Woodshed

B came over and said he'd cut up a couple of trees for me, so I could rough them out of the woods, but first he had to go tap a bunch of maple trees for Ronny. I suit up and go out to the woodshed to clear out the last of the furniture, which I split into kindling and small stuff, and to move some things around. Right at freezing. Squirrels at play. Bits of snow still clinging here and there, on the north side trees mostly. I smash the furniture, the last school desk, a broken rock maple chair, part of an oak table top, with an axe, then kneel on a foam pad and split what I need with a hatchet. Lunch is an excellent Shepard's Pie that Carma had sent via D. B is back mid-afternoon and in forty minutes he's cut enough wood to occupy my time and supply heat for several weeks, and I have enough red maple and osage orange to last for several more. He cuts up a sizeable oak, then drops a dead sourwood tree. Sourwood honey is a local delicacy, the wood is very dense; and like dogwood, when the bark slips, the exterior surface is so smooth and hard, that water barely penetrates. The grain is twisted, like elm or osage, thus difficult to split, but B assures me that it burns forever. I've never burned any before. I'll need to haul wood tomorrow, then next weekend, or a day I get trapped at home, I can split everything and stack it. I have a nice supply of oak pallets. It's supposed to get much warmer for a few days, and I let the fire go out in the cookstove, to let it cool completely, so I can clean the smoke -chase around the outside of the inside of the oven and check the stove pipe. February yet to come. I should be comfortable for the next few nights, and that's not usual for this time of year, an interlude at exactly the right time. I make the most of it, and I am exhausted at the end of the day. I left my tools outside, because I knew I would have to suit-up and go out to get them, and I knew, if I suited-up, I'd haul a few loads of wood. I know the way I work. Habit, not discipline. And I get back inside, stripping a few layers of clothing, and consider dinner. We could order out, or we could order in, or we might stir-fry a vegetable thing with meat on the side, questionable mushrooms. But the easiest option is just tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. An apple, I think that was made clear. I'm still alive, that's really all that matters.