Still enjoying my daily campfires in the living room

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NextEndeavor

NextEndeavor

Burning Hunk
Jan 16, 2011
248
Southern Iowa
Continuing the burn’n, mostly because I like messing with campfires. Being the first one up around here, waking to a 66 – 68 degree house, I’ve been firing up the cold stove most mornings in April. Lows have been mid 30s to mid 40s with highs about 70. By the time she gets up we’re at 72 or more and climbing. A small load of fuel goes long enough for mother nature’s warms to carry us through the day. At any rate, probably wouldn’t even worry about the house temp this time of year …. But it’s fun and free! Heck I even fired up the log splitter to break down some winter sized overnight burning fuel to this shoulder season size. Maybe I just wanted to listen to the Honda run too. I’m done putting up wood for next season already and needed an excuse to use the Northstar.
 
There have been four nights this year I haven't had at least an evening fire. Today was the first day following one of those nights I haven't had one in the morning. I'm ready for summer.
 
We still have fires but not 24 hours steady. We also hit 70 degrees yesterday. Hooray! But this morning I got up and started a small fire and then did not add anything to it. The stove is cooling now but we will probably have an overnight fire for the next several nights as we'll be in the 30's. It may not be a full load for the stove but a medium sized load and then just let it go out.
 
It was nice yesterday here too Dennis and raining today. Temp was 50 when I got up, now it's 47. If it drops another 2 degrees, I'll be firing up the stove.
 
BeGreen, you will be happy to find that some folks around here have mowed their lawns for the first time. We probably won't have to mow for at least another week or two though. We're even starting to see some green in some of the trees so the leaves are beginning to form. Lilacs will probably blossom within a week or so, I hope. Dandelions all over the place. Spring is here!
 
I haven't burned in almost 3 weeks now. I broke down the area around the stove and did some cleaning the other day. I would rather use a small room heater in case it gets chilly vs. firing up a load of wood. I know in a couple weeks I'll get a 'missing it' (like being home sick) kind of feeling and want to start it up. Before you know it it will be the end of October early November and here we go again. OH, BTW...I sharpened the lawnmower blade saturday and cut the lawn for the first time. It is spring in southern Mass.
 
Talk’n frost here tonight! Very few coals left at this point from this morning’s small house warming party of fuel. Before bed time I’ll have the kindling and larger fuel setting in there ready to go for about a 4 hour burn quick as I get up before work. Takes about 10 seconds with the little propane torch, then real heat in about 15 minutes. Gotta have it warm when the wife gets up, (helps me to justify the expense of the stove installation) not counting the recreational benefits. I often step outside right when the heat starts pouring out ….. just to get a whiff of the campfire. Sometimes, depending on the wind, I may even have to chase the smell around to the back side of the house. Guess I am hooked on this past time. Weird, I’ve mowed the lawn twice and still heating the house. Even weirder, I keep the chainsaw blade sharp yet don’t pay too much attention to the mower blade.
 
I've finally stopped burning with the temperatures in the 70 now and even a little warmer in a few days. Time to air out the house and open the windows! Looking at the long range weather charts, though, it looks like cooler air will return so I'm probably not done for the year yet.
 
I'm pretty much done! I'll load a couple more small over night loads as needed but I'll let the furnace handle most of the load from here on out. I refuse to burn too much in May, that will only leave June, July and August for off months! :lol:
 
The cold spring here won't quit. Lows in lower 30's, highs in the 40's today. Cloudy skies.
House warm and toasty from wood heat.

I was splitting wood up on the hillside last night as the sun starting going down, thinking about
starting a small campfire with splitting scraps. My wife yelled up at me that she wanted the fire
in the inside of the house.
 
Down to occasional burning now . . . sometimes I don't burn at all . . . sometimes morning and night . . . sometimes just morning or just night.
 
Thought I was done...but we've had some cold nights for this time of year. 15F right now at 6:30 a.m. I didn't make a fire last night and the house is cold!
 
I'm mostly just burning for fun now. Got a few barrels of kiln dried wood and a new screen for my firelight to mess with. Just enough to have a cozy crackling.. but not enough to need to flip the CAT. I'll probably have some indoor campfires this summer with the windows wide open.. I wouldn't want my stove to get dusty.
 
Still burning occassionally. One day it is 70 and the next it is 40. In the 30's tonight. I love burning wood, but I hate starting a fire. I am ready to take a break.
 
Well we burned way more wood this past winter than I expected, so I ran out about a month ago. I'm usually ready by now to be done with starting fires anyhow, normaly let the propane handle the spring shoulder season. If I had some more dry wood I'd probably still build some fires on the colder nights though.
 
geez, it was 39F here this morning, so I started a fire. Where can you look up where the last frost should be in your area?
 
Ask a gardener, they should know. Around here they say mothers day, but this year it hasnt frosted in... i dont even know, maybe 3 weeks atleast? Maybe more...
 
That sounds right. Mother's Day is when they start selling the hanging baskets around here, but I recall still having to bring them in.
 
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