New England's Narrow Road

The Chore of Stacking Firewood

I just finished stacking my cord of firewood. I have been limited to doing a little on each nice day we’ve had this summer- all 3 of them!

Seriously, the rain just won’t quit. My pile of wood was delivered in April after I found the cheapest price in the paper and paid $170 to a nice guy who told me it would be a “mix” after I asked what kind he had. Also, it is green wood, not seasoned, but I figured I’d have the hot, sunny summer to help dry it out. HA!

One cord of "green" wood — One cord of “green” wood

So he dumped it at the side of the house in the most shady area of the yard and it has been sitting there getting moldy and full of snails because I only got part of it moved before the rainy month of June arrived. I’m living in a rental, and the wood has to be moved down a hill and stacked near the basement door. Then I will lug it into the basement where my wood stove will be hooked up. After living through a long winter power outage right after I moved in here, I needed to think about finding an alternative heat source.

I finished moving it this past week and it’s a load off my back! In more ways than one.

I’ve read that a cord of wood is officially 4 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 8 feet long. It seems that I have at least a cord. In fact it’s a lot more than I expected. The one drawback to the wood I bought is that some of the pieces are huge! They probably should be split. I might have to learn how to do that and see if I can manage. There is no man in my life who will do it for me.

Oh, I do have one other little problem. I don’t have a wood stove yet. *Update: I bought a used wood stove. Read my story “How to Buy a Used Wood Stove“.

More sites of interest to those of you who burn firewood:
woodheat.org

Power Outages in Winter

When I first wrote this post, I was new to blogging and pretty new to life in New Hampshire. I love the state, but living alone with a child and no man to help out was tough. I had to do all the things a husband would have done. From snowplowing the driveway and shoveling out the mailbox to buying and stacking firewood for winter, everything was on me.

For the most part I did okay. It helped to keep me in good shape as long as I didn’t overdo it. I was not young at this point, but having firewood was important. This place was my second rental after losing my home due to my ex-husband’s failed business venture. Right after I moved in here, we had an ice storm and were without power, or heat, for 7 days. I never had a chance to prepare, but it was a cruel lesson that made me take action. The temperature inside my place was in the 40’s. I slept in my winter coat, inside a sleeping bag!

The following winter we lost power for a few days again, but thankfully I had my woodstove by then, and plenty of wood to burn.

Small Town History and Pride

This is what I love about living in a small town. I recently received this e-mail notice.The Antrim Historical Society will host the 16th Annual Celebration & Reading of the Declaration of Independence on Saturday, July 4th, from 9:00 am – 10:30 am at the Bandstand at Memorial Park. The Declaration will be read by Bill Nichols and Dean Proctor in celebration of the birth of our country. As part of this annual tradition, coffee, homemade sweet rolls and doughnuts will be served.

I haven’t lived here for very long, but I know that the folks who have are proud of their way of life and keep the past alive by having meetings that celebrate our heritage. I think it’s awesome!

Some of the homes around here were once hotels that housed the flatlanders who came up from the Boston area to vacation in the country.
My friend lives in one of these hotels turned home. Apparently it burned and part of the place is gone, but her house is still quite large and very unique looking.

These people care about the environment too and have formed and association for taking care of the lake by teaching the members about invasive plant life that can kill the lake by taking over. So those of us who are out canoeing, boating or kayaking can identify what we see and have it removed before it spreads. The Lake Host project is another way of informing boaters to watch out for weeds, such as Milfoil, that might be attached to their boats and be transported from one lake to another.
A monthly paper is sent out and the “Limerick” is full of great stories about the area written by long time residents. I’ve recently discovered that one family raises dogs for dog sled racing!
I love small town life.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

With all rain and no sun??? If you live in the northeast you know what I am saying. I don’t remember ever in my life having so many rainy days in a row. To be truthful the sun did pop out for about 4 minutes the other day. So bright that I ran outside and stood there just soaking it up.

Then it was gone.

I’ve been working at the computer with my fleece sweater on as it is 64° inside and not even that outside.

Between showers I have been out checking on the vegetable garden and it doesn’t look too bad considering the lack of sunshine. I believe everything might be twice the size if only the clouds would part.

I pity the vacationers who wanted to spend time at the beaches and the beach side vendors have lost more money than they can probably make up…if the sun shines again.

I like a rainy day…even a few…but a rainy month is not good and we New Englanders are all wondering if summer will ever come to the northeast.

Personal Fireworks

I’m not much for going out to see the fireworks displays around the area, although Peterborough usually has a good show at Conval high school. We have gone there a couple of times. In New Hampshire there are some good fireworks for sale and my firefighter son loves to go nuts with them when he comes to visit…no matter what time of year it is.

This is what he spent his money on last year and we set them off over the course of the week. My favorites are the fountains. I don’t trust the ones that fly off (hopefully) into the air.

My son is not here for the fourth this year, so I might go down to the lake and see if anyone is having a display there. If not, it will be a quiet 4th.