Glorious wood wood

Yes I know it is strange, but there are plenty like me in France who get quite excited at having a decent wood pile for the Winter. This will be my 4^th Winter in France and I have to say I have a wood pile to be proud of. Previous years have meant that we have collected steres of wood here and there and when caught utterly short borrowed from family.

I know I am not alone when it comes to 'wood envy'. Driving along main and rural roads in France one cannot help but notice neatly piled wood stocks. Some have been there for years. You know that whoever lives there is likely to have a cosy room during the coldest of spells. And this wood envy is not just a man thing either. Lots of females look lovingly at wood piles.

The need to make sure we have plenty this year stems from receiving a hefty electricity bill in the Spring of this year. Having moved to a new rented house in February, it had been empty for some time. The house is quite big and built with the traditional thick stone walls. Nice and cool for the summer but not so warm in the winter. In order to warm the house up a bit, the radiators were on full for 2 weeks. After an urge to take a meter reading and 2000 units later meant that all radiators were off within seconds. Time to light the fire!

It's quite empowering to be able to light a fire. Summer months are spent collating toilet rolls and kitchen rolls to assist in the fire lighting process, plus I start to gather longer match sticks and fire lighters in a way a squirrel harvests acorns for those hibernation months. I didn't do girl guides so the ability to get a fire going and keep it roaring is something I feel quite proud of, especially growing up in the generation of gas fire central heating and all you had to do was twiddle the thermostat around. Quite often Skype calls in the winter are laced with “excuse for a quick minute, just need to put a log on the fire”.

I love trees and during the Autumn season Nature's has plenty to offer: acorns from the oak trees, chestnuts and conkers and walnuts. Currently I am obsessed about collecting walnuts. There's a tree just down the lane from where I live dropping a nice bounty for collection and drying out. Fortunately I am still using last years supply and every now and then I often think about the walnut writing desk that I purchased in an antique shop in 1990. Where the tree may have come from and how it was then crafted into a beautiful piece of furniture.

France takes it forestation management seriously in terms of harvesting, preservation and planting. We often see trees being felled, stripped, and loaded on to lorries. Equally we see many young forests taking shape, in long straight lines. France believes that all needs of life are linked to its forests. Many facets of French life rely on it, agriculture, architecture and a number of industries, and homes rely on its resources. One of the most beautiful forests that I have seen lately is Le Rond-du-Chêne, in the middle of the forest of La Guerche, Leugny.