We got our first real cold spell this week.  Saturday morning I woke up to a balmy 30 degrees to go in and work some overtime, checking our prescribed fires from the week before.  It warmed up to about 60, and although it was windy and we ended up having to pick up an 8 acre slopover, it was a pretty nice day.

Sunday was bitterly cold, about 20 degrees when I left my house and spitting snow all day.  I rode a quad a few miles down a powerline to make sure the trees near it were sound, and it took five minutes after I got back before my fingers had enough feeling to remove my helmet.  Good times.  I left early and headed home to make a big batch of venison chili and light a fire in the woodstove.  Nice.

Speaking of the woodstove, it burns wood at an alarming rate.  I was too busy this summer with work and kids and other projects to get much firewood collected.  I got four or five truck loads.  A truck load is approximately half a cord.  I estimate I’ll need at least six cords to make it through the winter using the woodstove.  It’s not the end of the world if we run out of firewood and have to rely on gas heat, but I like the idea of burning with wood, and I like the process of acquiring it.

Tomorrow I’m taking off work to cut as much wood as I can.  I’m thinking I can get at least five truck loads in a day, so if I take off Thursday I might be able to get enough to make it through the winter.  Should be a decent couple of days, and I’m not missing anything at work.  The snow and rain have put an end to our precribed fire.

That is all.