First Fire of the Fall

The overnight temperature dipped to 34 degrees outside and 61 degrees in the house. Fine conditions for a first fire in the woodstove. We brought up a box of kindling more than a week ago, so it was dry and ready to burn. Now it is being put to its proper use instead of a toy for Henna. When we are not around Henna has been selecting sticks of wood from the box and chewing them into little bits on the carpet.

The dry wood is burning so clean that we barely see a wisp of smoke from the chimney. Dry, dry, dry. That is the key to heating efficiently by wood. The challenge is readying a season's worth of dry wood. We are still working on that.