Most of the time, especially in the summer, I love the thought of wet wood.  I love the feel of wet wood.  The smell.  The sound.  Mmmmmmm.  You know what I mean.  Just close your eyes, and you're there.  "Oooo, wet wood.  How womantic!", as Madeline Kahn (RIP) might say.

But... with the winter fast approaching, so dark, so lonely, so cold...  We need as much warmth and good cheer as we can get, right?  If you're lucky, you've got a fireplace.  If you're luckier yet, you've got real wood to burn in that fireplace.  And if you're especially lucky, you've got real, DRY wood to burn.  Ahh, dry wood!  It catches a spark so easily.  It burns so perfectly.  It emits the purest aroma and the surest warmth.  And those sounds in the fire -- Smack!  Pop!  Rip!  Burst!  Ooo, the closer to the hearth, the better.

Is your wood ready for winter?  Is it ready to get lit?  Is it ready to catch fire and burn, burn, burn until it can burn no more?  I sure hope so.  But if it's not, don't despair.  You don't have to be Juraj Mikus to ensure the ideal fire.  Even if you live in a relatively moderate climate (ahem), you can take a few simple steps to assure that, come winter, your wood is ready to blaze, wet or dry:

http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/fuelproc.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_2192263_build-bonfire-from-wet-wood.html

http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howetwd.htm

and please do check out this message (from someone other than Tony Robbins):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXrmZV6y5q8&feature=related

Stay warm, my friends.