Wood Envy

A new term perhaps?

Wood Envy: the feeling one gets when visiting a friend's house and seeing he has some huge logs sitting on his drive.

A term I've been feeling tonight. A routine trip to the pub turned into a nightmare when I spotted the offending logs on my friend's drive. I hatched a cunning plan for last orders, the drop off then double back for a midnight raid but alas... I was foiled. Maybe it was the full moon or my friend's sixth sense but when we arrived to relieve him of his wooden burden, there he was sitting proud atop his wooden throne. Hail King Lumber!

The gasman's been

The plumber turned up today and unhooked my gas fire - so all systems go for the fire back installation. Hopefully it'll be done sometime over Easter, I've got a week's holiday, so I'll try to fit it in between lying in bed and watching telly and eating my chocolate eggs.

Bored of logging

I never thought I'd say it - but here it is: "I'm bored of logging."

I think it's those darn big logs again, they are really hard work to saw and split - they've pushed me over edge and I've had enough.

I'm sure I'll get that twinkle in my eye come winter but for now I'm hanging up my axe and sorting out my golf clubs - now that the clocks have gone forward there is other free time things I can pursue.

I'll still be blogging as I've got an impending fire back installation coming up and other fiery things to do.

Looking down my chimney

I've had a look down my chimney today! Unusual you might think, wouldn't someone look up a chimney? Well yes, you're right, unless of course you're standing on the roof, then you look down the chimney. Let me explain - today I finished off a little job I started last year, namely the painting of my flat roof dormer on the front of my house. Whilst I was up there I checked my chimney stack and I had a good look down the chimney itself. I was a bit surprised that the chimney wasn't lined (I'd been warned to look out for this on various articles I'd read on the t'interweb) and it also appears never to have been used as an open fire as there's very little dirt in there? Anyway, apart from all that it appears to be sound and I'm planning to sweep it soon - and with this done I can organise my plumber to take out the old gas fire and then start the installation of the new fire back - it's all coming together.

Spring awakening

A mild breeze, buds on the trees and birdsong in the air - everything you need as you stride into the woods armed with your backpack and bow saw. Spring is on it's way. Best of all I think I heard my first woodpecker today - well at least I think I did. A succession of pecking sounds coming every twenty seconds or so - I'm not sure if the poor thing was feeding, looking for a mate or making a nest - but I felt truly honoured to have heard it in my little patch of woods. I was pleased as punch, I could have almost laughed out loud. ha-ha-ha-HA-ha.

Here's a video of something similar to what I heard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy3g3p9P5k8&feature=related

Money matters

I've just been summing up how much I've spent so far on my little project and I'm a bit shocked!!! Especially seeing that this was supposed to be "free heat"! This is the breakdown:

Things bought so far: bow saw - £7, splitter axe - £5, wood used for shacks - £30, fire back and lintel - £80, drain rods with sweep brush head - £25, grate and fire bricks - £15, ash pan - £2, brush and shovel for ash clean up - £3, fire guard - £24.

It's heading to £200 quid!!! yahhh - I hope this fire is good when it's finally installed.

Thought of the day

I've been reading a forum/discussion board about log burners/burning wood today and some old fellow on there summed it up nicely...

"I couldn't be more happy" he said. "I love all the 'faffing' that goes with it, i.e. scrounging wood, chopping, cleaning, etc. I find it really satisfying."

I couldn't have put it better myself :-)