My Woodpile

Somewhere among my ancestors I must have had someone who lived in the mountains, surrounded by thick woods, where the Winter was harsh and the snow deep. Enough firewood was essential for survival in these circumstance. Some of the genes I might have inherited from this ancestor, makes me very nervous when I do not have at least a two years supply of firewood. Early in life I found out that in most places there is a great supply of free firewood, one only has to find it.

People with central heating and no fireplaces, when cutting down trees on their properties are happy to give the wood away to anyone who hauls it away. In America I worked for years at the National Bureau of Standards, which is located on a 600 acres wooded land.
One Day, on my lunch time walk I came across a maintenance crew cutting down trees. When asked, what are the going to do with the wood, they told me that they are taking to the dump, where they have to pay 30 dollars to get rid of it. I told them that they can save 30 dollars by dumping it in my front yard. This discovery supplied me with plenty of fire wood and provided me a Winter time exercise, - wood chopping.

Here in the South of France there is plenty of wood. Besides friends my main source is the village dump, from where, with the help of Transylvanian proteges ( I will write about them later) and my trailer, I got at least 3 years of free supply.


And here I am splitting it.

I use this wood in the Tile Stove, built by a Hungarian stove builder.
And here is the fireplace in the living room, and guess who enjoys it most.