With another cold spell approaching, it’s probably time to empty the woodstove ashpan once again. For those of you who don’t have to do this chore, lucky you. Over the years, we have had a variety of heating sources. When we built our house in 1969, electric heat was the way to go. It was great, inexpensive, and clean. Then the cost of heating went up and we decided to try other options. The fireplace in the kitchen was put to good use but wasn’t that practical. I remember when the kids were small and they would play with little cars in the ashes on the fireplace hearth, what a mess. The pigs at the back door looking for treats. The kids, dogs, cats, etc. You may remember those days fondly, but it was all a blur to me.
We moved to a stove put in the cellar, a big Shenandoah stove that took good-size chunks of wood. and the mess stayed in the cellar. We stored lots of wood in the cellar too. A few holes cut into the floor and it worked great.
We were also gifted a soapstone parlor stove that we put in the dining room which came in handy for drying clothes on clothes racks. Also had a clothesline in the cellar and that worked well if you didn’t drop clothes on the floor.
The next thing we did to improve the heating situation was to install a wood stove in the fireplace in the kitchen. Much more efficient. It was then that I had my first lesson with an ash pan. The wind quite often blows here on the hill. It always seems to be blowing when the ashpan needs emptying anyway. Getting the ash pan out of the house without tripping over dogs and cats can be tricky. Just getting out the door is a challenge too. I’ve never dropped the pan in the house yet, but I can see it happening someday. Wandering outside with a full load of ashes and a hot pan can be challenging too. It’s not so bad when there is little or no snow on the ground, but there are times when I have to put on my Wellies to venture out in a few feet of snow. Meanwhile the wind is still blowing. It’s when I start spreading the ashes that I get a face full of ashes and my clothes are covered. No matter what I try, I still get a face full of ashes and my clothes are covered.
My latest trick, and it seems to work fairly well, is to put the ash pan on the ground, or snow, and spread it by small shovelfuls carefully. When Owen does it, he simply goes outside and ef-fortlessly chucks the whole pan of ashes in one fell swoop. Done! Then, one day, warm weather finally comes and this winter chore becomes history for a few months.
P.S. I finally got smart – well, a little smarter — and purchased a metal bucket. I can now empty the ash pan in the house, take the bucket outside, and spread the ashes in the road. If I spread the ashes on the walk or driveway, everyone, including the dogs, would just track the ashes in.
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