can continue to dry. The dryer the wood, he said, the easier it is to use and the warmer the fire burns.
According to Cunningham, if a person is using a woodstove to heat their home it is because they appreciate the warmth and comfort that comes from a well stoked fire.
“It goes without saying that maintaining a wood stove involves a lot of hard work and it can be very time consuming. You really have to be committed to it. When you consider the time and actual physical work that goes into getting the wood from the forest to the stove, you can understand why it wouldn’t be a homeowner’s first choice.
“Getting the seasoned firewood ready for the colder months can take weeks, as a teacher I had the summers off so I made sure I had the bulk of the wood ready before I headed back to school in September. Now that I am retired I don’t need to be in a big hurry to get the work done, but it is not something I like to leave to the last minute.
“Keeping a fire in the woodstove going involves a lot of lugging. You have to carry enough firewood into the house to keep the fire going all day and night, and starting the fire can be a hassle if you don’t have the smaller pieces of kindling to get it started. There is a big mess that comes from the firewood that needs to be swept and the burnt ashes need to be removed every day. You also need to make sure your chimney is cleaned on a regular basis.”
At one time people used firewood to heat their homes because it was more cost-effective, but Cunningham said the price of firewood has risen.
“Compared to the cost of purchasing oil or electricity, using firewood can still save you money. I have been using firewood to heat my home for many years, and yes it is a lot of work, but for me and my family it is worth the effort. There is a certain degree of satisfaction knowing that you are cutting the wood that actually heats your home in winter. We use our oil furnace as a backup but would much prefer the comfort and warmth of the woodstove and the visual effect of the fire is nice too.” Sherry Mulley MacDonald is an author and freelance journalist. She is a lifelong resident of the Northside with an affection for the community in which she lives. If you or someone you know has an interesting story to tell contact sherrymulleymacdonald@hotmail.com.