Start browsing real estate websites, and you'll discover how difficult it is to find a new or a modern home with a wood-burning fireplace. At best, you'll find a gas fireplace with fake logs. Gone is the ritual of lighting the fire, the smell of burning birch bark… you get the gist. No electronic imitation can replace a real fire. How wonderful it was to watch the dancing flames and let your thoughts drift away like smoke from the fireplace... I'm so sad that I can no longer hear the crackling sound of burning wood.