Thrifty from Christchurch writes,
“To get a head start on winter, I started collecting pine cones in December from local parks and public places where there are pine trees. The best time to go collecting is after a Northwester, as hundreds of cones are blown off the trees. I have 12 large sackfuls so far for my fire. I also collect branches and twigs over the summer that have either fallen off or come from when I prune my trees. I save everything for kindling. I already have eight boxes of kindling which means I won’t have to buy expensive kindling.” Good squirrel work Thrifty, well done!