Bringin' up da Wood

[SwampDonkey]

That reminds me, in 1981 February was the warmest on record in these parts (you won't hear about that from alarmists) and the bristly locusts (we call them acacia locally) all leaved out because it never froze, average low temp was 34 F. In March it turned cold and killed them all stone dead. I cut them down that spring. Down at grandmothers about 1/2 mile away, they also died, but they came back off root suckers like aspen will do. The old people planted them around this area for the flowers 150 years ago. They are not all that winter hardy, not like a lilac is. To note, it's never been that mild here ever since.

Summer photo for context.

[Magicman]

OK it is the forecast 27° this morning and yup,  


 
I lit the final flicker for this Winter.  

[SwampDonkey]

Had a fire here this morning, 18F. But the sun is out now and so is the fire. A window is up until this evening when I build an evening smudge. ;D

[Southside]

Was 19F for a low this morning here, 81F on Friday per the weather guessers. 

[Magicman]

We are now up to 34°


 
And the last fire of the Winter is doing quite well with a nice bed of coals. 

[Magicman]

The coals were about gone by noon and it is now 55° outside. 

Good bye Winter !!!  8)

[Don P]

I just threw on another log down below, I'm splitting and running wood up to the shed for next year, 20 this morning but its almost whipped. Uhh the porch floor paint I did in the box truck yesterday,  the chemists say everything dries, eventually  :D.

[SwampDonkey]

55F is still on the cool side for taking a shower. :D

[cutterboy]

MM, I can feel the warmth from the coals in your picture.

[Magicman]

Thank you cutter .  Yes that last burn was quite nice and the only firewood is in da woodshed, so I am done for the Winter. 

We have 86° forecast for Thursday and yes, we will still get some "nippy" weather but the cold should be gone.

[rjwoelk]

9 below the last 2 mornings, have had no above freezing yet.  Full go with the wood stoves.

[Magicman]

I hadn't even clicked on this thread yet this fall, because I know that "Bringin up da' wood" by Magicman is going to be a short story😊

Burt, That was last year and this is this year.  You can now rest easy because....


 I just brought up da wood which should last until the New Year.  The forecast says that we will probably be into the low 40's later this week.  Yikes!!!

[Old Greenhorn]

 :D :D :D That is cute. Good for a chuckle every yea, and I am just a tad jealous that I can't get away with that. The again, I would not want to swap summers with you grits guys either. ;D



 

 The photo above is back in September, since than I have filled that area making about 5 cord. This is the house pile and I have about the same for the shop pile and still adding more. The house gets the perfect wood, the shop gets all the junk plus whatever good wood I can find. I just this week burned up a bunch of pithy semi-rotted stuff to get rid of it  and it was a pain to regulate the stove, needing a lot more air for a clean burn with less heat output, but the afternoons warmed up, so I could still regulate it well enough, to keep the shop at 70 for my finishes to cure, but some nights it burned right out before dawn.
 I started our first fire on the season in the house stove tonight. Same date as last year.

[barbender]

 Yes, I'd rather pile wood than have those 5 t-shirt days. By that I mean, the days where you have to change your sweaty t-shirt for a new one 5 times🥵

 We've been having a beautiful stretch of weather this November, it must've got to nearly 50° today. Sounds pleasant again for tomorrow, and then highs in the 20's the rest of the week😬

[SwampDonkey]

Had a heavy blizzard yesterday afternoon leaving a dusting of snow. In the morning it was clear and no wind. Clear here right now to, 28F.

Here's another 8 cord for next winter, and I have 11 cords all dry and stacked for this winter. The pile is nice and handy to where I stack in April. ;D Two years worth of wood has a nice feeling. ;)

[Magicman]

That makes my 1/3 cord look puny but then I burn less than a cord per year. 

[Hilltop366]

I'm happy to cut more fire wood than have weeks of 100° weather.  ;)

I burn about 4 or 5 cords per year if all hardwood but often collect some softwood too if the tree is dying or needs to be removed.



 

Mostly spruce on top but there is a bunch of maple and beech under it.

Unlikely I will burn all of this but I have another cord or more of hardwood blocked up to be split for insurance if needed in the spring.

I have burned about 1/3 of a cord of fir (the empty rack in the foreground) so far.

[SwampDonkey]

I've burnt 2 pallets of firewood stacked 7 feet high so far. ;D Was out most of the morning walking before daylight and it was a cold wind at 27F. Walked about 10 miles up to the woodlot and out the trails. Only seen coyote and coon tracks. About 5 coyotes together by the looks of it, in fresh snow. The fire feels nice now and a handwoven mohair throw feels not too bad either. It has since become cloudy and looking to west is the beginning of snow falling from the sky on the Masardis hills. Cold nastiness. We go from clear skies to blizzard here awfully easy. Did same yesterday for weather. :D

[Magicman]

OK Guys, this has reached a grave situation of the utmost importance!!  Wednesday the Weather Predictor Gal forecast 14°.  Now she has retracted and is forecasting 13° 12° Yikes !!!

I am quite sure that you Glaciated Guys are at fault because that is where all of this frigid stuff originates.  I do sincerely appreciate that you have not added that "ice cream" fluff to the mix.

Soooo.....


 
This afternoon I had to wheelbarrow another week's supply of firewood up and add it to my  porch supply. 


 
I clearly had a full Winter's supply neatly stacked and ready and now everything is messed up.   :

[sawguy21]

13 degrees? Boy youse guys really have it tough! :D -19C right now (2F) and the Ram diesel still won't talk to me. The electric baseboard heaters aren't keeping me comfortable. :'(

[doc henderson]

better take the plants in Lynn.  It is 12° here now and Dallas and I just got back from Bomgaars, and I did throw on a jacket.  If youo stack it higher, it might keepthe snow from drifting your doors shut.  My old boss Kenny Skeels used to have a saying when it was cold.  Something about colder than a witches something or others in a brass bra!

[KEC]

I would think that a doc would know that what you are referencing is known as a mammary gland. Not good when they freeze. We've been getting a fair amount of above freezing temps and my wood supply is behind. So I'm not keeping a constant fire. Next week they predict temps in the lower teens so I'll fire it up and feed it some big pieces of good hardwood.

[doc henderson]

we have a minus 10 predicted in a few nights, with wind chill of - 25.  Yes I have some idea what they are, and what Kenny called them rhymed with biddies.  So, if I get in trouble, it is your fault KEC         

[Magicman]

I surrender !!  For me, Cold is like a race to the bottom and certainly one that I do not want to win.   

[doc henderson]

This is dangerous cold and we will have injuries and poss. death.  folks start fires using electric heater in bad locations/cluttered room.  or a gas or propane heater in the house and carbon monoxide poisoning.  or exposure outside, and poss. slip and fall and cannot get up.  not good to be living alone, elderly or ignorant.  our wind chill is -22 this am.