Spruce Fireplace

The crisp crackling of the warm fireplace puts your aching frozen toes at ease, knowing that once again they have survived the wailing winds of winter and avoided the onset of the cold's most feared effect, frostbite. Tuning into the orange glow of the dancing flames also spurs within you another kind of warmth. One that goes beyond the mere melody of wood burning, or the safety that light and flame bring, but a deep primal instinct that no person on earth can avoid nor claim to themselves. Spruces are large trees, from 20–60 metres (66–200 ft) tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical form. Spruce is one of the most important woods for paper uses, as it has long wood fibres which bind together to make strong paper. Because this species has no insect or decay resistance qualities after logging, it is generally recommended for construction purposes as indoor use only. Spruce wood, when left outside can not be expected to last more than 12–18 months depending on the type of climate it is exposed to. Scientists have found Norway Spruce in the mountains in western Sweden, nicknamed Old Tjikko, which at an age of 9,550 years are claimed to be the world's oldest known living trees. This sound uses the following file from Freesound: http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=113755