ELLENVILLE – Growing up, we had a modest five acre wood lot. Amongst the tall pines and fragrant apple trees was our family home; up until our purchase, it had been a much loved yet neglected hunting camp.

My dad worked multiple jobs to secure the lifestyle our family wanted and my childhood years were spent clearing the land nearest the home — alongside my mom and younger brother — including the chopping and stacking of loads of fire wood.

We didn't have to live on the Alaskan frontier to live off the land; it was our sweat that went into warming our home each winter, and our hands that chopped enough wood to make it to the next season. We learned early that dried wood burns hotter and longer than green.

I learned the art of stacking wood from my dad. We'd use the trunks of gigantic pines as ends for each stack and built a wood wall, about four feet high — just low enough for the deer to jump over. At one point our yard took on the appearance of a wooden maze; snaking its way through the forest.

It's just now that I understand the science behind his stacking — a four foot high by four foot wide by eight foot long wood pile equates to a cord of wood. My dad would be able to tell how much wood we needed by what he could see.

As a kid, we had a free standing wood stove, complete with a cook top that, when needed, melted snow to produce water when our pipes froze... and provided enough heat to dry our school clothes. The comforting warmth, the sound of crackling, and the soft red glow of a fire, are forever stamped into my memories.

But, I'm getting older and despite wanting to impart the "home range" lifestyle to our children, my husband and I are tired of chasing energy quite so literally. So this year we chose to do something that I didn't think I'd ever do... we purchased wood. We simply did not have the time, between work schedules and kids, to traipse through the forest to find all we needed, not to mention the sheer amount of gas money it takes to hunt for a wood supply. Or, for that matter, the stomach to handle the strict new NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) firewood regulations and Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) legislation that, as of 2012, prohibits the import of firewood into the state, unless kiln-dried, and further limits the transport of non-treated wood to less than 50 miles from it source.

According to Bob Ewald, owner of Ewald's Logging & Land Clearing in Pine Bush, the change in legislation has meant a change in his work practice of thirty years, though not necessarily a decrease in business.

"For us, I pretty much deal with people in this area," Ewald said of the timber he divvies out to various wood brokers and mills that in turn sell it as lumber or firewood.

How could we find what we needed?

As if by some miracle, given how many local firewood retailers are running out of seasoned wood or wood altogether just now, we were able to secure an approximate eight cord delivery — and at a remarkably great price close to what we saw listed at the Ulster Forest Products, Inc. of Stone Ridge website.

That company, owned and operated by Mike and Lynn Gans since 2006, offers customers two styles of firewood — precut and log — sold by the cord; and within that three grades: premium, stove and boiler, at $225, $200 and $180 per cord respectively. The variety of wood includes oak, maple, birch, hickory, cherry and beech. A tri-axel load, of about 6-8 cords of logs, can be delivered for $800, and unloaded with a picker.

We purchased a picker load, though not with Ulster Forest. Although on a time crunch, we still value our own hard work — and savings — and bought non-split wood. On the flip side, our yard became a logger's dream, or village resident nightmare, once we got our delivery.

The breakdown of the enormous stack of logs was a strategic nightmare, but secretly we loved the feeling of 'living off the land' that we thought we had lost by living in a village. We had help — thanks to my in-laws — cutting and stacking, and we borrowed a splitter from a friend; the start of a bartering system. And, weeks later, we still have a pile — albeit, a much smaller one — in our front yard. And more wood than we know what to do with.

Our wood house is full, there's a meandering wood pile along our lot line, and my husband and I are satisfied with our hard work, confident that no matter what gales blow through, our family will be snug as bugs.

Furthermore, I have plenty of time to ensure our fire safety precautions are fully in place, like scheduling the annual chimney inspection and cleaning.

According to Louise, office manager at Chimney's Best in Ellenville, safety should take center stage when preparing for the colder seasons.

"Fireplace chimneys — and those using oil burners — should be cleaned over the course of the year," she said adding that a clean pathway for smoke to vent from one's house will decrease the odds of chimney fires and inhalation of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide.

Additionally, if the cap atop the chimney is missing, debris can enter the chimney, and birds, squirrels and various nesting materials. Also, Louise advised, it's important to have your chimney inspected by a licensed sweeper and, if necessary, to have older style terra cotta liners changed to stainless steel. The average cleaning at Chimney's Best will run $129 and other estimates are done free-of-charge.

Fire safety was a big deal for me as as a kid. My parents would have an evacuation route for us that we would practice religiously, and we always had a fire extinguisher as well as smoke and carbon dioxide detectors close by.

Now, married to a volunteer fire fighter, our kids get an earful on the same subject. They have a route down pat, know the safety procedures to use in case of fire and where our extinguisher is. And, we have a hearth rug, in the event an ember leaps from our woodstove insert to the carpet.

In our next issue, we'll be continuing our series with an article about solar, geo-thermal and other types of renewable energy sources.