I’ve written before that Spring is the signal to begin preparing for winter. You don’t want to be looking for hay or firewood in October or November. I have become obsessive and compulsive about my firewood and hay, you have to be thinking about winter the minute Spring comes.

Last week I called Greg  Burch, the owner of his beloved pug J.D. and put in my order for seven cords of firewood, we heat by wood from November to May, we burn little heating oil and the heat is even and comfortable. next week I will call Sandy Adams and order 100 bales of first cut hay for the sheep and donkeys next winter.

Greg drops a cord at a time, over the next few months, we let the sun dry it out and then we stack it in the woodshed. One of the most interest things up here is to see how much the big tough men in trucks love their dogs, Pugs, Boston Terriers,  French Bulldogs, Long-Haired Chihuahua’s.

The dogs go everywhere with them. Greg Burch has been chopping and selling firewood for many years, his wood is reknowned for being dry and carefully chosen. We would not dream of using anybody else. He is a tough logger, working in all kinds of weather, but at the mere mention of J.D., he just melts.

J.D. is getting old and deaf, Greg doesn’t even want to think about it. When Greg and J.D. pull onto the farm – he just drops a load and I send him the check later if we’re not  here, we still do things that way in the country. Maria and I are fond of wood stacking, and Maria has all kinds of systems and protocols for the stacking, I just get out of the way and toss some logs to her.

I love photographing J.D. and Greg, a tough man in a big truck and his faithful dog. When you see these men with their dogs, you see that the nurturing instinct is strong within them. I love Spring, but I never forget that winter is not far behind.