Fireplace Weather and Why I Just Buy Firewood

I was ready this year. I had my firewood stacked and seasoned. The only thing I had been waiting on was for the temperature to drop below 50. I looked at the hourly predictions and saw that early this morning it would be in the forties. I went to sleep last night knowing I would use the fireplace tomorrow morning for the first time this year.

My wife and I love having a fire going. If it is below 50 and we are home ... the fire is burning. I am enjoying it with some coffee while writing this. The only drawback is that we do burn a lot of wood. I have learned a few things threw the years. One of them is to go ahead and just buy firewood. I buy it from someone who comes to my house to deliver it and stack it for me. I don't do that because I'm lazy. I do it because I am an accident waiting to happen.

After Hurricane Rita I bought a chain saw so I decided to put it to good use. I placed an internet advertisement that I would go cut trees for people if they would let me keep the wood. I would go get our firewood. That's how we got our firewood when I was growing up. It worked well for a little while. Then I got a response from some people who had some trees blown over in a tornado and ask if I wanted the wood. I said sure. One day and I would have enough wood for the year. I had no idea how far out they lived and what I would have to drive through to get to their place. They lived way out on a dirt road that was completely under water for about a half of a mile.

Well my old Ford truck has been through high water many times so I was up for the challenge. I did notice some nice holes in the roadbed but the water was not very deep and I made it in just fine. I broke out my saw and promptly loaded my truck. I told the land owner I was going to unload at my house and would be back for another load. I had no idea what awaited me on the way out.

I was driving slowly on the dirt road that had become a small stream. Suddenly my front end dipped violently and was followed by the read end as I drove over a wash out culvert. My old truck just kept on going like it was no big deal. I thought everything was ok until after another half mile I heard my power steering pump making all kinds of noise. I also was having a tough time turning the steering wheel. I figured I had cut a power steering hose and just drove on home slowly.  well it was not a power steering hose but a gear box . That load of firewood cost me about $300.

The next year my wife and brother accompanied to a friend of my wife's mother's house to remove some trees and get some firewood. All was going well for the first few minutes until I did something I have never done. I have been cutting wood with a chainsaw since I was a teenager. I have never come close to having an accident. I guess that made me careless. I was cutting a branch off of a tree that had fallen earlier. I cut through the branch and then grazed my leg with the chainsaw blade.  I turned off the saw and walked back to the truck to examine the damage. It really did not hurt that much right then and I was hoping it would not be that bad. After examination I knew I needed some stiches so I called my wife and brother over and it was off to the emergency room. You don't even want to know how much that partial load of wood cost me.

That's when my wife decided we would just buy our firewood.