Stress Relief

After a hard, stressful day at work, it is very relieving to get the chopper out and split some logs.

I am new to this splitting, seasoning, axeing, stock piling wood and it took quite a few initial mis-aimed, mis judged strokes before I started to get the hang of it.

The trick is not to fight it, but develop a feel for the wood.. Work with the grain, sense the weaknesses, atune yourself with the nuances of the log - then swing your axe hard and revel in the explosive splitting and cracking as the wood bends to your will.

Actually chopping/splitting wood can be very hard work. I can understand now why every fairytale has a wood chopper.

This is a shot of my growing wood pile. It was all 'reclaimed' or 'recycled' by me from the local community composting scheme place. The big yellowy split logs are hawthorn, which I hope will dry out nicely for next year. In a moment of nerdness, I ordered a moisture content meter.

Don't worry I will up date you all with with the hopefully declining moisture content levels!