Dear Farm Journal,
Henry Ford said, “Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice”. On this sunny Thursday, Papa Rich, Rufus, and I head into the maple bush and ash grove to chop a load of firewood. PR drives his truck, Rufus drives the tractor and trailer, and I walk with the dogs. I prefer to walk behind with Balio and Gizmo because they are always so psyched to hike into the woods with me. They get an extra bouncy prance in their step and begin hunting mice and voles along the trail. The other day Giz caught a rat and threw it up into the air three or four times before Balio carried it off. They are quite a sight to see on a hunt together. Giz has the speed and precision and Balio has sheer size. It’s rather entertaining to watch Balio try to hunt like Giz, when he’s just not built for speed. At any rate, they usually come up with some kind of prize. We meet up with Rufus as he runs the chainsaw through a dead Ash, another victim of Emerald Ash Borer, but nice dry firewood. I pick up the chunks and throw them into the trailer, and finally into the basement back at the farmhouse. We light a fire and the sound of crackling flames and smell of smoldering wood fill the basement. We chopped our own wood, and it warmed us twice.
~Joy