Wood, wood, and more wood

Stef has bought a trailer for the car and a chainsaw, and has been having fun playing lumberjack in the woods, collecting firewood for our soon-to-be-installed stove. He reckons he has gathered four 'cords' over about a month, and is very, very proud of his woodpile (as men tend to be). This photo was taken in November, but it gives you an idea of it... this is about half of the total I think.

Turns out that wood gathering is a fine art. You have to know where to go (Stef aimed for abandoned logging sites, where the companies have left logs lying on the ground or in piles), and what sort of wood to get (I think fir was best? I'll have to ask Stef to remind me). Green wood won't burn, wet wood will hiss. Some wood burns too fast, some too slow. Some of it coats your chimney with soot, so you have to burn a different sort afterwards to clean out the pipes. All unexpectedly complicated.