Using The Wood After Tree Work

I woke up this morning to a heavy frost on the grass and the windshields of my trucks. Though this fall has been pleasantly warm, it seems as though winter is finally coming in with its biting winds and bitter temperatures. I was trying to hold out for a couple more weeks before getting the outdoor wood boiler going to heat the house but I finally gave in this morning and started it up. As I stood watching the flames grow larger and larger, heating the chilly air as the firebox began to warm, I was completely mesmerized by the movement of the flames. I’ve noticed this phenomenon many times in the past while sitting around campfires, or even while filling the wood boiler.

There have been many times I’ve discussed this theory I have with friends and family about fires. I feel that humans have an innate fascination with fire that began at the beginning of human advancements. If you think back to thousands of years ago, when our meager beginnings were dictated by survival and survival only, one of the greatest comforts was the warmth and protection a fire provided. Something that seems so simple to us now was once the greatest advancement in human history. If you had the choice of being stalked in the dark by a saber-toothed tiger or the ability to fend off the beast while keeping your family warm and safe, I’m sure you’d be just as pumped about a “simple” fire!

I think about how many times I’ve sat with friends around the fire and we all just stared into the flames and were content without saying a word. The fire comforted us and I think this is something that is deep within our instinctual memories that has been passed down through our lineage as a place of comfort and safety from years and years ago and it still resonates with us today.

The same can be said about the simple dinner table. I have a friend that built a table in his backyard during the lockdown early last year. It was a simple yet effective table that unfortunately ended up warping from the weather this summer. The interesting thing about that simple warped table is the amazing fact that it brought us together multiple times over the ridiculous summer that we all have been going through. This table that was a fad “lockdown” project ended up being something that we all sat around, ate off of and created some amazing memories with good friends not just once but multiple times.

Now if we extrapolate that idea to some of the tables that were created centuries ago and have been handed down through families, we have a much larger appreciation for their ability of bringing families together and creating memories over simple pieces of wood that are held together with the fine craftsmanship that is needed for a piece to last through generations of humans making a mess on its surface. Think back about family dinners or some of the other countless memories you probably have while sitting at the dinner table.

The neat thing about working with trees is the fact that we are step one of both of these processes. Whether it’s pruning or removal, we are harvesting wood one way or another. Maybe you bring the wood home for campfires in the backyard? Maybe you sell firewood to campgrounds for the thousands of campers that are creating memories? Maybe you mill your wood and sell it to craftsmen for their many projects? Maybe you yourself mill the wood and then create functional pieces of art that are going to last for generations once you are long gone? All of these things begin with us and can go far beyond the money we make for the removal or pruning.

We would love to hear about some of the things that you are doing with wood from your jobs! Please share some of your creations in the comments below or on our Facebook page. Let’s hear about some of the memories you’ve made while sitting around the campfire!