Tarmac Meditations #49: The Fire Keeper

Michael works up a hunger by participating in a human ritual “that predates damn near everything” — chopping wood for the fires.

November 3, 2010

Wrote a story once called “Woodpile” about moving the wood that is implied in the picture below. I let the wood sit facing west since then and now it is time to revisit the story and the work. Gray day, hint of rain, no words flowing, a heavy heart. It’s a perfect day to transform the rounds into fireplace logs that will heat the house and become background for the stories to come.

Getting ready for winter is as old as winter itself. Feels good to know that, to participate in a human ritual that predates damn near everything. Fire bringers, light in the dark, heat in the cold…survival and myth. Perfect.

I decided to catch a late run this afternoon. The woodpile was calling my name. Cross training is how I think of it when I don’t think of it either as a job, work, or some mystical connection to the fire starters and the dawn of man.

There is something to be said for putting up your wood for the winter. And, equally, stopping for lunch and eating because you worked up a hunger.

I’ll go a couple of  miles this afternoon and feel like the day has gone well. Tomorrow I’ll be back on the track and I’ll likely do some more wood chopping. Hard not to like the early Fall.

Photo Credit

“Woodpile” Photo © Michael Lebowitz. All Rights Reserved.