The arrival of spring means different things to different people. It can mean that the cold of winter has been survived for another year. An increase in the warmth of the sun can be a favorite anticipated change. Buds and flowers erupting across the landscape signals a time to plow and plant. For some of us in rural areas the arrival of spring brings the inevitable end of wood stove season.
Throughout the cold of late autumn through winter, wood burning stoves and furnaces are used regularly in rural areas. These are not the romantic open fireplaces but enclosed boxes that release the stored heat energy of cut pieces of trees. These are functional, rather than romantic, appliances which fulfill their purpose of warming buildings for human and animal habitation. Some people also use specifically designed wood burning stoves for cooking that have the dual benefit of providing both heat and hot food. The practice of burning wood for heat (and the additional task of cooking) is an old and proven technology.
Wood burning stoves often continue consuming the enclosed fire constantly, day and night, through the entire heating season. The fires are tended much more closely than other forms of home heating. Smaller fires that produce less heat are key features of the beginning and ending of the colder months. Larger and hotter fires are utilized more in the coldest months and often are used to warm much bigger living areas than just the room containing the stove. That is actually the case with smaller fires too, but the heat is less noticeable the further one moves away from the stove.
Maintaining and using a wood stove is truly a year-round endeavor. During the spring and summer months the trees are felled, cut into log lengths, then split into sizes that can be used in the stove (normally 16 inches long). The cut pieces are stacked and stored under cover in measured quantities. The two most common stacked quantities are the full cord and the face cord. The dimensions are 8 feet long by 4 feet high by 4 feet deep for the full and 8 feet long by 4 feet high by 16 inches deep for the face. This standardization of a natural product allows people who sell or buy split wood to deal in known amounts.
The end of woodstove heating season signals a time to start the process for a new year. The cold stove is inspected for any necessary maintenance and completely cleaned. The same inspection and cleaning regimen holds true for the chimney as well. A dirty unmaintained stove and chimney is a house fire just waiting to happen. This is also the time in the cycle to prepare and store the wood for use when the cold returns. The ebb and flow of the work is seasonal, just like using the wood stove itself. Using a wood burning stove is much more work than other heating methods. But there is a joy and a satisfaction in continuing a centuries-old tradition that makes the process all worthwhile.