#17 Building firewood storage - Slow living in northern Italy

[@chriskiefel7735]

I have a cat who loves your videos, because they are calm, soft spoken and moving at a slow pace. He is not a lap cat until your video comes on, then he wants to sit and watch intently for a while. I like your videos for some of the same reasons. There is something relaxing and almost meditative. I appreciate your quiet determination and care, and the thoughtfulness that you show to the house, the land and to each other.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

thank you sooo much for sharing that! we are both cat-people and really looking forward to welcoming a cat or two to the farm next year. this little story has brought us so much joy to read ❤️

[@lulubelle0bresil]

this is the most delightful comment I've ever read ANYWHERE! ❤

[@storiesfromthecascina]

@@lulubelle0bresil we couldn't agree more ❤️

[@TAG993]

Another awesome video into your world. Fantastic camera work and editing. I look forward to your content each week. Thank you

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you very much for supporting our adventure! Glad to hear you're enjoying them.

[@alaskanrockvodka9622]

Love the light at the end of the vid, with mowed grass. Just gorgeous. Thanks I and B 🥂

[@storiesfromthecascina]

the autumn light is so beautiful here ❤️

[@Del213]

Don’t know why but when Bert wears that hat it look like he’s lived in that area his whole life.

[@danielgoldberg2129]

Small tip from a former carpenter: when using a nail puller, or claw, put a shim (small piece of wood) under the pivot point. The nail will lift straight out and not bend, or split your wood.😊

[@CathrynTFD]

Pulling out a thread to cut a straight line! My mother taught me to sew, and she did the same thing. I've talked to sewers around me in suburban Chicago, IL, USA and they have no idea what I am talking about. She passed years ago, and you reminded me of her. Thank you, Isis. And the buttons on the end of the draft protectors are a lovely touch... something I might do.

[@shannonlynne1558]

The scene with you in the evening sewing gave me the warm fuzzies. ☺️💜

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Love that! It's been a lovely way to spend the evenings.

[@peterwerrenrath1112]

The foggy days are as beautiful as the sunny ones!

[@peterwerrenrath1112]

Masterful videography and photography throughout. The moon today is just one marvelous example!

[@KMD2832]

You have chosen such a beautiful spot with so much potential :) It must be hard deciding which projects first! I hope the lilac trees don’t get overwhelmed with blight …..you have put a lot of time and care into getting them this far. Thank you again for a wonderful update. I know nothing about creating videos other than it is time consuming and hard work editing - but I love the way that you put your videos together and even when you are both working there is a sense of calm.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you so much!

[@france7678]

Citrouille et fêta, écrasés à la fourchette, avec des rotinis et du poivre du moulin ! Un délicieux plat réconfort d’automne , miam !

[@storiesfromthecascina]

that sounds tast indeed!

[@farmerconnie8172]

Respectful advice from a Canadian that has been using a wood stove for 30+ years: keep the small sticks for kindling… and also to burn really fast when you want a very hot fire

[@storiesfromthecascina]

yes definitely! we have collected a huge box of kindling sticks ❤️

[@violetaarcher8296]

I very much appreciate this update. It's so encouraging as I, too, transition to slow living. Your husband must be a carpenter as he has the equipment! Thank you and blessings from Texas!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Best of luck with transitioning to a slower life-style

[@Erin_Wilson_Studios]

With your little chapel, I keep thinking what an amazing spot you have to host silent retreats.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

We definitely agree that the cascina would make an amazing location for retreats :-)

[@janeandclementine]

Another lovely video. I can actually feel my heart rate decrease while watching. Much love from Canada.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Glad you enjoyed it! And we're glad that the people watching our videos experience positive health effects from them. That's something we could have never anticipated before starting this channel!

[@boopshki]

Just wanted to say, I do love the way you are looking for potential in planting on your land. The idea to terrace and plant fruiting shrubs along the contour of the hillside is really good land management for the long term. Bravo!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you! It's not the easiest piece of land - first we thought of planting fruit trees but as there's also electricity wires running there, it's best to not plant anything that will grow too tall. Fruiting shrubs with a selection of companion plants feel like the best option for a pretty steep south facing slope.

[@lieuwina]

I'll say it again you have the most beautiful scenery there and you have done so much already on your house and property. Thank you for sharing this with us. Have a lovely day.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Wishing you a lovely day too, Liewina!

[@ericasteenvoorden6374]

Another lovely video it is so relaxing to hear the birds, the wind and the rain. Can't wait till it is our time in our cascina.

