A Political Addict Prepares for Winter

My wife says I’m a political addict. Looked at objectively, I am exactly what she says. I work in my living room, with my “drug” dealers with me at all times. The TV is tuned to one or more 24-hour news channels. My laptop is signed onto one or more discussion threads on politics. And Lord knows that these days, there are more than enough political tidbits that cry out for attention this week.

But it is fall, and more important business is afoot. The front yard is filled with dozens of tree “rings”: sections of the trunk of an oak tree, a two feet around at the base, that are roughly 18 inches high. Put through a wood splitter, these will fit even the smallest of our eight wood stoves. That one’s in Miranda’s room. She’s 11, but she’s learned how to build and tend a fire on her own.

Did I mention that I am probably the only person you know who heats his house entirely with wood? Did I mention that, when the temperature is down and the wind is up, the wind chill here can drop to 30 degrees below zero? Staying warm here on Kettle Rock Mountain is serious business.

Except you in most of California, the southern edge of America, and Florida, you know how nature announces the change of season in mid-fall. Shortly after the leaves have begun to change their colors, a day arrives when there is a snap in the air. Not just the fallen leaves, but the air itself becomes crisp. You go outside on that special day and the air is sharp, the equivalent of biting into a Winesap apple.

For most of you, that means “I have to remember where I stored my overcoat.” For us, it means a great deal more. I spent almost all my life in houses where the advent of fall meant to change the filter in the furnace, and keep the windows shut tight. The two times I recall that the furnace failed, all the members of the household huddled overdressed in the kitchen, and hoped we would not die of exposure before the serviceman arrived.

It’s very much different when you heat with wood. There’s no option of call today, get the problem solved tomorrow.

Like squirrels storing nuts, we store wood. All of it is hardwood, seven cords of it, split and dried and stacked in the covered woodshed and the indoor wood racks. If you have good fireplaces, and know how to build a fire, it’s possible to start a fire with nothing more than split oak pieces and a few sheets of crumpled newspaper.

And interestingly, it is also a fast process. The prices of all forms of heat are going up sharply this winter. Even if y’all were in the habit of leaving your heat on at all times, conservation and your wallets will both encourage you to act differently this winter and turn your thermostats down to 50 when you leave your houses.

What happens when you return to a cold house? You punch a button on the thermostat, and about four minutes later, you have normal heat. Believe it or not, a skilled user of fire can build one, get it started, and spread the heat throughout a room with a ceiling fan in about the same time. And there’s a certain aesthetic satisfaction in doing that with fire rather than machinery.

When the remnants of two hurricanes came through the Blue Ridge about a month ago, we took about 30 inches of rain in a week. In addition to losing a few trees (now waiting to be split into firewood), we had ruts as deep as two feet dug into the half-mile gravel road that connects us to the outside world.

The last week, our able helpers have been on the road with a tractor and loads of gravel. Within days, the whole road will be back in shape so any kind of car, not just my well-traveled and battered Jeep, can negotiate the road. It’s important that the road be in good order, because when the snows come (the first snow is usually late in the year), drifts as deep as four feet or so will form in the curves. With a solid surface underneath, a four-wheel drive vehicle can punch a hole through the drifts and open up the road.

Then of course there’s preparation for failure of electricity. It’s a long story, and apparently one that will repeat forever, but the electrical co-op that supplies our power goes down about a dozen times a year. During show storms or large storms like the tail end of hurricanes, the power goes out for days at a clip. As with all else, it’s a matter of preparation.

There are flashlights and kerosene lamps in many rooms. The stove runs on propane, and so does the water heater. My computer (but no one else’s) runs on batteries. The phone lines don’t often fail. You thought I had set aside my addiction to political information?

Add to that some well-stocked cabinets and a freezer on the back porch and we’re good to go for a few days with no electricity and no way to get to town – when the snows are really serious.

And I didn’t mention the clothes to prepare for winter. In Washington, D.C., where I lived and worked for ten years, a guy can wear wingtips all day, every day, regardless of the weather. You can get by, dressed in a suit, in a fully “civilized” environment. But not here on the mountain.

Boots, jackets, gloves, hats. Remember when you were six years old and your mother dressed you up like the Michelin man so you could go out in the snow? Your clothes were so excessive that you could barely walk, and if you fell over, getting back up was a serious project? Well here, you dress yourself that way whenever you go out. It’s not just for the brief trip from the house to the car. It’s also for the possibility – which has happened to me twice – that the car or the road will fail, making a half-hour walk outdoors the key to survival.

So a week from now I will be deep into politics again. For us political addicts, the World Series only comes around once every four years. And if it gets cold as a brass toilet seat in the Yukon, and the power fails, I’ll be warm, online, and absorbing last-minute information. I’ll be on the computer, even if it is by the light of a kerosene lamp.

I won’t make any predictions next week. I laid those markers down two months ago, on 29 August. And if my predictions for elections at the national and state level come true, as I still expect they will, I should be on radio the morning after the election, explaining why I got it right early while “experts” got it wrong late. Even if I have build a nice fire before I can do that.

