This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

Staying Warm

March 4th, 2014

Our big wood pile in the basement has been dwindling.  With the cold snap we’ve been having (-5 this morning).  We still have the two holz hausens we built last year that we haven’t started using yet.
firwood 3
Yesterday we went out and grabbed some wood from one of them and brought it into the basement. Now we should have enough to get us through for a few more weeks.
firewood
Any day now it will start warming up a bit. It’s amazing how much less fire wood you use when it’s in the twenties outside verses the single digits. Our plans to get a year ahead on firewood are still on track and hopefully after this spring we’ll be most of the way there.

What’s the thermometer say outside your window this morning?

14 Comments to “Staying Warm”
  1. daisy on March 4, 2014 at 6:38 am

    Those wood piles are like works of art! That’s impressive that you will be a year ahead on wood.

    It’s a balmy 64 this morning in Central Florida.

    Reply to daisy's comment

  2. Ilene on March 4, 2014 at 7:25 am

    Wow! What a cool way to stack firewood. You kids are sure smart, resourceful, and creative.

    Reply to Ilene's comment

  3. Henry on March 4, 2014 at 8:22 am

    We had -11 this morning. We are a little more than half way through our wood pile, but this time of the year our house gets an incredible amount of solar gain, such that on a sunny day even if it is in the single digits we let our fire go out for most of the day.
    Hopefully we will end the winter with about a 1/4 to a 1/3 of our wood left and I have already started cutting next years.

    Reply to Henry's comment

    • Susy on March 4, 2014 at 9:22 am

      Our house is very similar with the heat gain from the sun. It’s amazing how the sun being just a bit higher in the sky makes such a huge difference in the amount of wood you use!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  4. DebbieB on March 4, 2014 at 9:33 am

    37! We had a cold front come through Sunday night. We’ll be back up in the upper 60’s this weekend, though.

    Happy Mardi Gras! Today is Fat Tuesday, and New Orleans is in party-mode. It’s not going to be a very nice day for the parader-goers, though – it’s overcast and we’re supposed to have rain on and off all day. I haven’t been to the parades in years – got that out of my system when my kids were little. I feel bad for the tourists and the locals who have worked hard on their floats – it’ll be a mess out there today. I plan to stay indoors with my spinning wheel and my new baby seedlings, so I won’t notice the difference. :)

    Reply to DebbieB's comment

  5. Nebraska Dave on March 4, 2014 at 9:42 am

    Susy, we have a balmy 12 degrees this morning with relatively clear skies so the sun will be shining brightly today on its climb up to 35 which is veritable beach weather compared to the 25 below wind chills over the weekend. Thursday promises to bring another 50 degree day then be above freezing on through the 10 day forecast during the day. I’m hoping the polar vortex has gone back to the polar and the southern breezes will start warming things up.

    Not many folks heat with wood in Nebraska. Trees are man planted for wind breaks and the ones that grow wild are along creek banks and river bluffs to keep soil erosion under control. Nebraska has the only man made National forest that I know of. It was planted over 100 years years ago in the sand hills of Nebraska. It’s about 25,000 acres with trees on just a portion of it. The planting started back in 1891 by the Federal Division of Forestry as an experiment on a ranch owned by two brothers. The forest was given the status of being a reserve in 1906 by president Theodore Roosevelt and in 1908 became the Nebraska National Forest. It’s quite a treat to camp there. The Dismal river provides some water recreation as it gurgles along it’s path to the mighty Platte river and then into the Mighty MO (Missouri River). I’ve been there just once to experience what man and nature can accomplish together.

    Have a great day thinking about warm Spring weather.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  6. Deb on March 4, 2014 at 9:52 am

    0* for a low and 5* at 8 AM. Have used about twice the wood as last year, but we always have it cut ahead. never knoww hen something happens so we need to keep up. Hubby and I cut 8 days last spring in my parents woods. many trees down from Derecho of 2012 and just ones dying and such. Sometimes we cut dead ones down to get to others. No one else cuts from their woods but us. We did ourselves and I had many achy muscles for several days after. We would cut 2 or3 days in a row and then take a break as hubby had grad. school and was job hunting. had to quit due to crops in the field next to the woods. We have heated with wood 29 oif our 31 winters being married, so it’s about all I know. But great heat and great in power outages too. Wouldn’t do different until we are unable to cut.

    Reply to Deb's comment

  7. Dan on March 4, 2014 at 9:56 am

    5f here this morning. This winter has been too cold!

    Reply to Dan's comment

  8. Janice on March 4, 2014 at 4:27 pm

    A balmy -18C this morning. We are slowly warming up. We have been in the -30s for so long this does seem balmy. It’s nice and sunny and supposed to get to the minus single digits by the end of the week! Yea!! From Alberta, Canada

    Reply to Janice's comment

  9. Reid on March 4, 2014 at 6:08 pm

    5…ABOVE ZERO for once! this is about the 4th coldest winters on record for us in MN.

    Reply to Reid's comment

  10. Songbirdtiff on March 5, 2014 at 9:45 am

    We have had everything from 60’s to sub-zero wind chills in theblast week or so. I prefer the 60’s!

    Reply to Songbirdtiff's comment

  11. Tom Wolfe on March 5, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    A balmy -18C. Finally starting to warm up.

    Reply to Tom Wolfe's comment

  12. Tom Wolfe on March 5, 2014 at 11:13 pm

    Looks like I’m not the only Albertan here!

    Canmore, AB

    Reply to Tom Wolfe's comment

  13. elizabeth on March 14, 2014 at 10:25 pm

    We used a lot of wood this winter in Montana, I think we’ll have used about 10 cords by the time it is over.

    Reply to elizabeth's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin
Read previous post:
Cultivate Simple 67: Good Morning and Good Bye

Tips for brewing a great cup of coffee!  We roast our own beans, head on over to see the process...

Close