A woman and a wood stove

Between a woman and a wood stove, there develops a certain intimacy. Initially they are tentative with one another -- who knows if the flame will keep burning, and what if the wind blows the wrong way? But they persist. She learns to bring the smaller kindling, the short split logs, the newspaper without shine. The stove rewards her with a roar.

And at a certain point, they become something more than friends.

But even this level of familiarity does not allow you to slack off. The wood stove -- and his magical fire -- will not be taken for granted.

Perhaps because I spent 40 years perfecting my relationship with Dura-Flame, today I have the utmost respect for the fire, the stove, the process. A soap-making friend likes to say that "soap waits for no man" (she's right of course, when it's traced it's traced!). But that's also true for the wood stove. It won't keep burning just cause you really really really don't want to go out and get more wood. It's a give and take, where you cannot stop giving for very long.

As such, I've found it's changed my winter rhythm. This year, I am, literally, keeping the home fires burning on the bitterly cold days. It's forced me to live in the moment, to slow down, and to plan and organize my time to maximize the heat. I now think seriously of how to manage our 6 acres, about half of which is wooded. I see the oil delivery truck leave more a bit quickly each time than the last; it's a subtle thing, but even 10 gallons of oil a week not used is something tangible gained. My bread dough rises next to the stove, and my Newfie likes to sprawl in front of it.

It's not about self-sufficiency, exactly. Perhaps it's about living purposefully, and a bit more slowly. Thanks to a small, secondhand, homely stove, we don't just turn up the heat. We build our fires, one stick at a time. And surprisingly, we really enjoy it.

Comments

[Chris]

I love a good wood stove! Mom has a particularly neat wood stove which she stopped using because she developed a low grade persistent cough and decided it must be from wood smoke - I bet it's a lot more related to her heart issues. So now that she's had the heart surgery, I'm hoping the stove gets stoked once again.

[Rebecca (eco felter in rural Ireland)]

I giggled and smiled knowingly at your stove relationship. I sit here in front of mine, hoping hubby will grab a few logs to throw on, or will it be me. I love taking the kids in the wheelbarrow to fill it with logs before dark.