We live in a very different environment to what we’ve been used to. We lived semi-rurally, in a suburban type of setting. Lots of space, large gardens, nice houses (horrible neighbours sometimes). I had access to fields for my ponies, but they were a drive away, rather than a short walk (or even a long walk).
Then we packed up our whole lives, lifestyle, kit and caboodle and moved to another country.
What we believed to be semi-rural where we were before, would be considered almost city-living here! The difference is vast!
The short walk to my ponies is even shorter than going to the bottom of my garden at the old house. I could hop to the stables if I needed to.
The neighbours are pleasant and keep themselves to themselves mostly. They all wave and say ‘Bonjour!’ but that is it. There are no curtain-twitchers to be found – well, even if there were, the neighbours are so far away, they can’t see my house through their windows.
The garden is a huge contrast to what we had before. We were lucky, our house was an older-style, and the garden space was generous. It’s a handkerchief compared to the garden we have now! I have a third of an acre just for growing vegetables.
The house was a holiday-home, and it was kept so well, we were really fortunate to find this property. We’ve slowly started to arrange things how we like them – it’s taken 2 years so far and we’re nowhere near to completion on the decorating.
We’re trying to become self-sufficient as much as possible, hence the third of an acre of veg plot.
We also have to source our own wood for the winter and that is a year-round job. We have grassland for the horses, and also woodlands so we really can be quite self-sufficient.
Over the winter, we use quite a lot of wood on the log-burning stove, so cutting down (dead) trees, logging, splitting the logs and storing them takes a lot of space, time, energy etc.
That’s where this post takes us.
Today’s jobs that I set for myself were to move the remaining split logs into the shed, stack them neatly and use them first. Then I wanted to clear the cut logs from the side of the drive and tidy the space up a bit.
Here goes:
How it started:
Job 1 - to take the split logs inside and store them neatly.
Tora, my Belgian Malinois is looking for mice and the chickens came to have a look too
There doesn't seem so much wood when it's stacked like this!
Job 2 to clear the cut logs, stack them and tidy the space.
Doesn't that look better!
Stacked the logs and raked the front of the log stacks. All I have to do is let them settle for a bit and cover the stacks before it rains again.
Smug-mode engaged!
Hello, @michelle.gent !
One of the things I remember about the vacations I spent in the country at my grandmother's house was the way she stacked the firewood. And she did it in a methodical way. I remember that although she didn't store a huge amount of firewood, she was careful to store it by size (by the size of the logs) and even by the quality of the wood itself.
I know it was time-consuming, but then, when we were at her house, and we had to go down to the ground floor to bring up wood for the fireplace, it was a very easy task, because we already knew how many large and thin pieces of wood my grandmother would need.
Life in the countryside is very hard work, but one thing is certain: the dedication and effort we give “to the land”, it gives back twice as much in health and energy... There's no need for pills for depression or insomnia, is there?
I love your Tora! Lovely Malinois!
Thank you! Also, apologies for the tardy response.
We (the family as a whole) relied on coal for heat and it's filthy, smoky stuff. The wood can chuck out smoke, but it's not so heavy and seems to dissipate easier. Plus the smell can be quite fragrant.
We're building a new log store, which will need a lot of thinking about because of the size. We'll have to be able to rotate the wood so we use the oldest first. I didn't realise that wood deteriorates (I guess I knew, but didn't realise how much that fact would impact us!)
Life is indeed hard work. We went for a leisurely stroll in the woods and came back with trees to fell, clear, chop and split, posts to cut and bring in, possible planks to make... one stroll...
So many activities... I can imagine your daily "routines" aren't nothing to do with routine life! You have the reins of your life in your hands! Better food (grown on your backyard), better air, calm neighborhood (far away 😅), and time with your lovely animals... All you have to gave up is the commodity of having everything in a close commercial area... I never tire of reading your stories and looking at the photos. They remind me of my childhood, when I used to spend part of the summer at my grandmother's house
@xrayman thank you! I'm so pleased my posts remind you of happy times. We're making our own memories here and so far, so good!
It is probably "nothing" more pleasurable then to making our memories... the good ones, off course! Keep sharing your thoughts and photos of that little piece of heaven on Earth :)