We had a flurry of snow in the Surrey Hills just after Christmas. With the higher altitude snow falls and remains on the ground slightly longer than lower down in the towns and villages that run along the Wey & Tillingbourne valleys.
When it snows I like to wander the Winterfold forest and admire the log piles up there. The smell of pine resin and fresh cold snow are clean and invigorating. This is the wood that was cut in the spring and left to dry over the year. I find the log piles very appealing. A bountiful, beautiful and tactile.
I didn't know much about logging until I read Lars Matting's book written about Norwegian wood. I was surprised to find myself engaging in this wonderful world of woodpiles and turning each page to read more. I never thought I would find it so absorbing and inspiring. As Lars paints the picture of why cutting wood is so therapeutic and important to so many individuals in Scandinavia, the words quoted below worked a magic within my mind as I allowed myself to enter this sensuous world of wood.
" The scent of fresh wood is among the last things you will forget when the veil falls: The scent of fresh white wood in the Spring time: as though life itself walked by you, with dew in its hair. That sweet and naked smell kneeling woman - soft and blond in the silence inside you, using your bones for a willow flute. With the hard frost beneath your tongue you look for fire to light a word, and know, mild as southern wind in the mind, there is still one thing in the world you can trust." Hans Bori
Quote from - Norwegian wood - chopping, stacking & drying wood the Scandinavian way
by Lars Mytting.
From Lars I learnt that wood needs to be stacked with enough room for a mouse to run through the pile. A log pile should be built to make the most of any wind, lying the logs in the path of any prevailing breezes so that the moving air can run through the wood drying it out. Since the wood will retract slightly in size as it dries, the building of the pile needs to make an allowance for this shrinkage and have support built in so that the pile doesn't sag and collapse as it dries and shrinks.
Leaving the bark on the wood will act as a hindrance to the drying process. Logs should be split to allow for moisture to evaporate. One trick for splitting wood is to paste snow on either end of the log before nightfall. Overnight it will freeze and expand causing the wood to crack and split. Some bark strips are useful if they can be laid down over the top layer of logs to protect them like a raincoat.
Having a log pile becomes very important in a country that suffers harsh winters. You cannot underestimate the power of cold weather to kill people. Infact by law every Scandinavian home must have a log pile so that if other power supplies fail there is an emergency supply of wood ready to keep the inhabitants warm for a couple of weeks. Life in Southern England is very easy in comparison. Our winters are relatively mild and wet.
I came across a very amusing page describing how to judge a man and choose a husband according to his log pile! Here are some pointers...
So from now on I will be paying very close attention to log piles !
Since building a good log pile is such an intrinsic part of life in Scandinavia it is no surprise that log piles are used as creative outlets. Below are a couple of the more artistically arranged log piles in the book.
I read this book through twice and then gave it to my brother - in - law who is one of the few people I know who will actually appreciate it in the same way I did. It takes some fine tuning to develop an eye for nature and an ear for birdsong. Not everyone has it or needs it or wants it.
I am spoilt enough to live in the countryside and am very aware of the changing seasons that surround me. Winter is my time for slowing down. I need my long contemplative walks, a good log fire and a handful of interesting books to get me through these quiet, dark months.