We’ve been burning wood in the old Buckstove for a few weeks now, warming the old farmhouse up to a comfortable 68 degrees or so. And yesterday Paula and I spent the afternoon chainsawing dry, dead trees and limbs in the woods, filling the back of the truck with logs 4 to 7 feet long.

We’re trying a new approach this year: cut longer pieces, load them up, toss them into piles in the big open barn. Through the winter, we’ll have piles of wood to cut down to size on sunny days. We’re stockpiling, trying to catch up, as the days shorten and the nights grow colder.