The old Ye olde Yule log was literally the biggest log you could drag home and one end hung well out into the hearth room. As the celebration passed the hearth master would feed the log further into the fire as it burned. Well, for those of us burning in a woodstove, this would not be the greatest idea. So I've been thinking, how can this tradition be updated for modern times? Well, here is what I came up with... The new Yule log- measure the feed opening and firebox depth to calculate the biggest log size that your stove can accept. Find as hard of a wood as you can that is bigger than the dimensions that you calculated and then noodle the log down into a cube about 1 inch smaller than each of the measurements you found earlier. Drill a series of approximately 1/2" holes into the log as deep as you can without going through. Let the log dry, setting up a solar kiln might be a good idea. A week or so before you want to burn your log, put a mixture of wax and sawdust (and maybe a little ash from last years Yule log) into the holes and then coat the whole log with wax. This could be done by sitting the log on the dinning room table as a centrepiece and placing candles in the holes if you leave a little room at the top of the holes for the candles. If you want, red and green confetti cod be sprinkled on whilst the wax is still wet. You would then rotate it until all the sides are covered. Finally,'when you are ready to burn your Yule log place it atop a thin layer of hot coals and hope for the best!
