This brings back memories... When I was 16 I went on a foreign exchange program, and moved from my clean, urban, bookish, intellectual family in Germany to a lovely redneck family in western Maryland. There we heated with a wood burning stove (unthinkable for my parents), for which we had to split firewood. Every day after school we'd spend an hour or two using axes, wedges, and sledgehammers on massive logs, just like yours. And yes, lots of time this is exactly what happened: the wedge got stuck. Got another one, till that got stuck too. Then we used pry-bars or whatever we could to get them out. We didn't have any TNT, which is good, because I'm sure we would have tried using that too! It was a fun challenge, not just physically but mentally sometimes. Hey, do you like beer? Can I invite you for one?
Wow, quite the culture shock for sure!
Lol, I have dreamed of trying to blow up some logs over the years. The worst was splitting oak as a kid. The gnarled and twisted grain made it nearly impossible to split without using wedges.
I am sure that the firewood was partly to get you all worn out so the parents had a mellow evening. I know that was a big reason my parents had me splitting wood!
Haha, true: my host-dad used to say: "Why would I pay for split wood when I have a bunch of teenage boys at home?" And he was right. I never slept so well as when I was tired from chopping wood, while the fire was crackling int the wood stove.
I am sure that was part of the reasoning for farmers as well, more labor. Sad to think that now a days his saying is looked on as corporal punishment by FAR too many people, instead of the chore that it is.
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I know, so sad! And the heat of the wood fire, which I always liked for being so cozy, is seen as dusty and dirty. Maybe it is, though I'd take it any day over the radiator heat of a central heating system, let alone that of an electric space heater.
We have central heat but I have it turned off in preference to the fireplace. The heat is a different type of warm, more present and enveloping feeling. Plus the smell of the wood is super comforting as well.
He forgot to answer, yes, he likes beer! 😂🍻