[@masodimontagna3771]

Building things with waste material and your own hands is always a great pleasure, it brings electricity, stops drafts 💪👏 ... two or three goats would be fine cleaning the lawn and eating grass and also some chickens, a dog and a cat. .😁😊👍

[@storiesfromthecascina]

cats and chickens will hopefully be joining us soon, and goats would be lovely one day ❤️

[@sherjohnson551]

Hello! I think the straw is creating a fungus that's defoliating your bushes. In high humidity areas use a small ammount of wood mulch. Less than an inch thick. You guys have gorgeous views there. Very scenic! Cheers from Minnesota

[@gardenfork]

Nice L-cuts with the audio. - Eric.

[@angelasopranzi2742]

I so admire the thought you both have given to this incredible project you have taken on. I cheer you on every step of the way. You both have so many talents that you put to such good use. Every time I see your panoramas of the mountains, I want to take a deep breath and I can almost smell the air. It is the same feeling I get when I go to the beach near our home and look at the expanse of water and smile and take a deep breath. There is so much beauty in our world.❤

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you so much! Happy to hear our videos give you a sense of peace and connection to nature

[@lindabrooks8242]

Your videos are so beautiful, and well done. Thank You for sharing! Getting ready for winter, using what you already have, and it all looks amazing.❤

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you so much, Linda!

[@AndreCastelijn-s4g]

For extra isolation of the windows you can tape bubble wrap on the window frame, especially for the bedrooms you are not using, isolation on a budget, another evening project, greetings from Amsterdam

[@storiesfromthecascina]

I'm sure we have some bubble wrap lying around somewhere! thanks for the tip :-)

[@michaelzimmerman635]

Bertus, a safety tip for you. When using a push stick on your table saw, place it between the blade and the fence, and stand off to the side a bit. You're asking for some dangerous kick back otherwise.

[@richardedkins8856]

Enjoyed that video very much. Thank you.

[@tracyoniya9618]

I like to chop up my branches with the chop saw. I use pruners to take of the side shooting branches, then use the chop saw to cut to stove length. Sometimes I even bundle the sticks together and chop multiples at a time. One has to be conscious and pay attention using the chop saw this way, but it is much more efficient than either pruners or a chainsaw on anything that is of a diameter that the chop saw can handle. GO SLOW AT FIRST TO GET THE FEEL OF DOING IT THIS WAY. There may be those out there who see this as 'dangerous' - but I've found over the last several decades that it is possible to do it quite safely.

[@Leed216]

Even your B roll is magical, 🕸️. Heel Mooi.

[@neutonrenda2303]

Great job with the firewood storage, it looks extremely strong.👍

[@storiesfromthecascina]

it is quite sturdy yes!

[@gardeningfishingjimw9364]

Well that firewood structure won't fall apart easily!! :)

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we thought if we build one might as well enjoy it for a few years :)

[@lindachenoweth9002]

Really enjoyed this video, as I have all of them. You put so much effort into the wood bins, good job, they look great! Really appreciate the outdoor shots you tuck into your videos, giving us a look of the changes in your beautiful surroundings, Thank you for all you share!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Glad you enjoyed it, Linda! We so appreciate your support for our adventure

[@Anne-yw6ed]

Beautiful firewood boxes! Must be so satisfying to use old material and build it yourselves.

[@mariapottery]

Beautiful full moon pictures!

[@neutonrenda2303]

Amazing how much difference cutting the grass makes, lovely.👍❤

[@storiesfromthecascina]

aaah yes it was very satisfying! although we also loooove the grass when it's tall with all the wildflowers that grow in there, mowing it gives a great sense of the space and helps with envisioning how we want to plant the garden aroundnthe house in the future.

[@queen-of-puddings]

I love a well organised toolshed - it makes my heart sing

[@sonyagair1219]

Love the draft stoppers you have made. You can sell them on the market. They are really so pretty ❤ Love from South Africa 😊

[@inabates8919]

Loving the videos, I think that handy tool as you said may be a garden tool, relative to the hoe.

[@beverlymurray6554]

I love watching your progress. Your projects turned out great!!

[@albertoarcudi8431]

19:40 Johan Sebastian Bach, Toccata e fuga in re minore? Grandi!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Onestamente non lo so, ma la melodia mi è rimasta in testa per almeno una settimana 😅

[@painchaud2000]

Well done, working with reclaimed wood is fun but also a pain sometimes when it's full of nails. 😋

[@storiesfromthecascina]

luckily in this case we had to pull out only two or three nails! definitely had worse 😅

[@painchaud2000]

@@storiesfromthecascina definitely....try using pallets to build something 😅

[@marthaollis5049]

Thank you for the closed captions.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

you're welcome!

