Gathering wood

We are always on the look-out for wood - firewood for the winter months, and firewood for the outdoor bread oven.  The nice thing about the bread oven is that it really only needs the smallest pieces to make a good baking fire, so the larger logs stay stacked up for heating our house.  Now, during tree trimming season, it seems to be the best time to collect firewood.  We have done some trimming in our own yard, mostly Manitoba maples which need to come down before they get too large.  Since we've moved to this property we had let them grow to create a quick privacy screen from neighbouring properties, and are now cutting them back to create more gardens, a new pond for the greywater recycling expansion here, and plant in the fruit trees and others we do want here longterm.  We also are fortunate to have friends around the city offer us wood - for example, yesterday, a neighbour Trevor (owner of Once Upon a Tree, where he makes gorgeous artisan bowls from reclaimed wood) brought by a traile load of wood from a tree just taken down in their yard.  Stacking the wood is incredibly meditative for me; Greg finds his zen in the physicality of chopping the larger logs; and Maya created her own game of making a "campfire" with the smallest twigs.