On the hottest day of the year, time to think about the winter?

So it has been a very long hot summer with temperatures in the mid 30′s for most of July and August, with high humidity making it feel hot and sticky and rain only putting in an brief appearance just twice in those two months.

Today was the kind of day that makes you think about sitting by the pool with an iced drink watching the local flora and fauna and generally trying to keep cool and collected and do as little as possible.

Instead local tradition defines a completely different way to spend the day. Its time to think about the oncoming winter and get that wood supply sorted out and stacked up ready for when the weather is not so “user friendly”.

A combination of high gas prices, a certain Vladimir Putin who seems to have his hand on the gas tap of Europe and concerns about reducing the carbon footprint of heating the house during the winter has meant a resurgence of the older system of keeping warm – burning logs. The new breed of highly efficient reverse flame wood burning stoves has also meant that one again the smell of wood smoke will be in the air as things get cooler here.

As you can see from the video below, the main problem is getting the wood to the house as the steep, narrow streets and alleyways in Barga Vecchia make transporting the logs a time consuming and skilful business.