Dispatches from the County II: Wood

Wood shed, West Lake (Ontario), November 2020

Or what passes for one after a family of four (big and small all) rush to hoist a cord’s worth of wood into a shed before it gets dark on a Friday in late November .

We probably look pretty silly, pretending at this country life like we are. The other day it was -6°C and I was outside in just a sweater. A good thick turtleneck sweater but nothing on top. I honestly didn’t need a jacket, not after a few minutes. That particular hour, that late morning after I’d finished teaching a class, I was solo out there on the front grass chopping wood, or trying to. I’d heard my wife out front chopping whilst I Zoomed at a screen an hour earlier. As if it were a signal. Nothing need be said. Just that good thwack sound. Your turn! Get some, sunshine. While you’re at it chop some wood. There’s a wood stove to fill and a house to heat.

Warmly from the PEC,

Jonny M