Wood Smoke, Good Smoke

It's back...the grey smoke rising from the chimney of the house.  The wood furnace is officially in business for the winter season. 

 

I like to watch the smoke swirl around the roof top, dispersing into the surrounding air.  The smoke travels in a straight column into the sky; or ejects in puffs as if an old codger was drawing on a pipe; or at times, makes fluid, apparition-like shapes.  Fortunately,  I get more a feeling of free spirit rather than spooky spirit.

 

And, the aroma - generally one of an earthiness, a real fragment of the cycle of life.  Another whiff reveals that each wood species produces a different odor - I am keen on each and every variance.

Oak; hickory; and oh, that red cedar - just like stepping into a paneled closet. 

But, more valuable than the smell is the heat the firewood is producing.  I like to keep warm.  And, actually utilizing a renewable resource growing on our farm; so much the better.

Wood smoke is definitely good smoke.

Abruptly, the smoke is gone.