Life's Precious Moments

Ok
*
Like most of the eastern United States, northeast Ohio was pounded by a significant snowfall from Tuesday evening all the way into today. We have about a foot of new snow on top of what was already on the ground. I was just becoming able to see most of my woodpile from the previous snow until this most recent storm. Now all my wood is covered in white again. Last night I was able to select the type and size wood I will be needing this week and stacked it under the roof of the woodshed. This makes my mornings go a lot easier on me when I want to get my furnace filled and get my day started. I installed a light in my woodshed to help me see in the dark but still the early morning fill-ups are my most problematic. Usually, my firebox is in good order, the burning logs are nicely positioned on the grates, and all I have to do is toss in some big stuff, along with some smaller logs, and off I go to work. Other times I have to fiddle around with an arch, or crooked log...but eventually, I get on my way. My wife usually takes a trip out to the Hardy in the afternoon when she gives the chickens fresh water.
*
So today I had one of those "life's precious moments" things that you hear about on evening radio or on Oprah. Because of the large snowfall, all the schools in the county were closed...and me being "semi-retired" decided to hang out at home and dig out the driveway. Anyhow, while I was digging, my two daughters came outside and built a snow fort. They got their little shovels and dug out a hole and piled the snow around the sides for the walls. A miniature Fort Sumter...if you will. When I finished up on the driveway I went around back to check on their progress. They both were excited to show me the house they built, their beds, the dining room and...to my glee...they showed me where they put their "furnace" so they can keep their house warm!! They went as far as to make a path in the snow out to their miniature Hardy, and collected a pile of icicles for their wood. I tell ya...two girls after my heart. Of all the things that make up a young girl's world...Hanna Montana, roller skates, Webkinz...you know how it goes...my two daughters made a Hardy H2 out of snow...Tell me that an OWB doesn't become a part of your family!
*
I wrote in an earlier post of how an OWB is more than a furnace, but rather it becomes a lifestyle. For me, having my Hardy helped me develop a love for wood cutting, chainsaws, trees...alive and dead...woodpiles, woodsheds, trucks, you name it. I guess until today that I had never realized how much of a positive influence an OWB has not just on me but on the whole family. The kids are growing up with memories of dad wearing a path in the snow to the Hardy, the smell of cut wood, wood smoke, ash...everything associated with the OWB.
*
I figure that if we lived in the city, my girls would have made a snow apartment complete with a bicycle rack and bus stop...instead they made a house with an OWB. My wife and I must be doing something right. I hope that if you have an OWB that with it you too experience the simple joys of life that I do. I will be the first to admit that OWB's aren't for everyone and every "neighborhood situation" but there is something undeniably special about heating with wood. Tell me what you think.
Smokin