3 times

They say a woodstove warms you 3 times. Falling the tree, splittinging (and stacking), and burning the wood. 
Splitting wood with or without a log splitters is hard work. Today I quickly volunteered to help.  By volunteer I mean it made my weekend and the child in me needed to be pulled away from the wood pile kicking and screaming. Despite the abundance of help, 4 men/2 ladies, log splitting is tough work. A continuous flow of logs need to be rolled to each splitter and the split logs moved and stacked (or thrown in a pile to be loaded and trailered at a later date).  There weren't any plaid wearing folk playing lumberjack in those woods, just hoodie and glove wearing men and woman on a mission. Warmth.

Log splitting hint: keep the guy or gal splitting happy by being one step ahead of the game. Be mindful of their wood supply and provide logs within arms reach of the splitter. This prevents them from having to get up and fetch their own. Bonus if you're there to help roll it in place.

The thought of good old fashioned chopping is romantic, but the reality is log splitters don't get tired. One might argue they are loud gas powered machines doing work that any able bodied person is capable of, which is true...but so are the trucks that will haul the wood home. This manner of heating a home can be sustainable through good woodlot management and greatly decreases the homes dependence on electric or gas powered heat. Pairing nature and man power with modern technology can be a beautifully efficient process.