[@davideborgna4918]

Bravissimi, fate sempre dei bei lavoretti per il vostro casali👍💪👋

[@storiesfromthecascina]

grazie davide! ❤️

[@trixiepickle8779]

When I moved into my french farmhouse 17 yrs ago, I relied on wood totally to keep the house warm. It is quite hard to actually know whether what you've got is sufficient it is a bit of a learning curve. I now have pellets and know how much in any situation I need. But I think you're doing a great job and only living with your wood consumption will give you a clear idea of what you're going to need in future.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

it will definitely be a learning curve! we can always get more from our wood guy if need be. he's a neighbour so more firewood is always close by.

[@glenyscallaghan1195]

The farm is a beautiful location, you have so many useful out buildings .❤❤

[@derrihanson9876]

I have recently started watching your videos. The tool you were found while looking for lumber to make your wood storage racks was a hoe. It's used in the garden to remove weeds and loosen the earth.

[@_PJW_]

1:21 : interesting. I always thought you had to remove the rust - or most of it - first before applying stove polish. 5:05 : you could have used some discarded pallets. If only for the base. They are usually very cheap, or even for free. Saves a lot of work. 7:46 : never, *ever*, reach over a still turning saw blade. It needs only one time to go wrong. If it snatches any clothing it will drag it into the blade, including any flesh and bone. This one looked close enough.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we brushed most of the rust off the stovetop with a brass wire brush in a previous video :)

[@storiesfromthecascina]

pallets would certainly save time if they were readily available - but in practice we have to drive around 40 minutes to get them. the ones we have lying around at the cascina are all different sizes and/or broken. this was a good way to use up broken/cracked/woodworm-damaged planks that we had lying around. you're a 100% right about the moving sawblade. thank you for reminding us to be more careful in the future. ❤️

[@_PJW_]

@@storiesfromthecascina Well, in that case you did a great job at reusing that material. As for the saw blade, I heard a man describing what a chainsaw does and why he wears special protective trousers at the job. In short : "It pulls itself into your leg".😲🤢

[@storiesfromthecascina]

yes definitely, when using the chainsaw we always use protective pants!

[@deehalpern8988]

Lovely video.

[@Ida-fz3ir]

this "tool" was used for the cow sheet...to pull it away from the cow to the gutter behind the cows and at last to the dung heap...

[@storiesfromthecascina]

aaaah yes that makes total sense! it works for a lot other things too though. it has already been useful to us :)

[@FrinkyBaby]

Agreed. I used something much like this to muck out the cow barn on my grandparents dairy farm.

[@daynight4902]

best to you

[@jeroengoetheer]

Super leuk om te kijken!

[@elizabethstreeter2145]

I wish people would stop and consider before they make a sarcastic comments or ask questions that are personal about work think would they want those comments or questions asked about themselves I don’t think so. And shows they are really not listening a lot of the time also. Great wood shed but we found no matter how big it never seemed enough. Oh well hopefully yours is.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

it will definitely be a learning curve with the wood and i'm sure we'll.be expanding it in the future. we have another, smaller wood pile in our small warehouse too.

[@ruthlee2752]

I used to save my dish water with mild soap and throw it over my plants to kill anything that could hurt plants. Great in veggie garden to keep bugs off.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you for the tip, Ruth!

[@westcornergroup4375]

It is always have a little bit spare. You have there enough space to put it more in. You never know how much You spend it. I like that You have there so many buildings and enough space to grow and make all kind of stuff. Off course there is so much work coming but I like it this place what You have there. Also that you don’t just burn all the cut trees but save it to the fire for winter.

[@hullabaloo-hcd]

❤❤❤

[@arunasubba4703]

brilliant.

