[Patrick Turner]

But I was running hard at the time, travelling extensively with HP in
Canada & later with R&S. It looked to me that in spite of our wood lot I
would have to buy the several cords of firewood each year. Based on that
a good return on the investment required was not possible. So we went
with an oil fired furnace.

Oil heating was popular here until oil prices went high.
Gas is a lot cheaper now than electricity for hot water and space
heating

The house has two large fire places, the one in the lower level used
extensively each Winter. Not sure of the actual quantity of firewood
each season, but I guess a half ton would not be far out. As is usual in
these kinds of fire, most of the heat escapes up the chimney. No Sheilas
are present as Patrick T has, my wife does not allow!

Yeah, one reason I don't use much fire wood is that whenever the fire
gets low in winter, and I ask one of the sheilas to duck outside for a
couple of logs, they get a bit uppity and tell me how terrible it was
that some very uncool guy sang a song with words "Put another log on
the fire, cook me up bacon and some beans, and when your'e done just
sew my old blue jeans...." and I have to explain to them there's no
need to get cranky, I just want the wood, as I have bought my own
sewing machine. This usually calms them down, and of course I pour
them another glass of cognac, and pretty soon they are thinking about
bed and stuff, - and tomorrow's lawn mowing.

I have not used a gas chain saw in many years, gave the last one to my
number one son. While building we installed underground 220/110 volt
power over the entire lot. Outlets are scattered around in convenient
places. I bought a one KW Hammond autotransformer many years ago & use
that to run the largest electric chain saws available.

I've lusted after a decent chainsaw for years, but the shielas have
seen too many repeats of Texas Chain Saw Masacre," and I've always
been worried that they jealousy might lead them to using on each
other, or on the supports to the front portico.

So meanwhile I get by with a bow saw. I can hide the blade. But of
course one darn tree has become too large and needs to be cut as it
has begun to die anyway, and its grown right over the top of sewer
pipes, and I had to do a a big dig out and clean out 2 years ago. The
shielas refused to help, just too yukky. It is definately a man's job
to clean out the palace **** pipes.
Elvis once sang..... "I'm a hopin an' a prayin'..." and I never knew
what it was he was crooning about about, but I'm a hopin and a prayin
this fukkin half dead tree blows over soon, and thus gets pernanently
horizontal and good only to be burnt - before I do - and there's a
good chance it might happen, but if not, then the fukkin tree will get
to be a nuisance and hafta be manually felled the expensive way, ie,
at gi-normous expense, with a couple of blokes and a cherry picker and
bit by bit. Unfortunately, The tree is a bit too big to risk felling
in at 3AM like I did another 5 years ago, thus saving myself a grand
or two. The butt is now about 800mm dia. But its all hardword, makes
good firewood, maybe 3 tonnes in the tree, but rather a lotta work to
cut it to 600mm lenghths then split it, so I'll leave it in long
lengths after it is felled one day, and roll the logs to just inside
the hedge around my block.
The carbon should then remain trapped for 50 years, although when I
die the house & land will probably be bought by some yuppy vain
dickhead who will give the whole joint the shove and build a
monstrosity to replace it, with a carbon footprint +20dB greater than
mine ever was.

We will never run out of fire wood. Each Spring & Summer I have to burn
off a lot of scrap. Last time a soft maple crashed to the Earth. I cut
it up & delivered the best part to a neighbor. Burned the rest in the
fire pit. He does heat his house with wood.

Soft maple eh, Hmm, cutting eucalypt is something else. Not too bad
when green, but when its dry it chalenges the best saws.

No bike today, we are getting rained on.

I did your miles for ya John, so don't worry.

Patrick Turner.

Cheers & Good Sawing, John

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John L Stewart- Hide quoted text -

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