7 days till Christmas and...

[Whitespider]

...I still haven't bothered to turn the back-up LP furnace on. Compared to what I burned last year by this time, I've barely touched my firewood supply. I was sure all the standing-dead elm and blow-down stuff would be near used up by now and I'd be bringing in the oak. I've hardly touched the pile of oak end-cuts and odds & ends. Looks like I'll easily make it through January before all the "lesser" wood in my basement will be consumed... and if it stays relatively mild I could easily make it well into February. Heck, except for a handful of days a couple weeks ago, I'm still not burning 24/7... just a fire in the morning and one in the evening.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not complaining. Every stick I don't burn this year puts me that much further ahead for the next several. It's not that we don't have cold nights (overnight lows in the teens and low 20's, a few single digits), but the daily sunshine and/or lack of our normal wind just don't cool the house off during the day. Sure, we have the coldest months yet to arrive, but if November and December are any indication...

So where is all this horrible weather predicted by the long-range weather "experts"?

 

[bluestem]

Something about a "Greenland Block"...

I'm with you Spider, this weather has me wondering if the ground is going to freeze this winter!! I'm sure we will get a good cold snap here in a couple weeks but it sure would be nice to get that one good storm to set us up with 6" of the white stuff. We finally got more than a dusting here yesterday but I'm sure it will all melt today. The weather guys here in Chicago were talking about the lack of a "Greenland Block" in the jetstream the other day, it's always interesting to follow these guys and see what else they come up with that influences our weather, seems like something new every couple years, la nina, el nino, Greenland block....

I will not complain about the light wood usage though, I hear about the dead elm, it's lasting well beyond when I figured it would run out!

 

[LumberjkChamp]

I am also wondering where all the below average temps. and above normal frequency and severity of storms are hiding. Our November and early December have been like the normal October. Shoot, only this morning have we had our lowest temp. this season. A lousy two degrees. I was hoping we could do better that that. This time last year our highs barely made it out of the single digits. Still, it felt good to really crank the stove with some nice wood for a change. Up until now I've been burning my lighter density woods. But, it wasn't even cold enough to require a early morning filling.

I hope things will get back to normal. I hate using all my shoulder season wood only to wish I had saved it for January.

 

[Whitespider]

Hmmmmm..... Ground is froze here, but no snow on the ground. Very few days have gone above freezing over the last couple weeks... but, in my book, anything above 25[sup]o[/sup] is mild for this time of year.

 

[LumberjkChamp]

Hmmmmm..... Ground is froze here, but no snow on the ground. Very few days have gone above freezing over the last couple weeks... but, in my book, anything above 25[sup]o[/sup] is mild for this time of year.

Agreed. The ground is also frozen where I'm at. The only issue is when we get a warm spell it warms more than it should. I was just looking at the seven day forecast, more rain/snow showers and high temps. possibly in the upper thirty's.

 

[olyman]

So where is all this horrible weather predicted by the long-range weather "experts"?[/QUOTE]

are you saying,,goreBULL the liar,,has it wrong???? give him another few days,,and he will get it right...................................................................

 

[bluestem]

We saw nearly 2 inches of rain last Wednesday and everything here is still soup, can barely walk across the lawn without making foot prints. Looks like more of the same for the coming week as well. Not looking good for a white Christmas in the Midwest at least.

 

[stumpy75]

The ground here is soggy, with near record rainfall. I have used just over 1/3 of a full cord so far, but there was a two week period in November that I didn't burn at all (a bout of the shingles and warm weather...). Still, all in all, it's been a very warm start to the winter so far.

 

[Da83moon]

Here in Chattanooga it's been very wet. It seems to rain every week. Look like a wet Christmas here. I have been working to get some oak that the strong winds in the spring blew down.

 

[russhd1997]

It has been mild here too. Just moved the first loads of the December pile up to the OWB today. It looks like i won't be touching the January pile until mid to late January. The ground is just starting to freeze here. I hope that it stiffens up enough so that I can start twitching out some more of next years wood next weekend. It has been really muddy in the woods here.

 

[redheadwoodshed]

The almanac called for a mild dry winter and cooler wet summer.In the south at least.Uncanny.

 

[genesis5521]

...I still haven't bothered to turn the back-up LP furnace on.

I'm in Northern Wisconsin. My LP furnace is always set at 45 degrees, but it never kicks in. I only use 200 gallons of LP a year, and that's for cooking. I heat entirely with wood using a decorative indoor wood burner in my living room. It heats the whole house nicely. Burn 15 face cords a winter. I've got a small (1200 sq ft) manufactured home which is really well insulated. I haven't used quite as much wood this year as I did last year at this time.

Don <><