Why I split

[jotul8e2]

I was out working on a few big rounds today; getting close to finishing up my stacks for 2020. Mostly I had to bust up a few last rounds into pieces small enough to pick up for the log splitter. One thing about working with a maul, you have time to think.

So why was I out there on a sunny winter day swinging a maul and moving firewood? Well, the money is nice. I work about 30 hours a year to get the firewood I need for my home and shop. This generates savings of $700 to $1,000 a year, depending upon the winter. Tax free too! But the day approaches with grim persistence when I will be unable to work firewood anymore, but I'll be able to pay the electric bill anyway. So it is not just the money.

Today I was out working and working hard. But not once did I have to answer an urgent text message, deal with email, answer the phone, fill out a government form, or endure a conference call. All my arguments were with inanimate logs which I settled by hitting them again with the maul. When I got too winded I sat down until I felt like getting up again. I decided which pieces to set aside for the splitter and which to go ahead and split down into firewood. I decided - no memos required. When I was finished it was finished. The job was done; it was right there in front of me to see and appreciate. There will be no accounting statements, no performance reviews, no buy-ins from co-workers.

I'm a bit tired tonight as I am not really in shape for this sort of thing. But I feel great.

 

[Hasufel]

I was out working on a few big rounds today; getting close to finishing up my stacks for 2020. Mostly I had to bust up a few last rounds into pieces small enough to pick up for the log splitter. One thing about working with a maul, you have time to think.

So why was I out there on a sunny winter day swinging a maul and moving firewood? Well, the money is nice. I work about 30 hours a year to get the firewood I need for my home and shop. This generates savings of $700 to $1,000 a year, depending upon the winter. Tax free too! But the day approaches with grim persistence when I will be unable to work firewood anymore, but I'll be able to pay the electric bill anyway. So it is not just the money.

Today I was out working and working hard. But not once did I have to answer an urgent text message, deal with email, answer the phone, fill out a government form, or endure a conference call. All my arguments were with inanimate logs which I settled by hitting them again with the maul. When I got too winded I sat down until I felt like getting up again. I decided which pieces to set aside for the splitter and which to go ahead and split down into firewood. I decided - no memos required. When I was finished it was finished. The job was done; it was right there in front of me to see and appreciate. There will be no accounting statements, no performance reviews, no buy-ins from co-workers.

I'm a bit tired tonight as I am not really in shape for this sort of thing. But I feel great.

Once I started splitting I realized it's the perfect activity to get me outside and help me enjoy the beauty of nature when I probably otherwise would have been sitting inside. There's nothing like being out in the woods on a crisp winter morning with nobody else in sight and a flock of honking geese flying overhead, catching the golden rays of the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. And it's good, honest exercise--the kind that makes you feel a bit of pride and satisfaction to go along with the aching muscles!

 

[jetsam]

In belated recognition of the fact that I keep hurting my back, I've started taking my maul with me on wood scrounges, which lets me throw splits into the truck instead of big rounds.

It's a nice break from the chainsaw, and it gets me swinging the maul more (I might have used the wood splitter on a lot of that if I'd split it at home).

(On the other hand, yesterday when I got into the gnarly local maple, I said 'sod that' and just started heaving rounds into the truck...)

The proceeds from an afternoon of trail clearing. I'll probably go back for the rest of that maple.

 

[JohnDolz]

I was out working on a few big rounds today; getting close to finishing up my stacks for 2020. Mostly I had to bust up a few last rounds into pieces small enough to pick up for the log splitter. One thing about working with a maul, you have time to think.

So why was I out there on a sunny winter day swinging a maul and moving firewood? Well, the money is nice. I work about 30 hours a year to get the firewood I need for my home and shop. This generates savings of $700 to $1,000 a year, depending upon the winter. Tax free too! But the day approaches with grim persistence when I will be unable to work firewood anymore, but I'll be able to pay the electric bill anyway. So it is not just the money.

Today I was out working and working hard. But not once did I have to answer an urgent text message, deal with email, answer the phone, fill out a government form, or endure a conference call. All my arguments were with inanimate logs which I settled by hitting them again with the maul. When I got too winded I sat down until I felt like getting up again. I decided which pieces to set aside for the splitter and which to go ahead and split down into firewood. I decided - no memos required. When I was finished it was finished. The job was done; it was right there in front of me to see and appreciate. There will be no accounting statements, no performance reviews, no buy-ins from co-workers.

I'm a bit tired tonight as I am not really in shape for this sort of thing. But I feel great.

Funny I was outside today doing and thinking the exact same thing. To be honest I ruled out the $ angle, if I put the same effort into my "real job" I would net way more than I save.

The escape from the laptop, texts, IM's, Conference Calls, etc. - that I can definitely agree with. In fact I put the laptop down this morning after 4 hours and barely putting a dent into the "to-do" list. I could have grabbed the splitter and been a lot more productive but it was a good day to whack at some big rounds with the Fiskars. The nice part is that my wife fully supports whatever nonsense I come up with next - she knows that if I did not have this escape I would spend a lot more on therapy and medication. Plus she knows that if we were paying for propane I would never keep the house at 72 degrees!

 

[sportbikerider78]

I like dropping and bucking more than splitting. Still a workout. Still outside. Still rewarding.

I keep the cell phone in my pocket..but on silent just for an emergency.

The modern life is not a replacement for the thousands of years of living in and on the land. It just compliments it for me.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I was out working on a few big rounds today; getting close to finishing up my stacks for 2020. Mostly I had to bust up a few last rounds into pieces small enough to pick up for the log splitter. One thing about working with a maul, you have time to think.

So why was I out there on a sunny winter day swinging a maul and moving firewood? Well, the money is nice. I work about 30 hours a year to get the firewood I need for my home and shop. This generates savings of $700 to $1,000 a year, depending upon the winter. Tax free too! But the day approaches with grim persistence when I will be unable to work firewood anymore, but I'll be able to pay the electric bill anyway. So it is not just the money.

Today I was out working and working hard. But not once did I have to answer an urgent text message, deal with email, answer the phone, fill out a government form, or endure a conference call. All my arguments were with inanimate logs which I settled by hitting them again with the maul. When I got too winded I sat down until I felt like getting up again. I decided which pieces to set aside for the splitter and which to go ahead and split down into firewood. I decided - no memos required. When I was finished it was finished. The job was done; it was right there in front of me to see and appreciate. There will be no accounting statements, no performance reviews, no buy-ins from co-workers.

I'm a bit tired tonight as I am not really in shape for this sort of thing. But I feel great.

And I thought you were just going to tell us that you were having trouble stuffing the rounds into the stove!