The Chimney Sweep

"Wood is the fuel that warms  you twice", goes an old New England expression: "once when chopping and once when burning".

We heat our farmhouse with two woodstoves and wood we harvest from the property.  Last year, we upgraded our woodsplitter and saved many hours this past spring getting ourselves ready for the winter cold.  People are amazed at the amount of wood we put up each year, but we never want to find ourselves short.  The photo above is but one of many stacked piles of wood...it will be gone, no doubt, by Christmas.  Our house is rarely below 72 degrees on any given day, something I sure like.  Let it snow!  Let the power go out!  I can still cook and stay warm during the worst storms Mother Nature can dish out.  Ever had pancakes cooked on an iron griddle heated by the woodstove?  Or enjoyed slow cooked venison stew done solely on the woodstove?   You'll never be cold or hungry in this house!

On the downside, our resident chimney sweep has to crawl out our second floor window, straddle the peaks of the house (which include very sharp lightning rods!) in order to clear out any and all creosote residue.  This chore was checked off the "honey-do" list the other day. 

No, Virginia, this is not Santa Claus.

Sometimes I wonder why we simply can't hire someone to clean out the chimneys...from the looks of it, I think our stubborn chimney sweep sometimes wonders the same thing.  But as the saying goes, if you want something done right, do it yourself.  This job is done.  Right?

Our chimneys are all set for the winter ahead thanks to our beloved sweep.  Believe it or not, we've experienced 41 degree mornings already.  Ah, the joys of living in "Coldbrook"!