Knock on wood.

We have a reputation. A few days ago, our neighbour two doors along, asked my husband if he would like some wood out of his skip." I know you like to have wood", he said. An understatement, if ever there was one. In the two years, since we arrived here, foraging for wood has become a permanent occupation. First, there is the wood required for making raised beds, fencing and other garden challenges. We cannot pass a skip without a second look nowadays. Then there is the wood fire, which is a cheaper way of heating one room than using the central heating.  St Darby's mother was alarmed when he received an axe and a bow saw for Christmas presents from his children. She seemed to think he might have dangerous contemplations!

A son in law employed in the country ways , supplied him with a sturdy trunk for an axe block and he has never looked back. It was a comforting sound in winter, to hear the chop, chop of wood and to know there would be a warm fire, soon.
All this is a reversion to childhood days when the family gathered round the fire which was the only source of heat in a big, cold house. The spiralling costs of energy now mean that every time you light the oven or switch on a light you think about it, first. I don't think think this is a bad thing, it helps us to be more mindful of everything we use, even if the profiteering of energy companies is wrong!

Master Chef had a feature on a restaurant in Sweden that cooks solely on wood, last night. Although I would not wish to emulate this, I do remember visiting my childhood friend, Cherry's house for tea and delighting that her mum had a kettle which swung over the fire and we cooked our toast on toasting forks in front of that blazing fire. Seems a bit  wasteful not to use the heat  of a fire more productively but I think a wood burning stove is beyond our reach. Toasting forks may be not, though!
I went away one Thursday for a quiet day, and returned to find a beautiful cold frame that St Darby had constructed entirely from skip finds, including a Victorian sash window with glass panes intact. Re use, recycle has become our motto and it's good to think that other people's rubbish can serve such a good purpose. Now I wonder if he can find enough glass to make a greenhouse next?

We already have a good supply  of wood for next winter because I happened to pass a couple drastically pruning two, tall twisted hazel trees, locally. I asked if I could have some of the logs and they kindly helped to load the car full of them. Now Stephen has to use some of the reclaimed timber from the skip to make a log store