Prepping for Winter

This weekend saw the motorcycle go to storage, the lawnmowers go likewise.  The tiller is put away.  The cool old Royal Scotsman bicycle is stored.  The Maxima is back in the garage where winter can't get at it so easily.
But we still have things to do.  We have not yet fired up the wood stove, and all the firewood is still out behind the garage.  There is still plenty of wood to split.  Work still to do.  Our plan is to bring a significant pile of wood into the three-season porch where we can load up without getting our boots on.
We'll see how things go as the days unfold.  Cold is coming (but not today).

First Fire

All through the summer, back into spring, back to last winter and beyond, and even now, as winter rolls in and the roads and fields finally turn white with snow, I've been stocking up for the cold, stacking wood, splitting, stacking again into the back yard.  And now it's time to fire up the stove, finally, and turn that wood into heat for the house.  And for Walter, the old dog whose big trick is to find the warmest place in the warmest room.  Now he can find a spot that's too warm for even him.  He won't go to the edge of the fire, creep too near the stove.
We've had such good weather coming into this winter that a fire in the stove hasn't seemed right, so the big heater has stayed cool until last night, when the right thing seemed to be, bring the ash can and log holder up from the basement, lay the fire tools near the stove, bring newspapers in to get the ball rolling, gather up kindling to be the first to flame, then add the first logs to the fire.  Fast forward an hour or so and the stove is blazing and the thermometer, set at 70 degrees, now shows the room to be at 75.  Finally, the payoff for cutting, hauling, splitting, stacking, bringing into the house.  Walter, now snoring by the fire, seems thankful.

From Tree to Flame

The back yard has been noisy many evenings as I've been busy making big blocks of wood into small blocks of wood.  The wood splitter has a new engine, and it's been working well, making the process much smoother with a steady, reliable power plant.

As the winter comes on, we'll move the wood to a handier spot near the back door and begin the winter-long process of feeding our nifty wood stove and enjoying the wood as it transforms from fuel into heat.  I love it when the wood is finally aflame, and I'm relaxing in the radiant glow.

Better Day--It Only FEELS Like 21 Below

The sun comes up after our snowstorm

Northwest wind at 16, temp at zero.  That's better than yesterday, when things were much worse.  The wife and I did get out and about just a little--some grocery shopping, some lunch at El Vaquero, and mailing a package.  I went out again myself for another shopping spree (groceries only), and a stop at my mom's, but that was plenty for a very wintery day, and  I was glad to come home, stoke the fire, and settle back in for work on some Christmas gifts and school.

Tiling Done, Fire Blazing

We got the stove back in tonight after finally laying the tile.  There's still work to be done on the stove situation, but the stove is in and no damage to the new tile.  

Thanks to Justin and Pat for helping move the stove out.  Thanks to Justin for helping move it back again this evening.  Thanks especially go to Donna (who helped pick out tile and grout colors), Joe, and Megan for coming and helping lay tile.  And of course, many thanks forever to the wife, who laid into the grout last night and had a vision of what it all could be.  

Clearly, Walter is thankful too.  

Soon the carpet will be tacked down, trim and mantel put up, and (hopefully) tin will be laid behind the stove.