It's All Gonna Burn, You Know!

I love my ratcheting straps. One of the greatest inventions ever made. Oh my! I love them. I cannot say enough good things about them. I carry them wherever I go. I look for opportunities to tie things down. If you don't have a set, you should get some. There are few things more satisfying than tying something securely to the top of your car with a good ratcheting strap. Really.
I have just found a good supply of free pallets. A local building supply company says if I just drive around down back, I can pick up as many as I want. Then of course, I get to strap them to the top of my car with my ratcheting straps. Note I also have 4 pallets INSIDE my car. These will be used to keep my wood out of the mud so it can dry. Later, I will get some more to break up and use as kindling.

My wood is now in two piles. The near pile is what's left of the original 3 cord, three row pile. Further back you can make out the double stack on pallets, about 2/3 of the entire pile. To the left you see the completed floor of my new woodshed, built entirely of scrap. The only cost has been the cement blocks for the foundation ($1.00 each) and the nails. Nails are suprisingly expensive, and when you actually use them to build something, a box really doesn't go that far.

I have started splitting the wood. Wow. What fun. Big Maul. Fat chunk. Great swing. Big thunk. Nice crack. Do it again. And again. And again. Good honest sweaty fun. Small start. Long ways to go. Gotta fill this whole thing up stacked at least 5 feet high.

This is the stuff I got out of the mud. Spent a whole Saturday afternoon just moving it from the swamp pile to it's new home. I figure I probably picked up and moved 6 or 7 whole trees. When's the last time you've picked up a few trees and moved them across your yard. A little stiff the next day, but good to know that this will all be keeping me warm this winter.