Timing Is Everything

A wood stove (my wood stove) is neither quick nor easy.  It takes patience to get a good blaze going, so timing is critical.  I can't just light a match under a piece of wood and walk away, so I have to be able to sit and watch between computer work and heading down to the barn.  That, or wait until I come back up to start the process.  There are three elements to a fire:  fuel, air, and a heat source.  Stove has three vents.  At least two have to be open when I want to get a fire going, and the third is the "big gun" when he's being balky.  Given that I get the wood lit, the temperature has to get to a certain point to get a good draw up the chimney, and then I can start closing all but one of the vents.  If the temp goes too high, there is danger of a chimney fire.  If the vents are closed too soon, the fire, deprived of oxygen, will go out.  It had rained hard during the night and there was a damp chill in the morning.  I'd gotten up early enough to take the time to work with Stove before chores, and it was lovely to come back to a warm room.

The goat pen had, for months, been a barren brown field.  With just a couple of mornings of heavy dew and then a night of rain, little sprouts of green from seeds that had been waiting had sprung up, visible for the first time yesterday.  It rained off and on most of the day.

Getting more firewood from the rack on the porch is tricky.  You just never know what you'll find.  This mother lizard and baby were immobile from the cold and I was careful not to disturb them further after taking away their protective cover.  I'm a little more cautious when getting wood from the stacked pile under the oak.  Lizards are one thing, snakes and black widow spiders are another.

Camille called in the afternoon to ask if I wanted to come down today and help pick the rest of the tomatoes from her vines.  If let go, the rainy weather would start them rotting.  What a waste that would be.  I see more marinara sauce in my future.  The timing is right.