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A load of firewood arrived today.  Lovely dry ash at a very good price.  The young farmer who brought it told me about his tractor, broken down in the woods, his competitors slashing prices in their ads and the fewer and fewer people using wood to heat their homes because of insurance company displeasure.

A cord of wood, 4 x4 x 8 feet, has a lot of sweat in it.  The trees, often  deep in some frozen swamp accessible only in February, or clinging to a hillside too steep to cultivate, must first be felled, trimmed of branches, turned into cordwood and logs and hauled out of the woods. Next this hard-won booty is cut into foot long blocks by chain saw or buzz saw, then laboriously split to fit all kinds of stoves, dried for a year and, finally, loaded up by hand and delivered to the customer.

Wood is heavy, the work dangerous.  My check was cashed within the hour.  I hope it helped with the broken tractor.  I will appreciate my fire and order another cord or two before the price climbs in the fall.

Gail Hamilton’s books.

Sydney is a black and white cat  staying with me while her owners work overseas.  She is small, polite and handicapped, having lost one of her hind legs to an accident in Europe.  Along with my two kitties, Sydney always bolted to the basement when a large barking, drooling Labradoodle thumps in for the day.  After several flights to the nether region, Sydney got fed up with being a refugee.  One day, Sydney hopped brashly upstairs, snatched possession of the couch and refused to budge no matter what the dog tried.  Standing her ground, Sydney outlasted the dog who eventually gave up harassment and ceded the territory. Sydney remains queen of the couch and top dog too.  A fine example for us all.

Gail Hamilton’s books.

The Tomorrow Country is a big story fitted into a compact book.  However, after several comments from book buyers about “needing glasses”, I realized there is a whole cadre of fiction lovers out there, the baby boomers, who need friendlier type.  So The Tomorrow Country has now been reset in larger print  and on creme paper to further pamper the eyes.  So, Boomers, you don’t have to squint any more.  If you don’t have a book yet, check it out the easy-reading improvement.

Gail Hamilton’s books.

The book launch, at the wonderful bookstore, Books & Co., in Picton, was a fun event and gave The Tomorrow Country a vigorous start.  Plenty of friends and neighbours showed up to wish the book well and get their copy.  The striking cover stood out beautifully.  I met at least two people who told me about being descended from Home Children which was very

fascinating to hear.  I used the birth of the Child Emigration Movement in England as a starting point for a story of high adventure, social upheaval and deep romance, all to make the book first and foremost, a jolly good read. I can’t wait to hear back from the first readers.

Gail Hamilton’s books.

The marsh caught fire and gave the neighbourhood a scare. Luckily, out volunteer fire department got it out before it reached the open marsh and jumped to the dry brush on the hill behind the barn.

Gail Hamilton’s books.