Life in Bavaria and the horse paddock

I have lived a pretty nice and natural life back in Bavaria, I have taken care of 2 horses on a quite large horse paddock on top of a hill surrounded by forests and small little villages. 

It was a very interesting piece of land, lots of herbs were growing on it, wild leeks, yarrow, german chamomile, poppy, stinging nettles.... although I was not allowed to dig holes into the soil. It still is protected property, you can find remnants of both the celts and the roman empire there... pottery and so on.

I enjoyed activities such as making hay with a scythe in order to feed the horses with fresh made hay on there. You could also grow a lot of vegetables on a big pile of compost... lots of cucumbers, pumpkins and squash were growing there. They loved that place. I have not only spent most of my free time, enjoying the silence a long with my 2 horses, but I also took the opportunity to experiment a little bit on the cabin (installing solar panels on the roof), growing vegetables and exploring very old knowledge such as the native americans did with growing squash, beans and corn in the same spot on the property and so on...

The winters were really cold up there, minus 25 C was common and not unusual, and most of the time, the solar panels did not work that well during the cold and dark winter time, which is why I have used a simple and old diesel generator for electricity in the cabin, where I have stored hay, scythe, the food for the horses, equipment, etc.

Now that I have moved to the United States and I do not reside in Germany any longer, I look back with very fond memories of these places and of course, the horses.

How I make my own Firewood... Types of Firewood and how I store Firewood

Now, as I have learned is that in order to heat with firewood you have to understand that Firewood does not equal Firewood. Every type of wood is very different from each other and there are many things one can learn about that. 

One of my main issues is moist in the firewood, even though I have stored it for at least a couple of months. Sometimes in an old cellar. Sometimes outside underneath a large tarp. 

There are many different types of Firewood, and if you would like to heat for many hours you might choose the right type of firewood. Their energy content is dependent on many things such as the percentage of moist inside of the wood. Temperature can also play its role. Dry wood emits more warmth usually.

The energy content of firewood is measured in 000 BTUs. Hard wood delivers a lot more heat than fir or spruce. If you want to keep your fire going, I have always burned oak, beech or maple. In order to lit up a fire, the bark of birch, or woods with lot of resins are great and work just fine, too. 

Woods with a moist percentage of over 20 to 30% will not burn that well. So, cutting and drying is what really matters in the end.

 What I really enjoy is the heard work pays off. It will make you truly independent on external or federal supply. You can save electricity bills as well. And if the power grid breaks down during the winter, who cares? You have got your own firewood and you can smile and be relaxed, for you can heat and cook with your own firewood. The smell of firewood, no matter if you split or burn it, is also wonderful and feels so much more comfortable to the soul. It perhaps reminds us of our own origins... 

The sound of a burning fire is soothing to the mind and body during long and cold winters. Firewood is a natural alternative to gas or electricity. To me, it offers so many possibilities, and to be honest, cooking on a wood stove is so much more relaxing. The food tastes better as well, at least to my tongue. 

It saves a lot of money as well. But it requires hard work. It demands skills that I have had to learn and I am still learning... different axes, equipments, working with a chainsaw... how to store firewood.  And as I said, Ive always had the problem with moist inside of the firewood, too much moist, it produces a lot of smoke, but not really a nice and cozy warmth. 

When it comes to keeping the fire going, I will also go for maple, oak, beech or elm. For starting a fire, I go for pine, spruce, fir or birch. It always worked just fine. 

Alternative Energy; Firewood

One of my favorite tools is, of course, a wood stove when it comes to heating and cooking with alternative energy. 

Wood in Bavaria is abundant and it actually is not uncommon for people to heat and cook on a wood stove. 

As I have never bought my firewood, heating and cooking with fire is a lot of hard work. Every year around April and May, with a license that you have to pay for, you can lease a parcel of forest and chop your own firewood there. That is what I did. 

For Chainsaws I prefer mainly STIHL

When it comes to chopping and splitting wood, I have made good experiences with FISKARS and GRANSFORS from Sweden. I would never go for cheap ones, good equipment which is long lasting pays off in the end!