Firewood Season

I was stopping by to sing to Mrs. R. this morning (I’ve written about her before) and I noticed right away that it’s winter firewood time again!

Not all Amish homes are heated by firewood, but many are, especially older ones.  Mrs. R’s son was doing it as many do – he backed the wagon up to a basement window and put down a ramp, and then slid the firewood down, one piece at a time.  Then he went to the basement to stack it.

I asked him how many draft horses it took to pull a wagon load of wood this big.  He said one Belgian couldn’t do it – it took two. 

He had a log splitter for breaking down the larger logs into usable-sized pieces.  I asked how much wood he would typically use in one winter season for a big old farmhouse like his, and he said probably seven loads this size.  (A newer, smaller, or better insulated home would use less.)

I asked how often he had to go down to the basement and fuel the furnace, and he said usually once in the morning and once in the evening, plus one more time mid-day in really cold weather.  He said a typical zero-degree day might take six logs, split into pieces.

I learn something new every day!