We’re into the first week in June and it’s certainly got that wonderful winter feel about it. My morning walks with the dogs have been very very foggy. Usually it means we’re in for a stonking sunny day and I watch as the mist rolls away over the vineyard to bright sunshine and a chill in the air.
This weekend was the weekend we tackled the wood pile. Feeding 8 log burners throughout winter and spring means we get through around 10 sq metres plus of chopped wood between May and October. Of course with Covid 19 turning 202 on it’s head, the fireplaces went on in March, more for comfort than necessity.
When we first came to VC we were getting wood delivered two or three times a winter. It was expensive and took a lot of time away from the day to day winter tasks. Over the years, I got a bit smarter, keeping my eyes open for people wanting to get rid of wood from their properties in early spring or seeing if any arborists were wanting to offload wood cheaply.
We started making Swedish log piles at the front of the property which were visually lovely as well as practical. The logs would spend summer in the sun seasoning for winter.
Why do we season the logs? By seasoning or drying the logs we reduce the moisture content by about 50%. They reduce in weight and burn a lot better, without the natural oils and resins spitting in the fire.
Last spring I arranged for a local arborist to deposit a truck’s worth of logs on the grass outside the house. The logs were double the size I’d seen (or glanced at speed) in the photos and when Barry arrived home from work, he took one look and announced he wasn’t cutting them up! Cue the log splitter.
The logs spent summer in the garden and yesterday we lopped and chopped firewood into chunks. I’ll be honest there is still a huge amount to go, but between us we filled the bins and tackled at least half the piles. Fuelled by the dhal we grew to love during lockdown, by sunset it felt like a good job jobbed!
The fireplaces at Vineyard Cottages are much loved by everyone that stays here and are a real highlight for our winter wedding photography. We use a mixture of hard and soft wood to keep the rolling heat from the fires continuous throughout the evenings. Many of the guests will head out to dinner, so we pop in to throw a log on the fire and make sure it’s still warm for when they return. Last year I sat with one of our regular guests, now a lovely friend and we drank tea, ate cookies and watched the fire in the log burner. When we topped the fire up with macadamia nut shells, they cracked and made little clinking noises as they burnt. It was the simple notion of just being there watching the flames that we loved and she remembers the most.
Come and stay and enjoy the fires.
Elle