Chicken Roasting on a Wood Stove Fire

Chicken roasting on a wood stove fire
The smell of broth wafting to my nose

One of the simple joys of log cabin livin’ is using the wood stove. Beyond the cozy, rustic, living-off-the-land feeling it imparts, a wood stove offers benefits I never experienced while living in a big house in a bigish town.

Using the fire to cook on a regular basis has dropped our electricity usage by half compared to the electric stove. And with the help of a few fans to blow around the hot air, we are able to heat the 740 sq ft space without the help of the propane furnace on all but exceptionally cold nights. Not to mention, we installed some indoor clotheslines around the living room so I have yet to use the electric clothes dryer this winter.

While it can be argued that burning wood is not sustainable or eco-friendly, in our little family, we try to leave no part wasted. We use the light and heat energy for our daily tasks. We harvest deadwood on the land we live on, using our bodies and hand tools as much as we can. By limiting the use of the electricity and propane derived from much deeper wounds in the Earth, we try to create as little scar tissue as possible.

The act of finding, cutting down, hauling and splitting the wood bonds our family together in the way only a meaningful, physical task can. We must think and make choices together to determine which tree to cut while avoiding other creature’s homes. We must select which type of wood burns best at what point in the fire’s daily life. The initial spark in the morning and the act of tending and feeding it all day, grounds us in the process of caring for our family.

The smell of each type of wood, the feeling of textures, and the colors inside each split log, offer a prayer in honor of the trees and of Mother Earth for providing this gift. We participate in the birth, death, rebirth cycle turning life back into carbon with flame, and composting the ashes to support new life.

And so, with a grateful heart as the smoke floats away in the winter wind,

I’m offering this simple phrase
For kids from 1 to 92
Although it’s been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you

~Christmas Song, 1945, Robert Wells and Mel Torme

I am grateful to find a place with rich soil to grow a community. May we take root, and flourish together.

@Bia.Birch 🌱

All artwork, photographs, and content are original and created by @bia.birch unless otherwise credited