Thinking of Winter

It's that time of year; there's a hint of yellow in the foliage, leaves litter the yard, and the windows have been closed at night. Socks have come out of their summer hibernation and short sleeved shirts have lost their appeal.  Fall has arrived and with it comes our annual foray into the woods for the next 8 to 10 weekends.

This year, we're getting wood for not only our house but some for my brother too. Between us, we'll be cutting and splitting about 10 cords; 6 to 7 cords of wood for our house and about 3 cords for Adam's house.  We always start mid-September as it is a lot of work and takes several weekends of cutting, splitting, loading, and unloading.

This year, I'm ready! Here I am sporting my new steel-toed lady Red Wings. I love these babies!

Pete surveying a large oak that he cut down in May. It's seasoned enough and ready to be cut up. We'll burn it in January.

Our war wagon and wood hauler: A 1972 Dodge Ram in "multi-color". Beat to all hell but works like a champ in these punishing conditions. Pop and Adam fashioned an all-steel bed and removable steel sides. This baby is perfect for the tough terrains and loves to dig into a small tree or two that stands in its way.
Pop using his Bobcat to grab and transport the large tree sections. He puts these directly onto the truck. Pete and Adam will cut them up later after they've been transported to the splitting area that is up closer to the house.
This is something I certainly cannot do!  These babies weigh about 100 pounds each!
This is what my job was yesterday: I had a 17" marker that I used to mark 17 inch sections on each tree limb. I used a hack saw to saw an "X" where each cut with the chainsaw needed to go. Our stove takes 17" logs and each piece needs to be measured carefully.

Done for the day. We've transported the entire oak up to our splitting area. The next weekend that we're out, Pete and Adam will cut these pieces up into individual logs. Pop then will take each log and split it with our hydraulic splitter. While Mom runs the splitter and Pop splits, I'll pack the truck up with wood. Our truck can hold 7/8 of a cord of wood using the sides that Pete and Pop built for it.

Yes, it may seem like a lot of work, and it is but we all enjoy it as we're all outside getting exercise and delight in each other's company. I'm glad that my parents are well enough to be able to do this with us and I am especially thankful for the use of their 55 acres!  So, needless to say, Pete and I savor this time of year!