The Campfire Trail: November 20 - DIY Homestead

November 20, 2022

Day 415 of the Adventure

I've developed a "middle of the night" ritual here at the cabin that many would view as frustrating and tedious. I would say that would be true as well if I had to force myself awake to get it done. As it is though, I typically wake up for one reason or another a couple times a night anyway so it's not a stretch to find myself getting out of bed in the darkness. Now that it's the time of year we need to heat the cabin, a couple of night-time wood stove stokes are necessary. My stoves of the past were more capable of being fired with some "all-nighter" wood because of their size and draft controls. New stoves are equipped with government mandated, EPA features making manual flame control nearly impossible. I guess the trade-off is that they are more efficient, squeezing more heat out of the firewood than the old ones typically would get. I've discovered that I can gain a little manual draft control by cracking the door open for a few minutes if the fire has depleted itself to embers before adding fresh wood. The downside to that is you can't just leave the door open, even just a little bit if unattended. When adding wood, I get two options depending on how long I had slept. I either have decent coals so a chunk can be added, close the door and walk away. Or, I'm already down to embers and some encouragement is required. When this happens, my ritual goes into effect. Leaving the door slightly open creates a small wind-tunnel of draft giving what little embers remain a breath of fresh air. Generally, about a five to ten minute burn is enough to bring things back to life. Sometimes it's a bit longer and requires the addition of some kindling. Either way, my ritual is one of sitting on a small seat in front of the fire, in the dark watching and listening to the fire crackle it's way back to life. Again, some would find this to be a nuisance. To me, it's just another aspect of life in a backwoods cabin. For a while I wondered if this would be an every night thing. With our specific stove, nightly stokings are necessary whether quick and easy or slower and more intentional. When I see it's going to take a few minutes, I pull up my seat and soak up the warmth and the darkness while the flames grow and come back to life. It's a nightly ritual I've actually come to appreciate and enjoy.