Guys, I am tired and sore.

One of the methods I use to heat this house is a wood furnace. This is reserved for the coldest days; running the woodstove on a mild day will run you out of the house. But, the frigid days are a thing around here. It can get to -4F or -20C. Sometimes these brutal temperatures stretch for weeks, so a wood supply is necessary. Yes, I could run the old oil stove. The oil furnace is great, but it’s expensive and not exactly eco-friendly. The wood stove isn’t either, but it’s better than oil if you think about it. This is because I don’t harvest live trees. I always take deadfall, which is plentiful in the forest. A dead tree will release its carbon whether it rots or via my woodstove.

Yesterday’s tree fell over in a storm onto a neighbor’s lawn. My neighbor is elderly, he can’t clear it himself. Some random guys said they’d handle it. They left behind the hard part and took the easy wood, the small branches, and the limbs. The trunk, which has literal tons of great firewood, will have to be “chunked out” or removed in sections.

It’s hard, punishing work. This is with a chainsaw and a log splitter; without these modern tools, there’s no way I could do this.

The wood is soaked, very green, and heavy as hell. It will have to season for a year, this will be next winter’s wood. It’s ridiculous. A regular-sized log probably weighs twenty pounds or so- it should weigh half that. Laughs. Not so much. Let’s just say I got my steps in yesterday, and used muscles that needed exercise. Today, I feel it, and the chore is nowhere near done. This will take a while.

The trunk is probably 48 inches (1.22m) at its widest- it was a big tree. My saw (a good Stihl), while no weenie Walmart thing, is outclassed by this brute. My saw has an 18″ bar. The trunk is 48.” Think about it. Chunks, it is.

I can only stand to do this for a few hours a day, and then I’m worn out. At this rate, it’ll take all week to get the job done. The reward, of course, is good dry wood next year. But boy is this middle-aged and hard-ridden frame tired. I don’t need yet another hernia operation, and I don’t need to screw up my back. Therefore, caution and pacing are a must.

Tough to do when the trunk sections probably weigh as much as an engine block. Phew. Nothing to do but play lumberjack and imitate the turtle- slow and steady wins the race. I should set a timer. Four hours max. When I was younger, I could do this sort of thing all day long. Well, those days are past. My biggest challenge is not to push too hard, to keep thinking I can do just a little bit more… Bad idea! When your body says, “Don’t do this,” you should listen.

So, it may take forever, but I’ll get it done. Holy cow, what a tree.

Need a workout? Cut some wood.