Chris Wyatt's Patterdale Hall, all dressed in snow. (Submitted photo)
The Patterdale Hall Diaries | In-between days
- Published: January 9, 2025
Dec. 10, 2024
Dealing with wood that has been soaked by recent rain is a pain in the ass, and I should probably think about what a Scandinavian woodshed would look like. It needs to keep the wet out while allowing the air to circulate so that the moisture levels in the logs can continue to fall.
Some of our split oak is entering its second year on the property, and as it has been exposed to the elements, many of the logs are growing turkey tail mushrooms. While this is pretty and kind of cool, it does mean that the wood won’t burn as hot, and so I’ll focus on drying and burning the most infected logs this winter and will replace them with fresh ones in the spring. Then by next fall, the half cord of walnut that I got from Jonny will have spent 18 months drying and will be good to go.
Les, Jim’s son, is the guy I go to for split oak, and he will be getting a call in March; we will be needing a cord-and-a-half from him. It will likely be a mix of red and white oak. I love white oak; it splits easily, burns for a long time and smells like bourbon. On the other hand, red oak is the Devil and I still have splinters in my hands from 12 months ago. Horrible bastard stuff. Maybe I’m being too harsh on red oak, though; it does burn well, even if it does splinter really badly. The split maple that I have only really serves to get a fire going, it is too light and fast burning to heat the cabin overnight; still, it serves its purpose and I’m glad we have it.
Forty-thousand words. Ten-thousand more and I’ll have a short book.
Dec. 27, 2024
As we drift through the wilderness that is this time of year, I have a little time to reflect. Archie and everybody else are asleep, all the pots are clean, and I’m working on my second cup of tea.
Betty dying, me being hospitalized three times and Trump’s reelection were low points in 2024. However, there were wonderful things as well. Karen is getting stronger. Her ankle break was incredibly severe, but she is now working outside at Patterdale Hall most days. Bob has found something he loves and is thriving at college with a 3.9-plus GPA, and he is president of the Psychology Club. He will start research in an NIH funded lab in the summer. Morris is also doing well at school, and his love for cars grows stronger. He will go to business school and see where he goes from there.
Good things happened to me, too. I grew some hilariously successful crops and discovered a world of fertilizers. Patterdale Hall Gardens were verdant this year. I think I’ll focus on beans in 2025. I continue to really enjoy teaching and hope to be able to continue doing it without being micromanaged to the point I no longer want to go to work. My little dog is thriving; Archie is learning how to be a dog now Betty isn’t bullying him 24/7; he really is very sweet.
All told, it was a good year. I’m going to keep my head down in 2025, work hard, be kind and spend more time in the forest.
Dec. 27, 2024
These are the in-between days. The days we plan. I really do fancy growing beans this year. French beans, green beans, classic runner beans, borlotti beans, flageolet beans; there is a whole spectrum of beans out there, and if 2024 taught me anything, it is that the soil at Patterdale Hall is pretty special. I will also continue to grow marijuana, but probably just the one plant this year, as three plants were a lot to manage.
Karen is currently clearing the brambles, thorn bushes and poison ivy from the bank between us and the neighbor’s property; this will be a good spot for native trees, and so I think that will be part of today’s discussion. The weather looks OK for the rest of the day, so it will be fun to get out there and plan, maybe light a luxury fire just for the hell of it.
Friends Camas and Daniel will visit today with Camas’ mom. They live in a second-floor apartment in Dayton, and so I think they enjoy getting their feet muddy every now and then. I’m sure they would be happy to help with tree planting later in the year. Hornbeams, honey locust, spicebush and red buds will all be good replacements for the thicket of honeysuckle that Karen has butchered.
Dec. 29, 2024
Daniel has offered to help bring some more of the massive fallen maple down. It’s a huge job, but it is easier now all the leaves are off it, and we can actually see what needs to be done. My saw will need to be sharpened, so I will get to that today, but I will also need a bigger saw, and so will see if I can borrow my friend John’s Stihl MS250.
Camas’ mom Angela’s dog, Timber, loved Patterdale Hall. She was raised in the country and has been cooped up in Dayton for a week or so. She returned to Dayton having run free for an hour, rolled in deer crap and dozed by a log fire. Good dog.
*Originally from Manchester, England, Chris Wyatt is an associate professor of neuroscience, cell biology and physiology at Wright State University. He has lived in Yellow Springs for 17 years, is married and has two children and two insane Patterdale terriers.
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