Sigh of Relief

I realize every year it's the same neurotic pursuit of wood, but the fact that I'm a basket case when it comes to uncertainty coupled with the importance of securing wood before winter, I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to do.

This seems to play out year in and year out, and I guess I need to just lighten up and go with it, but I never can. I call the loggers, see if I can get wood, and then they don't get back to me. They've always come through for me, so I should rest easy, but the problem is, if they can't get me the wood and they let me know too late, then I'm out of luck. I need to know early enough to find an alternate source, which isn't always so easy when it comes to buying wood.

I now have three guys to turn to, and one is a pretty good friend, though he charges a little more. At least he'll sell me a half truck, which can be convenient, but more is better. Last year our regular source, TB, connected me with an associate who brought me a killer load, good hardwood in nice widths. I have the number of the new guy so at least I have some options, right? I ended up calling both and leaving messages, and neither of them got back to me. After about two weeks, I called TB one more time. I just wanted to know if wood was a possibility, and if I could take delivery later in the season, maybe late summer. In retrospect, that was probably my mistake. I told them I wanted it later, and maybe they figured they could blow me off because of it. I can't take the wood right now because I still have a pile of logs I need to cut and split. Whatever be the case, TB finally got back to me. I was lucky enough to be at home when he called, and he said he could get me wood in July/August, and to just hound him then.

Whew! All I needed was some semblance of confirmation and I could get on with my life. Sure, being the neurotic mess that I am, I can't rest easy until that pile of wood is sitting in our property, but I'm happy for now. My dream scenario is for the current supply to be enough to make two year's worth of wood. My second best scenario would be for it to make at least one year's worth, and that doesn't seem too unreasonable, but we'll see.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Thesa Chambers for the pic.