FUEL for FREE

Last winter I didn’t get round to using the wood burner in the cottage I’d just moved into, but the price of oil has gone up so much that this year I’ve had the chimney swept (used a voucher in the local paper) and I’m ready to burn. So far I’ve been lucky on two counts: 1) It’s still relatively mild, so only used it once, 2) I’ve been given some wood, nicely dried over a year and already cut to size by my lovely brother-in-law.

But I’ve now found a new free fuel – PINE CONES. There are several large fir trees near a car park I use regularly, and after seeing loads of cones lying on the ground I returned with a carrier bag. There were also a couple of small dead branches, so they went into the boot. The cones burn really well, don’t last very long, but they make a great addition. It’s worth giving it a whirl if you’ve got an open grate or a wood burner. You could get the added bonus of pine scent wafting through your living room.

If you’ve got full central heating you might think you don’t need to know this, but if you like walks in the country or the park, gathering cones can be a fun part of the walk (the kids will love to join in). And they make an unusual gift for somebody you know who does have an open fire. You could even pop them in a bag and tie a ribbon round it!

Sometimes it’s fun being frugal.

WEC