Dumb question on firewood

[Somesawguy]

We get quite a bit of rain in the fall, and snow in the winter. Anything that isn't covered tends to be soaking wet. That's been my experience here in Maine.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

Yeah... I know I always say I don't see the "need"... and I still don't believe there's actually a need...
But, because of the early and prolonged cold, I'm gonna' run short in the house this year. We ain't had a "big" snow storm yet, but a bunch of little ones has put a good 6 inches of snow on my stacks... 6 inches of snow I'm gonna' likely have to deal with. If I wait for it to melt off before bring more wood in, we could get buried, making it difficult to access the stacks. We ain't seen much sun... and we ain't been above freezing since Halloween... I've still got 2½-3 cord in the house... but there's a decision to make. Guess I'll bite the bullet and start brushin' snow off this weekend, maybe move a cord or so in before "the big one" hits... or, I could hope for normal the January thaw??

I think I was about 4 years old when my Dad switched to heating with wood as a sole heat source instead of just a supplemental thing. I'm 47 now and have used wood as my only source of heat since then.

I can remember back when I was a kid it was always the kids job to bring the wood to the chute. He had a small wood chute dug down along the foundation that would hold a rather large pull wagon load. During the cold times you had to fill it 2-3 times a week and we used about 6 cord a year. Wood was hauled to an open sided shed but it was about a 200 yard haul to the chute. Staying mainly snowless unless it blew hard in from the sides. Dad wouldn't allow us to use "motorized" transport so it was a lawn cart or later a wood mover he made up. I hated snow as when it got deep you had to shovel a path even if you used a sled which we did do too. Dad didn't want the lawn messed up as he said he didn't see the need.

We later built a larger chute that would hold about 3/4 of a cord but still, all in by hand. After we left he did it the same for about a year. Now he drives the truck around the back of the house. He's 77 now and I help him when I see he's loading up. That is why when I set up my place I did what I did so I wouldn't be standing in the weather or the wood wouldn't be in the weather when drying or being readied to burn. I do NOT regret it.

What I'm getting at is there is no reason to make things harder on yourself than it needs to be. If you are planning on using wood for years to come, why not make it nicer to do? It basically prolongs the amount of time that you CAN do it. I;d rather take the time and labor to make the set up ONCE as opposed to shoveling paths, small hauling in the snow and rain EVERY time I need wood for the stove YEAR after YEAR. It may take some work and a little investment but all the years of saving $ from using the wood should be enough to pay for a nicer set up to where the weather isn't an issue.

This is the second year in a row for you correct? It's time.