After an absence of attention Phil and I set to finishing the firewood shelter. Phil had collected some pieces of hazel from some overgrown hazel stools which are dotted around the wood and we started cutting them to length and attaching them to the spruce rails. One of the features of hazel is its ability to split, or cleave, easily so I recommended the old trick off blunting the nail point first to stop this. Phil, not being a time served carpenter was a little sceptical and being a Doctor of Insect biology wanted a scientific explanation. The best I could come up with was that the nail crushed its way through rather than prised its way through the woody cell walls which may not have completely satisfied Phil but was enough to get the job going. I measured and cut while Phil attached. Spacing was done by eye. Ben kindly likened the structure to a prison.
Job done. Now you may have noticed that I encourage close observation so observe the central divider making 2 compartments. The reason for this should be evident for anybody who burns wood on a fire. The challenge being that you want to re stock before you run out. Most people will just run out then get more firewood. Problem; Fresh firewood is not dry and wont burn well. Alternatively you can get a load in before you run out but then you either pile on top of the dry wood or remove the dry wood first and replace it on top of the fresh stuff. Bit of an effort! Above system for the thinking burner. Fill both up in summer when you don’t use much and then its all dry for autumn. Use from one compartment and when thats empty replace it promptly. While you use the dry wood from the other half the new wood is drying . When the second compartment is finished replace it and use the now dry other half and so on. Simple. I have been cutting, burning, selling and storing firewood for long enough to more or less hurt permanently and can say with confidence this is the best way. The only obvious drawback is that you do need more space but cut and split firewood is significantly drier after a couple of months in a well ventilated place under cover, even during winter. Interestingly I have divulged this secret to all my customers but few have heeded and some still moan that the fresh load doesn’t burn as well as the last logs of the previous load. Surprise surprise. I could fill a small book on this subject but I can already sense a glazing of the eyes so will leave it till later.
Phil and I now turned our attention to a scruffy side of camp which we hope to turn into a pleasant, light and sometimes sunny corner where all and sundry could lounge over lunch or repair for a chat in a quiet and relatively open spot. With chainsaw sharpened Phil set to with his expert eye for opening up a bit of wood without blitzing it. last year he noticed and area of dead spruce which had a spread of birch hiding within. Over the summer he cleared it into a very attractive little birch grove which I will take a pic of sometime.
Some of the waste we dragged through camp to our ‘ waste disposal site’ for a burn session. This is a handy way of getting rid of unwanted brash. Interestingly woodsmen could get fined in the past for leaving unburned deadwood while these days we are encouraged to leave it for ‘habitat’. We do leave alot of brash in piles, sometimes over coppice stools to prevent browsing and even as a dead hedge which acts as a temporary animal barrier but there are limits and sometimes visually it can be a bit of an eyesore. Out of interest I have been told that less greenhouse gases are emitted by burning than by leaving to rot. I have not researched this! On a cold winters day a good bonfire develops a real esprit de corps amongst the piler uppers which is the main thing. I am a big fan of thick choking smoke when the damp rakings up are piled on top of fierce flames.
The larger part of the clearance is dead spruce which conveniently goes into the new shelter. Round logs stacked at the front, smaller stuff chucked behind. The pile of short logs on the ground are for the wagon which has a very small stove.
There we are. A nice little clearing and a step closer to having a camp fit for the paying public when they come on our courses. It must be said that I have had enough of camp prettying for now. While it makes the place nicer to be in and is enjoyable, it is unpaid and could go on almost indefinitely. Although alot of the work here is also unpaid there are seasonal jobs that are pressing such as felling before the sap rises, getting timber planked and stacked before its too warm so the initial drying is not too fast alongside other pressing projects stacking up before us. For the time being Ben and I are spending at least 1 day a week on the workshop. Time flies and although the seasons appear a little unpredictable these days they most certainly will arrive at some point.
Old Tractor small Wood 