[@mariesalway91]

As an Aussie heading into summer, I am envious of your cooler weather 😁

[@ronaldlucas5360]

Interesting

[@coby6417]

👏🌟👍🍀💐

[@lesserpoo]

You could really use an electric mini chain saw for all that wood.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

it's one of the ca. 100 things on our wish-list :-P

[@lesserpoo]

@@storiesfromthecascina😂

[@JohnDiFrancesco]

Here in the US I have sprayed a dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide (4oz per gallon) to control blight on tomato plants. You might try it with your lilac plant. (You can start with a weaker solution to make sure the plant tolerates it.) Search KZbin for "rusted garden hydrogen peroxide" for an in-depth video.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

thank you for the tip john! we'll look into it ❤️

[@sabinendigwa4652]

Hi from Germany. Are you ok? We heard about massive Rainfall in Italy. Hope you are well …

[@storiesfromthecascina]

hi sabine! thank you for checking up on us! we have been spared. only a cloudy, misty day yesterday. grateful ❤️

[@jeanrichardson2044]

The metal toothed tool is a garden rake used for removing debris and smoothing the turned soil before sowing the seeds. An integral part of all serious, traditional gardeners tool kit.😊

[@storiesfromthecascina]

the tool that we found is definitely not a rake (should have included a close-up). it's a solid metal plate of about 30 by 15 cms in size. it's more like big hoe, but the plate is at a slightly different angle. never seen anything quite like it before.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

the tool that we found is definitely not a rake (should have included a close-up). it's a solid metal plate of about 30 by 15 cms in size. it's more like big hoe, but the plate is at a slightly different angle. never seen anything quite like it before.

[@christine2014]

@@storiesfromthecascina In my region of France, a similar-looking tool was used in the past to scrape off cow manure and bedding straw from the wooden boarded sections in the cow sheds where the cows spent the night. The manure/straw was scraped off the wooden section into a stone-lined channel where it could be scooped up with another tool into wheelbarrows and taken to the dung heap, or flushed out of the shed into the fields below using a clever system of water inlets, outlets and channels. That's why it's so good at scraping debris off a hard floor!

[@_PJW_]

It does look like a pig manure rake to me.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

that makes absolute sense! thanks for sharing ❤️

[@pattyseree]

Two things you need: a dust collection bag for the Delta chop saw so the dust doesn’t go all over the workshop, and a lawn cutting bag for the lawnmower so you don’t have to rake all that land after mowing. Glad to hear you plan to have sufficient firewood for winter! ❤

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we have a bag for the lawn mower, but we prefer not to use it 😊 you're absolutely right though about a dust collection bag for the chop saw! ❤️

[@lizstokes9091]

❤

[@virginiah557]

Curious… Besides the old stove, what do you burn the firewood in? I haven’t seen a fireplace.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Just the old stove. It heats the kitchen to a comfy 24-26 celsius.

[@MrNoncredo]

ma perché sprecare delle ottime tavole di legno, che costano tanti €, quando bastava unire dei pallett?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

questi tavoli non erano in buoni condizioni. molti presentavano crepe e danni da tarli. in precedenza venivano utilizzati per la colata di cemento.

[@frankn4618]

Firewood storage looked good... But it was pretty painful to watch those beams, looked to be oak, get cut up for the bottom of it. Save the good lumber, with that property and all those buildings one day you will need material like that.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

they were (a good quality) pine! ❤️ originally scaffolding planks. the thinner planks that we used for the uprights have been clearly used as casing for concrete. all of them have woodworm damage in varying degrees so no longer suitable for construction

[@axelschmidtke8421]

Do you two work remotely?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

isis works remotely as a coach for creative enterpreneurs, bertus is working on the renovation and editing our videos only.

[@axelschmidtke8421]

@@storiesfromthecascina Outstanding, I like you spirit. Your project is like attacking a mountain with only a shovel, but finishing a task (one day at a time) is the most satisfying feeling. I get it, coming from experience.

[@damdekmyhomeដំដែកផ្ទះខ្ញុំ]

Hello

[@JulieParisiArt]

Burning trees also releases carbon, so I don't think you are doing anything different than you would using your gas.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Hi Julie! Burning wood is generally considered carbon neutral, especially when the wood comes from sustainable local forestry and doesn't need to travel (actually the biggest downside about wood as fuel is the solid particles that it sends into the air, not the carbon). It is also a renewable heating source. And there's another factor: there are no wars fought over wood like there are over fossil fuel. While wood isn't a perfect heat source by any means, neither is solar energy (the production of panels also has environmental impact). Our intention is to work towards a setup that will be a mix of solar and wood for heating/energy - and of course over time ensuring that this house requires minimal heating. That said, we never stated that our choice for wood was solely for environmental reasons. Part of it is because it's more cost effective in our particular situation - and because we see it as not a worse choice than GPL/LPG.

[@UmaAuroville]

🙏🙏🙏🥰🥰🥰