Winter Warmth
Why I love our open fire.......
When we decided to make a "tree change" and bought our home in the country, one of our main "wants" was to have a big open fire. The weather here lends itself to possessing and using a wood fire to burn to keep ourselves warm.
Wood burning warmth beats gas and electric hands down for warming up a chilled home. The heat emanating from the open fire exudes warmth for the skin, and deep into the soul and heart, like a bowl of hot oatmeal porridge on a cold morning or a mug of hot, homemade pumpkin soup on a chilly winter's evening.
There is a kind of ceremony and ritual to lighting a fire. It's sort of honouring the gentle slow pace of living in the beautiful, relaxing countryside.It takes time to light You can't just flick a switch and make it start burning. And the fire builder has to keep the comfort their own comfort and that of house residents in mind when getting the fire underway.
For the lucky owners of the open fire, there are a number of requirements that are necessary to keeping the home fires burning- a full wood box, a plentiful woodpile, lots of kindling, a reliable saw, a sharp axe, and lots of muscle, and the know-all to get the fire laid for maximum warmth,and to get it ignited "effortlessly" .
It takes time for the room to warm up, so having to wait, staying rugged up until that delicious warmth arrives also requires patience.
It's quite a messy affair owning and using an open fire but it is a reminder that all good things come with a price and effort.
The fire is a central place in our living area.
In winter we spend a lot of down time curled up and warm round this delightful place,reading, writing, watching telly, talking, cuddling, listening to music.- and just watching the yellow and orange flames licking the wood hungrily and yet, lazily. And we just exult luxuriantly in the beautiful warmth.
It is surely the pivotal part of our home at winter time and one we wouldn't like to be without.
Of course there is a downside to owning a fire as well, especially if a log has fallen to the front of the fire and the house fills with smoke instead of going up the chimney, and the fire alarm goes into screaming mode in protest.And, there is of course the yearly clean out of the chimney to prevent unwanted fires in the wrong place, and the removal of the ash build up from the burnt logs.
But.... this is one of my "wants" that has changed into a definite" need"-an absolute necessity.
