Every now and then when I cut up some wood for the fireplace I come across pieces that just break my heart. This is art wood, furniture wood. Knife handle wood. Gunstock. Freehand pipe. Or just carve out, sand and varnish wood. But not firewood! Man, it hurts.
It’s mostly in the crooks of hardwoods. Man, wood can be pretty. Even in the raw. I feel like a sculptor who sees the bare rock and can imagine what’s inside. Except I’m not even a woodworker. I’ve made pretty things only a couple times. But that’s all it took. I’m a goner for pretty wood.
I do have a few chunks of firewood laying around that I just can’t burn. I’m surprised I let this one go, the one in the photo. Heck, yesterday I couldn’t even burn a few dry “batons”—as I handled them and they clocked together they made nice ringing tones. They’re musical instruments, not firewood! Whew…where will all this lead, anyway. Besides the obvious.
