I am saddened to say, that I have now reached the age, where I am sounding very much like my father and Grandfather before me. Scary thing that.

I am a farm kid that left the farm, but I still try to live like I grew up. I have a rather large garden, I can what I grow. I make my own beer, and occasionally, hard cider. I heat my house with a very highly efficient wood/oil furnace. I used to go into the woods, and harvest the wood myself, but got lazy and just order a load of logs to be delivered. My kids and I cut the wood, split and stack each summer for the winter. I live where it is cold. Nothing like wood heat in the winter.

As a kid I remember running downstairs to get close to the woodstove, cause the upstairs was frigging cold. Now, I just load the firebox, and wait for the unit to work its magic. We all walk around in shorts and t-shirts.

Things are better, easier, faster today. I believe there is tremendous value in doing somethings the “old” way. Teaching what you learned, passing on generational knowledge. It’s a warm feeling.