Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Ignorance and Want

I plan to be back to your blogs next week. For now, I'm including the following, a post I wrote in early 2010. I hope you all have a great week!...

 Ignorance and Want


In northwest Wisconsin when it's 15 degrees below zero, we become fascinated by things like fire, woodpiles, and watching the outdoor thermometer. Fire is one of those paradoxical things - it's comforting and terrifying. Comforting when it's contained and terrifying when it's not. The photo above is of the fire contained within our wood-burning stove in the living room. The reflection of my robe as I'm taking the fire reminds me of Dickens' Christmas Carol where, under the robe of the Spirit of Christmas Present, are revealed the two dirty and neglected children, Ignorance and Want. Doesn't that look like a head inside the stove? But of course it's just a hunk of oak. Actually, I cropped the photo, leaving out the piece lying horizontally in front - that looked enough like an arm to creep out the faint of heart.





And here is the lovely, much-appreciated wood pile, especially enjoyed by me because I'm not the one who has to go out to the woods and chop down the tree or cut and split the wood. I only have to sweep up the wood chips now and then, and keep the fire going - not too difficult when all I have to do is open the door of the stove occasionally and throw in another stick of wood. I love having a wood-burning stove - which, unless the fire's out, guarantees that there's at least one spot in the house that's warm.

It's time to take the dogs out for their last potty break of the day.



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6 comments:

Joyce said...

Happy New Year to you and your family!

Denise said...

Have a very happy new year my friend.

Anonymous said...

Oh that wood-pile reminds me of back home in Sweden. Stacking those wood piles has it's charm [hehe]. Happy New Year my friend!
Big hugs

Carla from The River said...

I love the part of Ignorance and Want in the Christmas Carol! It gives me a shiver! One that I need!! Amen

Yenta Mary said...

The beauty and warmth of a wood-burning stove is NOT to be underestimated! The charm of the dancing flames is mesmerizing, enticing you to just sit and watch, thus insuring that you're warm and cozy ... :)

J_on_tour said...

As I'm a visual person and other than the variety of things that I read here, one of the lasting vivid memories about your blog was the amount of logs that you had chopped last year .... hope the pile is holding out this year.

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