Keeping the home fires burning

Wood burning stoves seem to be fashionable features these days, but I suspect that many of them are not the only source of heating. But here at Strickley if we don't light the stove we are a bit cold. The Aga takes the chill off the kitchen (especially when the room has been closed up all night), but is no way a substitute for proper heating. We have the largest stove we could find, and over these past weeks of record low temperatures,it has been keeping the house warm. Our "central heating" is to open the hall door and let the heat spread through the house. But we have used a lot of wood lately. James also has a wood burning stove (in fact he has two) so our supplies were running low. They were boosted last year when a Hornbeam fell down at Over Bleaze and Henry and James helped saw it up, but what seemed like a huge wood pile has dwindled away. So this past week we have been busy with replenishing it. In  2006 a storm swept through Strickley and brought down several trees in the wood. The wood is mainly oak, but with plenty of other varieties. So we now have a supply of logs from Oak, Elder, Silver Birch, Spruce and Copper Beech, plus some Hazel that we are coppicing. As I look out of the window at the wind and rain beating against the glass, I'm very glad of the effort taken to keep us warm.