We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Pic is from Sippican in Maine, who used to heat his home with firewood. Now I believe he burns coal scavenged from the coal trucks as they leave Maine's coal mines.
There isn't much nicer than a wood fire warming the room. When my kids were little I'd get up and make a hot, fast fire in the fireplace. I'd get them out of bed and hurry them to the living room where they would warm their clothes and get dressed. That fireplace was the only heat we had in the house. It worked pretty well in the LR but didn't do much in the bedrooms. it was a happy day when we moved to a house with central heat and I didn't have to spend so much time cutting firewood.
If we paid ourselves our regular labor rate for gathering wood, cutting it to length, splitting, stacking, carrying and then hauling ashes we'd quickly realize that burning firewood for heat is probably akin to burning dollar bills.
Fall was upon a remote reservation when the Indian tribe asked their new Chief what the coming winter was going to be like. The modern day Chief had never been taught the secrets of the ancients. When he looked at the sky he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.
Better safe than sorry, he said to himself and told his tribe that the winter was indeed expected to be cold and that the members of the village should stock up on firewood to be prepared.
After several days, our modern Chief got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?"
"It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold," the meteorologist at the weather service responded.
So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared. A week later he called the National Weather Service again. "Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?"
"Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "It's going to be a very cold winter."
The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find. Two weeks later the Chief called the National Weather Service again. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?"
"Absolutely," the man replied. "It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters ever."
"How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked.
The weatherman replied, "The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy."