The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Seeing a tree within the forest

Lucy next to a fallen walnut tree


One question that's been on the back of our minds lately is if we have enough fire wood to get us through the rest of the cold season.

This walnut tree we cut down not far from the trailer a couple of years ago seemed to be calling out to me today saying "ahem......you're forgetting about me!"

I guess it's a case of not seeing the tree for the forest. I've walked past it almost everyday without giving it a second thought.



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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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I have had these moments before, something that you have seen or known about for a long time, but never really paid attention to, then all of a sudden it hits you. I blame it, at least in part, to moving too fast and not appreciating what is around you. That might not be the case in your situation, but most certainly is in mine. Thanks for the posts on your ideas, Mark, it is always good to see that there are still people that think outside the box. Stay warm.
Comment by Brian Tue Jan 17 17:15:14 2012
I think that's the corollary to the theorem that as soon as you learn what something is, you see it everywhere. :-)
Comment by anna Tue Jan 17 18:08:36 2012

I have the same worries about our wood supply- down to less than a cord already, but still 80 days left in the heating season.... But I will pick up a few trucks of dried larch from the tree breeding science station on Saturday. That should help balance the equation.

But the other day as I was worrying about the firewood, I looked around where I was walking- cedar branches as big as my forearm lay literally in a carpet on the plantation floor. I felt a lot better after that. If all else fails, I can gather enough branches for a day's heating in about 15 minutes.

Comment by Eric in Japan Tue Jan 17 18:44:48 2012
You're right --- we've got masses of standing and fallen dead wood on the property. I guess the question is if it's dry enough to burn, but if we put some in the shed now, it probably will be in a month when we run out of the other wood.
Comment by anna Wed Jan 18 10:20:51 2012





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