Another twist on a kindling bundling system.

COUNTRYSIDE: I read with great interest the article by Mr. Gregory Lawrence about a kindling bundler (90/6). I have evolved to almost exactly the same system, only without the bundler, which I will make this spring before the cutting season.

For those people who use slightly larger kindling, do not want to make the "bundler," or do not have the desire/ability to deal with large bundles, my current method may offer some advantage. I use last winter's baling twine. Bundles of about eight-plus inches are made by double wrapping with a single strand of twine (save these during the winter in an old box), tied with a constrictor knot or surgeon's knot. This leaves enough twine left over to provide a nice handle. Larger bundles are more likely to fall apart and are harder to handle. Stack the bundles, like cordwood, in a separate pile. I've found a separate pile is easier to deal with for a number of reasons--they're less likely to fall apart and easier to retrieve as needed.

I have an attached woodshed. When I load wood in the fall, I mix in the bundles as I stack the cordwood. Add the barrel, throw in four bundles, and you're in business.

Addendum: You can't have too much kindling! The barrel doubles as beer keg cooler for summer picnics. Keep five-gallon buckets for discarding for the now twice-used twine and use to mulch the potatoes in the spring.

Love your magazine.--John Guthleben, McKean, Pennsylvania