Coppicing has taken up much of the day.
It’s remarkable just how much wood can be grown from scratch on a small amount of land.
It’s safe to say that there is a surplus of wood here, much of which will continue to grow until next winter.
Coppicing increases the amount of wood growing, as each cut tree will produces up to half a dozen more trees and so the stock increases.
The logs are easy to cut, no chainsaw is required and the cut wood dries out quicker.
The brushwood makes excellent kindling!
This is the most environmentally friendly energy on the planet, totally renewable and beneficial to wildlife, water and air!
Can it get any better?
Then why, oh why are governments not rushing to plant deciduous trees and develop wood-burning stove systems in homes?
Cutting back hedging and dead growth continues apace…I can see the steps once more!
Spurge has come up early, carpeting the Fairy Wood with soft green.
There is a gradual movement of green through the land from this Spurge, all the way through to the Mosses and Lichens of Autumn.
The badgers will come through the wood soon and disturb some of this Spurge in their quest for food, but that disturbance will help in the spreading of this lovely carpet.
As it begins to die back a little, the primroses will make their appearance…and so the succession continues.
Clouds have maintained a westerly sweep, in from the Atlantic Ocean, heavy with rain.
The wind has calmed down, thankfully…I worry that my cottage roof may get blown away.
It’s old and in need of replacement!
I just have to add here that here in Northern Tasmania we are frowned upon if we use wood fires. We are “polluting the atmosphere” and “making life hard for asthmatics” and we are subject to having our smoke “measured” if anyone protests that we have a lit fire. Not so bad out here in the sticks (50km away from the city) but in the city its all electric heat pumps and gas heaters but what good are they going to be when the price of electricity and gas become too much for the average person to bear? That’s why we chose Brunhilda. Her constant supply of heat is only reliant on our constant supply of wood 😉
Very interested in rocket stoves. How did you build yours? Your terrain and conditions are so very different to ours here in Australia. For our summer months my behemoth of a wood burning stove “Brunhilda” lays quiet and gets used to dry my potato onions and seeds on but in winter she is queen of our home. We use her to bake, to heat our water, to dehydrate things (in her warming ovens), to dry our clothes to heat the house and to give us an atmosphere that you just can’t get with other types of heating. Part of the appreciation for this kind of heat is the fact that you, yourself, have gone out there and taken part in preparing for this event, in cutting your wood and stacking it and planning and instituting your winter rituals. I was worried that the considerable expense for our woodstove would be unmet by my expectations but what price the feeling you get walking in from the cold to a warm crackling fire and what price that first spark of reignition in the morning as you stand in the dark in front of her. I love Brunhilda :).
There are a couple of blogs relating to the building of the rocket stove. I always use materials that are on hand for whatever task I attempt and adapt to suit. In this case it was concrete blocks, but any fire proof materials can be used, especially clay! You’re so right, woodstoves are the best!
🙂
Houses built here in the last 30 years or so have no fire places/chimneys. Council housing had all their fireplaces removed and replaced with a gas fire/central heating. That many people now carn’t afford to use.
Happy memories of sitting on a pouffe in front of the fire at my grandparents house and in our elderly neighbours house watching the fire burn, making toast and sending the letter up the chimney to santa. Even the firegaurd had its uses for raising bread, drying washing and warming our pj’s before bedtime. And of the visit of the chimney sweep, rushing outside when the order was given to see if his brushes had appeared at the top of the chimney. Many children including my own, now all in their 20’s have never sat in front of a real fire.
Maybe now we have had all these storms and flooding. There will be a rush to plant trees. Lets hope so.
The big rectangular fireguard…I bought one at a Boot Fair last year and as you say, it’s great for drying clothes on. I heartily believe that trees are the only future we have!
Blessings and have a lovely week XXX
I’m impressed with the wood supply. Especially on your own land.
I built my rocket stove today. I have tons of twigs in my yard to fuel it with when I want to use it. I will stack twigs under shelter to dry – they are all wet now from so much rain.
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The rocket stove is something I use from Spring all through summer and into early autumn…invaluable!
Wonderful 🙂