An Ode to Molly

The weather here today was rather... different. It wasn't cold but it was chilly, damp and whore frost covered the trees. The fog was very thick and made it impossible to see down the road to Creemore. It was the perfect day to clean out the outdoor wood stove. This is how we heat our house and dispose of things that you, well, want to dispose of. I used to raise chickens and when one of the dear things would perish before meeting the professional wringer, I would toss it into the wood stove and that would be the end of it. Whilst the carcass was being "toasted" the dogs and Ruffel would lift their noses into the air and ask "what's for supper?" This wood stove heats our 4000 square foot home, heats our hot water and heats the garage (the dogs are particularly thankful for this). We have saved more garbage from ending up in the landfill and "recycled" garbage to heat our home and keep us warm in frigid temps. While the cost of the initial installation of said wood stove and pipes and insulation was a bit of a lay out, it has more than paid for itself several times over in the last 5 years. The nice thing about this stove is that you don't have to drag wood into your house (and the resulting mess), there is no fear of embers falling out onto the floor or of having a chimney fire. I wouldn't go back to an indoor wood stove for all the tea in China. Anyhow, I am out on this grey day cleaning out the wood stove when an awful thought hit me. My dearly departed cat was cremated in said stove, and her ashes were still in there. When my parents passed away my brother gave me all the gory details of cremation and detailed information on what does not "burn" down and what needs to be done to the left over big bits. I will spare you this information although I am sure your own imagination can fill in the blanks. I was hit with sudden panic that I would find some "nonburnable" bits of Molly coming at me from the black depths of the wood stove. Let me tell you, it is bloody difficult to clean out a stove with your eyes closed! I didn't look at the black bits of coal or the grey ash to closely. Then there is the part of you that just has to look... you know what I mean you are driving past an accident and although you don't want to look you just have too. Call it morbid curiosity if you will. The good news is I didn't see anything that I didn't want too, and Ruffel is glad that the wood stove is cleaned out ready to go again. (He has a bad shoulder you know)

So I end the day on a happy note, my Molly has been scattered (all be it with the ashes of at least 1 bush cord of wood) at the back of the farm. Now she is free to hunt mice and squirrels and roam the bush with at least 10 chickens. Bless you Molly.

Till next time Cat x