Notes at the beginning of Autumn.

 It is officially autumn now, and slowly but surely, we prepare for the coming winter.  It is the time of year when nights are getting longer as the temperature drops. While I find it rather comfortable, my wife would rather turn on the fire to warm her hands.

We are both getting older and the chill comes easily now.  

It is the time of year when the shadows are growing longer, spiders find themselves in the way and we find ourselves doing a silly dance in an effort to avoid getting them on us after walking into their homes.   Pumpkin spice is everywhere.  

I think about autumn as I lug the bags of wood pellets in one by one into my garage.   Last year we ordered four tons, or basically two hundred bags weighing 40 pounds (18.1 Kg) a piece.  Moved from outside the drive to the inside of the garage and restacked, over and over again.  It needs done.  We used three and a half of those tons.   This year I only ordered three tons.

Sadly, our home, which was built in the 1970's, did not have any ductwork or central heating or cooling.  It's primary system of heating the home was an old wood fireplace and dispersing the heat through heat resistant bricks and an old attic-based exhaust fan.   Turn it on and basically suck the heat out of the den (the lowest part of the house) and into the rest of the rooms.    In summer, it's the same idea!  Turn it on in the chilled morning air is pulled into the house cooling it.  In the winter, we use that fan to pull the heat up into the rust of the house.   We need to be careful however not to leave it on too long, as then the heat from the pellet stove can be completely lost.  

I love the simplicity of it, and it says much about the former owners and their commitment to using nature to their advantage.   We rarely, if ever, use the electric baseboard heating.  The way the house is oriented gives us a lot of natural light and passive solar heat, the house was well insulated to keep it cool in summer and warm in winter.  Even the landscaping was done in such a way to allow the water to drain away from the home.   

There are problems with wood pellets, however. first off is their moisture sensitivity.  They can swell and even form "blocks" of pellets if wet.  Not only can that cause problems in the stove but clearly cut into the total effectiveness of the bag.  In the end we ended up exchanging some 28 bags for "drier" bags.  They also require significant storage space.   As most of our small garage is now holding pellets.  They are "renewable" in that it takes a good 20 to 30 years for the trees to be replenished.  That's one of the many reasons I am trying to plant native plants in my yard and surrounding areas.  

A small drop in the bucket, but it's an effort to leave something better than I found it.

When I planted a Bur Oak tree in the summer, even though I know that I will not be alive to see its full glory, I planted it in such a way that hopefully it will provide shade to the home, or whatever shelter replaces my home.  Shade that will help cool any future residents in a hotter future.   

I still have a few trees that I need to replant, My PawPaw is growing rapidly, and I am very tempted to replant it where it sits today but that is a little too close to the house.  I also have a persimmon that I would like to replant, and it's looking healthy but really has not grown that much as compared to the PawPaw. I was hoping to plant them both before the first frost but may wait until the spring now.   

There is also a young oak that is growing in a good spot but is too close to my shed, so I need to move that little guy as well.   

It's going to be winter soon and if I'm being honest with myself, it's not something that I am looking forward too, and I really do need to get those plants in the ground sooner than later.  

All the while I have no idea what the weather will be like, only that this entire month has been rainy, and I find ourselves "prepping" for something.  Like there is something out their hiding in the morning mist, waiting.  I was standing in line at the store the other day, chatting with some strangers.  Someone said something about "if we have a government in two years."   That idea hit home.

I still feel somewhat disappointed in myself that the summer got away from me, and even though a bit was accomplished, there is still more to do.  There is always more to do.  However, there is a quote from a series of books that I am reading that have summed up my current situation for me:  "It's okay to be a work in progress."

I have to prioritize my work.