January thaw

It’s not as if we’ve had a cold winter so far, but the weather folks are still calling this our January thaw. The last couple of days have been mid-forties mild and today we’re expected to reach the mid-fifties, maybe even close to sixty degrees. More of the same until Sunday when the temps will dip back into the 30s. Still not exactly cold for the deep part of January. As far as any extended forecasts go, there’s nothing through the end of January that looks like real winter cold. Mostly day time temps in the upper thirties to mid-forties.

From the house heating perspective, this has been a gift. I’m almost halfway through my wood supply for the season and conserving wood is high on my list of priorities right now. This pattern can’t hold indefinitely. At some point in February, we’re bound to run into frigid temperatures. In the past 6 days, I’ve only burned the stove a couple of times. It has been too warm outside to keep a fire burning constantly. Monday night was the last time I had a fire in the stove. It’s been warm enough outside for the house to maintain heat. It’s not our usual tee-shirt warm in the house, but a sweater and jeans have been more than adequate.

Well, it’s been a lesson learned for next year. Three cords of wood, instead of two. I don’t want to spend next winter counting sticks of wood, trying to calculate how long they’ll last.