25 FEB 07
The firewood pile and winter look as
though they'll be finished at about the same time this year. This is not
what usually happens. I usually start cutting too late and winter does not
end soon enough.
What is fueling the stove this
winter is mostly the big beech tree we cut last year out of fear the dying tree
would fall on the house. The wood pile was supplemented by wood hauled
from a friend's building site and, most recently, but the wood from the dead
tree a neighbor cut on our property by mistake.
The thermostat is in the hall near the cathedral-ceilinged front room and we keep it at 63 during heating months. Paddle fans in the front room--one on the stove side of the room driving up and the other driving down--keep the air circulating and don't allow all the heat to settle near the ceiling. A fan at the back of the house in the hall drives cold air from the bedrooms into the front room. The result is a comfortable living area and a tolerable sleeping temperature. Electric heaters take the chill out of the air in the bathrooms.
I don't know how much the stove reduces our electric bill, but that isn't the main reason for having a fire. A fire makes the house feel more like a mountain cabin and less like the factory-built house that it is.