January 7, 2026

Good morning!

It’s Wednesday. We’ve made our way through our first stack of firewood already, with two more to go. I can’t help it, there’s something so comforting about choosing the right pieces of wood and placing them just so, lighting a match, and watching life take hold. As the days grow longer and lighter, I’m sure the craving for a fire will diminish. But right now, it is a welcome companion.

The batch of wood we got delivered this spring has been a bit more unusual than in years past. Already, I’ve encountered a bunch of logs that look like this—and I have to stop and marvel at the crimp pattern. It’s almost too beautiful to burn, as if the tree had been growing a lustrous coat of wool and hiding it beneath its bark, waiting for this moment to be discovered.

“Beauty is the moment of transition, as if the form were just ready to flow into other forms.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Onwards,

Clara