Now that cold weather is finally upon us, it’s time for our yearly fall ritual. It involves ordering wood, hauling, stacking, chopping, cleaning out the ashes, etc. I refer to these as my Cinderella chores….
Years ago when we installed our wood stove we needed something large and substantial to hold the wood next to the fireplace. We found this large black wrought iron cauldron at an antique store. I think it was around $150. Often times old cauldrons are rusted out on the bottom. We knew that wouldn’t work for our purposes since sometimes we bring in wet or snow covered wood and we didn’t want it to drip through and ruin the floor. This one was in great shape. Score!
One cauldron full of wood usually lasts about one day. The wood makes its way from the stack out back where we split it and carry it to the Veranda. There is a rack right outside the door that holds the wood. The covered roof helps keep the wood dry and handy. When we are anticipating a storm, we like to chop the wood in advance and fill the cauldron and the rack. Last weekend we hauled and stacked about one cord of wood. (Where are our boys when we need them???)
We buy our wood from a local lumber yard (Heacock Lumber) where they debark the trees and cut them into slabs the perfect length for our wood stove. We have a large stump out by the wood pile where we chop the wood and load it into the wheel barrel. During heavy snows we use a sled to carry the wood from the pile up to the house. I feel like quite the pioneer woman when we do this! And yes, I chop wood. It’s actually very therapeutic. I love the look and smell of freshly stacked wood!
The wood stove keeps us toasty warm in the cold Northeastern months. It really helps out with our heating bill too! I love our wood stove and the antique cauldron. One day the cauldron will find its way to North Carolina where it will sit by our future outdoor fireplace. Here is the cauldron, filled and ready to go. Tonight is supposed to be in the 30’s. Time to fire up the wood stove!
Thanks for stopping by! Also it’s my son’s birthday today, so Happy Birthday, Chase! xoxoxoxo