About the Author: John Armor is a civil rights attorney who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. CongressmanBillybob@earthlink.net

Part of the answer to your question depends on cost and availability of fuel. With 22 acres of woods around me, I have an unlimited supply of wood. So it's just a matter of cutting, splitting and storing it.

For aesthetics as well as function, I prefer the Vermont Castings wood stoves. The fire is visible through unbreakable glass. With all but the smallest of their models, load it once and you will have heat for 8 hours straight with no muss, fuss or bother.

They have an "afterburner" process which burns the exhaust gases before they go up the chimney. As a result, they use half as much wood, produce twice as much heat, and produce half as much ash as a normal fireplace. If you're thinking of wood, be sure to visit their website for information.

Billybob

Thanks Billybob,
I do not live around any woods - lots of orchards, but privately owned.
Hey, I wondered if you could give me any comfort - and perhaps many others, too. I've been on the internet all day and the reports of voter fraud and violence are intensely disturbing. I have never in my 50 years seen anything like it. What's happening to our country? The Democrats are threatening our peaceful and free voting process. Any words of encouragement here, Congressman? Please answer. Thanks!

Yes, there are more reports about election fraud than ever before. Yes, there will be more attempted fraud than ever before. But do not be concerned. The Republicans are on it. Notice the case filed today in Ohio to void 30,000 bad registrations. (As I understand, these were new registrants whose confirmation letters or cards were returned as "undeliverable" from the address the "registrants" listed.)

The total impact of Democratic fraud, even if they get away with it, should not exceed 1%. So as long as Bush goes into 2 November with a lead of upwards of 5%, the lawyers and litigation will be irrelevant to the outcome. (I think Bush will be stronger than that, then.)

I do expect a spate of criminal prosecution of people involved in election fraud AFTER the election. But that will not affect the outcome itself.

Billybob

2. I do hope you have indoor plumbing...if not for yourself, then at least for the girls in your family.

Why for the girls? It's the men who allegedly suffer the black widow bites on their privates while using outdoor privies...

Sometimes I have a "medieval" night where my wife and I turn all the lights off in the house and have dinner (usually roast turkey) by candlelight with the fireplace roaring and some medieval (or early Baroque) music on the stereo, such as Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 or some Gregorian plainchants. It really sets a festive and relaxing mood on a cold winter's night. I used to dread winter but now I really look forward to it, especially since I now do daily walks outdoors in the woods around my house. I like the feeling of walking through the woods on a brutally cold day, feeling my ears and legs gradually grow numb, knowing all the time that I have a warm fire to come back to as I breathe in the cold, crisp air. The feeling of coming indoors after a long walk on a day like that and getting in front of the warm fireplace is indescribable. I'm taking my first delivery of firewood next weekend and my first fire is only about 10 days away!

You are a cruel man to openly brag about such joy to those of us exiled in Arizona.

Maybe someday I can move back 'up North'...(loud sigh).

Seven cords of wood, Congressman? You don't seem to have much confidence in the theory of global warming.

Of course he does...he's doing his part to CONTRIBUTE to global warming.
...one cord of wood at a time!

Thanks for the comforting post, Billybob. Hey, I still haven't gotten any feedback about the pros and cons of wood stoves vs. pellet stoves vs. gas stoves. I'm close to purchasing one for my house == this week! Thanks. Or - if you can direct me to a good website that would be great, too.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane, Congressman Billybob.

Partial answer to your question, as I've not dealt with a pellet stove. As was mentioned, availability of fuel is a major factor.

In terms of comfort, the sight and smell of a wood fire warm the heart as well as the hands. Does anyone in your household have breathing problems? Wood heat decreases humidity, sometimes to the point of discomfort. Keep moisturizers handy. You can fill a sturdy teapot to heat atop the stove, just don't let it boil empty. My Mom complains that when they heated with wood, it created more dust within that room.

Gas (propane): you can get used to the smell, but it still doen't smell great. As long as you have a reliable company to keep fuel in the tank, you're OK.

I can't believe how much I enjoyed hand-splitting wood as a kid. Call me lazy; these days I like gas.

Well, we DO heat with a wood stove quite a bit. Winter
before last almost exclusively. We have one of those
catalytic converter wood stoves that recycles even the
waste fuel in the smoke from the wood; but wood heat is
so dusty that we eased off last winter and used it less.
This winter we will probably use it more. Sigh. Nice
heat, but I dread the dust. So, we can relate to this
lifestyle; we also have kerosene lamps as backups in just
about every room ,also candles. I keep paraffin oil instead
of the usual lamp oil. It's keeps the eyes from burning
like regular oil; well worth the little extra cost. I
like a sort of organic lifestyle as I call it, a bit
nearer nature.

Natural gas lines that run by your house? I've never used NG. My aunt and uncle use it for 'logs' in their fireplace. My uncle says he wouldn't take anything for those logs, either.

Do you still have heat when the power is out? My furnace is oil-fired, but no electricity to run the forced air means no heat. Luckily I have a fireplace for burning wood if I'm too long w/out heat, though I hesitate to use it because the firebox needs repointing around some of the bricks.

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