Wood Stacked!

It just poured yesterday morning. It really came down, making me feel deliciously cozy in the house with a small fire burning. I was thrilled for my body, to have a day of rest. I needed it. My arms and back have been quite painful for the entire week, so yesterday was a welcome relief after 5 days of moving wood, plus all the Boxwood planting. I did my errands, read and waited for the rain to stop to walk Her Highness and to go to the farmers’ market.

By 9:00 the rain had stopped, and the sky began to clear. When we left to go to GIRO, the market and to walk, the sun was out. And guess what. I was glad for the sunshine and keen to finish stacking the wood before enjoying another night of self-indulgence as a reward for all the work. There were donuts at the market.

After lunch, I got back to work on the wood. The last part is the worst part. The general wood is easy. I pick it up, and I stack it. But as I work, I throw all the stick pieces and s”stubby” pieces to the side. I stack all the stick pieces together and I use them for starting fires. The stubbies are short fat pieces of wood that can’t be stacked with the ‘normal’ pieces that are all about 16” long. I can’t stack them, so storing them isn’t easy.

There were only 3 loads left to stack. I reveled in stacking the last barrow load. That made for 86 loads done. Then it was time for the sticks and the stubbies, but before I began I took a break. I went over to David and Ursula’s to say Hi to everyone. Dani and Andrew were there with their dog, Winston. I adore him. They were working on installing the doors and windows all afternoon.

And then Ron arrived to take Sheba walking, and I schlepped 5 loads of sticks and 2 loads of stubbies before taking another break. All the sticks and stubbies were piled low on the ground, so there was endless bending to load them, and my back started telling me to take a break. Then I was back at it, finishing the job.

Two more loads of sticks and three of stubbies, plus one huge load of crap left on the ground when all the wood was stacked, meant the entire project involved 99 wheelbarrows loads. And I am done—done with the job and done with bending and toting. I celebrated with a donut and a spa. 

And I was rewarded.

Bronwyn is coming today, so I am preparing notes. I’m very excited that she and I will be working on the yard and gardens now that the wood project is over for another year. Every morning for six mornings, I have known it was going to be a wood day. Now gardening days are ahead, and that thrills me. I’ve made a list for her.

And when we finish the list, I’m going to have friends over for tea and barbeques. I’ll move from working in the garden to hosting in the garden. 

The entrance to our first Farmers' Market of the year. I went
early to avoid the crowds. 

GIRO is our recycling organization on Gabriola. They recently 
got a grant to create a space where volunteers break down
discarded fabrics and they make products for sale with the cloth.

There's always music at the markets.

There's always a line up for our bakers.

Absolutely ginormous radishes.

Hats for sale.

I wish you could see the glory of the bright blue Camus
wildflowers in this shot. They are spectacular and grow all
around the island. There are two varieties.

more wildflowers. 

These are the stubbies stacked in the foreground.
Behind them is real wood.

These are the stacked sticks.

There are three rows of stacked wood here, and they run the
length of my shed. On top of the outer layer, on the right, are
more sticks.