It’s 1 am, and i’m trying to fill the wood stove as quietly as possible.As the official night owl in the family, my last job before bed is loading her up so that we have coals to make starting the fire in the morning easier.
Earth-sheltered on three sides, the house base temperature is around 55 degrees, and It takes several seriously subzero days to require more than a couple loads of our Kitchen Queen wood cook stove to keep us all comfortable.
This weekend is predicted to be normal temperatures for this time of year—single digits at night, teens and low 20s during the day. I know I only need to load enough fuel for a few hours. As i put the last log in, I open the vent for a few minutes to let the wood catch. The soft red glow is the antidote to electronics, medí and social media anxiety. It soothes and hypnotizes. It’s a reminder of how much the simplest tasks can bring peace to our lives — even for just a few moments.