I’ve spent the morning stacking timber, now I need a cooling drink.  A real truth is that trees do us a great service in terms of the heat they generate many times as we harvest them.

A stack of logs piled ready for the house

At every stage they give warmth: when felling the tree, hauling it to the cutting place, sawing and splitting it to logs, bringing those logs to the house, the welcome blaze itself and finally taking the ash from the grate. At every stage warmth is generated.

I wrote a poem of it once, and Jane Hamlin set it to music to create a warming winter fireside song:

THROW A LOG ON THE FIRE.

Throw a log on the fire, burn another log yet.

We felled the heavy tree, zounds it made us sweat.

Logs burn bright in winter, a warming glow secure

Amidst the chill and dark, they’ve warmed us times before.

Throw a log on the fire, burn another log yet.

We cut it branch by branch, phew it made us sweat

Fire is hot in winter, it eases aches and pains

We look into the embers and sharpen cutting chains.

Throw a log on the fire, burn another log yet.

We sawed it in the pit, my it made us sweat.

Crowds sit round in winter, but dogs they block the heat

They stare at smoke and flames, we jostle for a seat.

Throw a log on the fire, burn another log yet.

We stacked them to the roof, oh it made us sweat.

Drink good ale in winter, taste the warming liquor.

The bottle soon is gone, the axe it warmed us quicker.

Throw a log on the fire, burn another log yet.

We hauled them to the house, hey it made us sweat.

Sleep by fire in winter, we’ve earned a quiet rest.

Often times they warmed us, the logs have done their best.

Throw a log on the fire, burn another log yet.

Clear morning ash away, will it make us sweat?