An ode to the wood cutter

Darlin'Man and his wood piles.
Photo Credit : Mark Johnson

The above photo is a beautiful illustration of how our home's stead is powered through the winter.  The Darlin'Man cut down trees this spring:

 and said how much he loves me:

Then he cut the logs, and split them.

Then he built wood stacking platforms out of pallets. 

Then he stacked the 7 cords of wood, while assuring my freaking-out self that we really wouldn't run out of wood in February.

Then as the cold approached, he filled the woodbin by the house with a cord or so of wood.  And filled the stacking spots on the porch.  So all I have to do to make a fire is get wood from right outside the door or just down the porch steps.

And then every week or so, he spends some hours carting wood in a wheelbarrow, like this morning:

We are facing into January, coming out of one of the coldest Decembers on record, and are about 2 and a half cords down.

Also, like this morning, he tends to the generator: doing things like tightening belts and changing oil and filters; and tends to the batteries, filling them with distilled water and checking for corrosion on the terminals.

Sometimes I wonder what I would do without him.  More manual labor, undoubtedly.  And I'd have to learn things about the workings of mechanics which I am grateful to let him tend.