Plenty of firewood

Do you think we have enough wood to last the winter?

I’m not sure why, but I feel that it’s going to be a cold winter. I’ve been having this feeling since springtime.

I’ve always found it fascinating to see that some animals seem to know when cold weather is ahead.

At the edge of the pool stood the muskrats’ house. It was taller than Laura, and far larger than her arms could reach around…The muskrats had gnawed dry grass to bits and mixed the bits well with mud to make a good plaster for their house, and they had built it up solidly and smoothly and rounded the top carefully to shed rain…

…Inside those thick, still walls, Pa said, the muskrats were sleeping now, each family curled in its own little room lined softly with grass…

…There they curled comfortably to sleep.

Laura put her hand on the wall of their house. The coarse plaster was hot in the hot wind and sunshine, but inside the thick mud walls, in the dark, the air must be cool. She liked to think of the muskrats sleeping there.

* Pa was shaking his head. “We’re going to have a hard winter,” he said, not liking the prospect.

“Why, how do you know?” Laura asked in surprise.

* “The colder the winter will be, the thicker the muskrats build the walls of their houses,” Pa told her. “I never saw a heavier-built muskrats’ house than that one.”

Laura looked at it again. It was very solid and big. But the sun was blazing, burning on her shoulders through the faded, thin calico and the hot wind was blowing, and stronger than the damp mud smell  of the slough was the ripening smell of grasses parching in the heat. Laura could hardly think of ice and snow and cruel cold. ”

The Long Winter (p.12) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Some animals (like beavers and muskrats) will make their walls a bit thicker. Occasionally, you’ll see other wild animals get thicker coats and a tad heavier in preparation for the potentially unforgiving months of frigid weather.

I did a Google search, and judging by the  winter weather forecast for 2011/12 it seems that the Farmer’s Almanac shares my views — well at least for certain parts of the United States.

For the winter of 2011–12, the Farmers’ Almanac is forecasting “clime and punishment,” a season of unusually cold and stormy weather. For some parts of the country, that means a frigid climate; while for others, it will mean lots of rain and snow.

Ok back to that woodpile…

To give you and idea of how massive this woodpile is, I’d like to point out that this pile is over 5′ tall. Which is how tall I am.  You’re only seeing one layer. It’s three layers deep, this is the last layer that was stacked. Additionally, on the opposite side, there’s another neatly stacked woodpile, admittedly it’s not as impressive as this one.

Even if this winter is incredibly nasty, we’ll still have enough wood to last for several winters.

I’ll be happy if there’s a few blizzards tossed into the mix. At least for my area — don’t hate me Marylanders, but I love cold weather!

* Bold emphasis mine