forest time

it was a warm afternoon, and we knew a rain was coming in, but we decided to load up the truck and see what firewood we could find in an hour or two.

this time we drove just north of us, to the forest, and after running into a few gates on dirt roads we eventually found ourselves a spot. the key is finding dead, downed trees that haven't yet rotted.

we gathered only a small load, before huge raindrops began to fall. but in the meantime, we smelled the deep pine, I marveled at finding desert cactus next to tall forest trees, d. cut, and I carried.

it always occurs to me that this would go faster if I too had a chainsaw. but to have a chainsaw is to be brave enough to use one. reminds me of a video I once watched, of women who live in Taos discussing what it means to be a woman here, and one of them commented that you'd better know how to use a chainsaw.

we don't know how much wood we'll need to heat the house. this is because we are new to this house, but also because we don't know how cold or long the winter will be. so the best we can do is prepare & plan & hope that we've made the right decisions.