Today, I'm reminded once again of my youthful days growing up on the farm and the evening chores that always awaited me after school. Living in an uninsulated farm house heated only be a fuel oil stove and fireplaces required daily labor from my parent's youngest son; the only one still available at home. Before milking 'Beauty', a Holstein dairy cow or putting hay and grain out for the horses, I was tasked with taking out ashes, splitting firewood and filling the wood boxes with enough fuel to sustain the fires through the following day, regardless of the weather.
The cabin also requires a generous supply of firewood on hand through Fall and Winter since this too is the primary source of heat, much like my childhood home. I'm sure the years I spent laboring behind a maul influenced a decision of foregoing the expense of a hydraulic wood splitter and relying on God-given strength of my son's and me to address the need.
With Nic leading the charge, we labored in the woods like so many times in the past until dusk forced a retreat. Its hard to say if the wood finally dried or if Nic simply mastered the art of burying the maul and splitting the logs with single, full body swings.
I was happy to carry and stack the fruit of the labor as Nic's own memories were being made to share again some day.
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| Nic sizing up his next challenge |
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| A single full body swing drives though |
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| Added a register to track all the visitors that show up at the cabin |
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| Continue to add little things like this pine cone napkin holder |
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