A pile of wood sits out in my backyard. Thick chunks of trunks and limbs from having part of the maple cut this past September lie on the ground. I just started splitting these pieces of wood--and I am loving it.
There is something very important, at least to me, with connecting to some good manual labor. Taking on a slice of a tree with a wedge and sledgehammer is a slow process. I watched a video on YouTube that had a grizzled woodsman demonstrate the proper way to split wood. Turns out that one has to start by splitting the edges of the trunk, about seven inches in, and slowly work your way around that to reduce the overall circumference. Once four or five of these splits are made, there is a final split of the center. That leaves about seven “logs” of wood that will be the right size to fit in our fireplace.
The secret I am learning is not to swing that sledgehammer like I am driving in a railroad spike. Instead, a steady tapping is what is needed to get the steel wedge to bite into the wood and then work itself far enough that a split starts. As the tapping continues, the split widens and then, a good swing with the sledgehammer will bring the wedge all the way through. It is wonderfully exerting and in the cold air, that exertion feels just right as splitting wood is not a summer job. It is definitely something created for fall or even winter weather.
There are a lot of ways to split wood. The Homeless Depot rents out a wood splitting contraption that allows you to put the trunk on a bed of steel. A pneumatic wedge goes right through the wood in a matter of seconds. If I went that route, I could easily have all the wood split in a morning. But I choose to go the old-fashioned, man versus log sort of route. It seems to me a bit more honest and a bit more honoring of the tree. To feel that I have to earn that split wood and get it to a point where it is ready for burning is something that should take time. It should take some effort and strain. That working on splitting wood is a great work out for a 62-year-old man also factors into it. And that I am not in a hurry to split the wood in one sitting is also a nice factor. It is a project that can be done slowly, savoring the time outdoors and slowly using old-fashioned tools to bring about a log for the fireplace.
The split wood is pale white inside and there will be the need to give a year or so of drying out to “season” it. There are some old ash logs that are waiting for the wedge and sledgehammer as well. Those will split wonderfully quick as they have now had years of seasoning.
Once the process is over, there will be those wintry days in which I will go to where I have these logs stacked and ready. I will be able to bring them in and get a good roaring blaze going. It is very satisfying to smell the aroma of burning ash or maple and the glow of the fire is an ancient satisfaction as well.
This world is one in which “I want it yesterday” is way too common. For me, a ritual of slowly using my energy, time and effort to achieve a measure of warmth and comfort is a way of thumbing my nose at those who want such convenience. It is important to hold onto things that are not convenient, that take energy and desire to achieve. Even though a split log may not seem like a victory, a roaring winter’s fire will beg to differ.
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