英语博客：A stack for winter.

　　We used to have a large pine tree in our front garden. It was a very tall, old one. It was planted about thirty years ago, but last year, we decided¹ to cut it down. I wouldn't normally agree to chop down a tree, but this one was yucky. Half of one side of it had no branches, and it looked weak. My husband and I are really into trees, and really into planting them, so we had a plan of filling in the area with new pine trees. I found it hard to imagine what the front garden would look like once our shade giving old pine was gone. We need shade in this area, so I hesitated at first. However, I know how enthusiastic my husband is about getting a permit each year to go up into the mountains to dig up trees for our garden. I imagined that the area left by the old pine would soon be filled in with many more trees, and probably healthier ones as well. And I was right. The new trees are growing fast, creating shade, smelling and looking great, and givng the impression of a mini forest. So, what did we do with the old tree? The same thing that a lot of people do around here. You see, we need trees for the shade in summer, but we need wood to burn in the freezing winters. So, our need for winter wood has been met. With the help of a good friend who used to be a forest ranger², Tom cut up the old pine into large logs for our fireplace³. Both of them used chain saws. It was a noisy process, but exciting at the same time. The front area of our garden smelt⁴ like pine and smoke for a while, as the tree was getting chopped up. Now we have an organized pile of wood, sitting next to our garage, ready for when winter comes. Our boys are big enough now, that we can ask them to run out and each get a log so that we can build a fire in the fireplace in the evenings. As we sit and watch the fire dance, and hear the wood crack, we can remember the old pine, and look forward to our new mini forest getting taller and thicker.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: to hesitate, a permit, to give an impression, fireplace.
1. He hesitated before asking for help; for a moment he thought that he could handle the problem by himself.
2. You have to get a permit from the forest ranger before you dig up trees.
3. They gave me the impression that they are not from around here.
4. The hotel's fireplace was huge, made of rough stone, and with a massive⁵ mantlepiece.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

3 fireplace   

n.壁炉，炉灶

参考例句：

• The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。
• I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。

4 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

5 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。