Its October and the nights are drawing in. Not that this will deter us from boating as long as we have wood and coal for the stove. We have a nice supply of oak which we cadged from Bulbourne dry dock as we were passing in the summer. They were about to burn a load of offcuts, so Kath, never one to pass up a freebie, spoke nicely to the man and he gave us a huge stack. According to an old rhyme quoted in *Ray Mears' excellent Bushcraft book "oak logs will warm you well, if they're old and dry". I heard another old poem rhyming oak with smoke - lets hope that's wrong.
What we also have is a stack of cherry logs from a trunk which I save from the woodchip machine when the local council were felling surplus trees by the roadside. According to Ray's rhyme "cherry logs across the dogs smell like flowers in bloom". I can hardly wait.
What we really look out for is Ash.
Ash logs, all smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old
Buy up all that come your way.
They're worth their weight in gold.
*If ever I get on Desert Island Discs, I want Ray Mears for my one luxury item.
HERBIE! Journeys on our narrowboat and the trials and tribulations of maintaining her.
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