bringing in the wood

 During the winter months, the wood stove in the kitchen is central to our lives. Most people who heat with wood will tell you that there is something special about the heat that radiates from a wood stove. We have a wood rack next to the stove that needs to be refilled every 3-4 days. 

So a couple of times a week we need to bring in the wood. It's always the same. We put on our woodworking jackets and gloves. I head outside and clear away the snow, raise the tarp, open up the storm door. 

 

I grab 4-5 pieces of wood and bring them to the back door where I hand them off to Allyn. She heads to the wood rack and I go back to the wood pile, and we meet again and again at the back door for the transfer of BTU's. Nothing is said until the rack is full and Allyn says, "I think that's enough." I put the tarp back and secure it with wood and a pallet. Allyn sweeps the kitchen floor. We have been doing this kabuki dance during the winter months for many years. It is, on the one hand, routine and mundane, yet, on the other hand, satisfying and meaningful. We do it together.