Firewood, anyone?

Would you like to see what I do during the day as a break from writing? You can’t sit and write all day, as I’m sure you other writers out there know. Your brain fuzzes up and you simply must do something REAL for awhile. When I need to be active, I go out in the backyard and package up firewood.

It feels great to be outside, breathing the fresh air and listening to the birds. I’ve also learned how to chop the firewood. My son does most of the chopping, of course, because he’s young and strong. I’m small boned and I weigh less than one-hundred pounds; however, when I can wield an axe and actually get a log to fly apart into two pieces, I feel like Paul Bunyan!

I split maybe five logs per morning and even that little amount does make the pile grow, day by day. Like bundling firewood, I package up maybe three bundles a day, but if I do this every day, pretty soon I’ve got piles of the stuff.

And now—to offer a word of encouragement to anyone who needs it (don’t we all)—if I can chop and bundle firewood, maybe you can do something that you’ve been wanting to do but aren’t sure you can, for whatever reason. Begin by picking at it, just one piece at a time, or one minute at a time. It will be positive nourishment for your mind and soul and body, and hey, it might even stimulate your writing. I wish you success!

Author: Carolyn Kay Hanson

Carolyn was born and raised in Idaho. She has worked with animals for most of her life (prepare yourself, the list is long): cats, dogs, horses, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, turkeys, ducks, chickens, guineas, and geese. She was married to a cowboy for twenty-five years and during that time lived on seven different cattle ranches. She learned how to give shots to cattle, brand cattle, castrate bull calves and close the head catch in time to capture the beast that was flying through the working chute like a streak of lightning. She also learned to back the truck up to the trailer hitch and get it right the first time. When a teen, she attended horsemanship clinics and schools, and competed in horse shows that included dressage and jumping. She owned and trained seven of her own horses. After having two children, both of whom she homeschooled until they passed the SAT with flying colors (which is absolutely no credit to her as they both reside in the genius category and continually leave her wondering what the heck is going on) she dove into homesteading, learning how to make her own bread, make soup stock from scratch, butcher chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, and cows, and one year had so much fun canning everything in sight that when she counted the full glass jars in the pantry, she was shocked to discover there were over a thousand. Her knowledge of settings used as the basis of her stories is diverse due to the fact that she has lived in many different states including Idaho, Montana, California, Texas, Missouri, Virginia, Indiana, New Jersey, Washington, and Arizona. She now resides near Seattle. Her hobbies include knitting, crocheting, soap making, and, of course, writing. Oh, and her favorite author? P. G. Wodehouse. View all posts by Carolyn Kay Hanson