It’s cool/cold out now. How cold? Well, it depends on your perspective. If you come from some place really cold, today’s not cold at all. If you come from someplace tropical, today’s really cold. The temperature today is a low of 1°C with a high of about 8°C. Not so bad, but this makes for a cold house if you aren’t moving around a lot.

And that’s where the wood stove comes in. Just before dinner tonight I got the fire going. It takes a while, but eventually most of the house warms up. The temperature gauge on the stove is showing the temperature to be about 200°C. Not bad! A fire that hot means that the wood is burning well, creating little smoke going out from the chimney and little creosote inside the chimney. It also allows the second floor to heat up to around 22°C.

Is it a lot of work to maintain the wood stove? You bet! Do I like having the wood stove? You bet! The smell (what little of the wood smoke there is) is natural and nice. The view of the wood burning is mesmerizing. The sound of the fire burning (only when you have the door open) is the sound of the power of fire. And the heat. Ahhhhh! Natural, warm and comforting. Warm thoughts to you!