Let's talk about the weather! It is in all the news.
Wild Wicked Winter Weather.
What a perfect time to be without a heater!
We saw Dan from a company called 608 Plumbing [&heating]. He said he could get a motor to fix the intake fan and inspected the heater. He says it is in excellent shape and it is too bad we got a bum fan motor.
He presented us with another idea. I'd never heard of a Mini Split before. I knew about Heat Pumps from years ago when my mom and dad built their retirement home and had one purchased for their house. At that time I think it was brand new technology. They had a heat pump and a furnace for those very frigid winters.
A Mini Split would probably save us gobs of Money over using our old window air conditioner that only fits upstairs in a room we don't use. We use fans on the stairs to blow cool air down on hot days. It has worked for years for us, but I've never felt it was very efficient.
However, the Mini Split would cool down the house where we actually live! And until it gets extremely cold, it would heat us too for far less than what we are paying for now.
A huge draw back is the price. However, I'm looking at rebates, efficiency, and tax credits [I am aware of the limitations on all of these--but hey, it is a selling point]. Plus this company will maintain the system.
608 Dan looked the house over and then made said this:
"Here is what I want to do for you Rich, I want to make you comfortable in the winter AND the summer and save you money in the long run. How's that sound?"
I laughed and replied, "That is a pretty good sales pitch. Make the man of the house comfy and worry free!"
So what about the weather? It is happening all right.
A good day to make soup and cut up my fruit for snacking.
Yum! Fresh fruit on a gloomy wintery day. Turkey soup with dried wild mushrooms along with dehydrated veggies and carrots.
The space heater is actually keeping the house nice and warm.
The snow this morning was ferocious. The winds on the ridge were wicked and several times we had some blowing snow down in our hollow. Charlie and I went to get the mail. He loves snowstorms!
As long as the snow isn't too deep for him to bound out of.
This afternoon, it has alternated between snow, sleet, and rain.
The mules have been alternating between eating at the feeders ...
and standing way down in the woods with their mule butts to the winds....
The birds have been busy at the feeders and have been taking turns sitting in the pine tree or the hickory tree.
On the ridge, it looks like this.
Our dead end road:
I'm hoping the ice/sleet/rain that is falling doesn't cause us to lose power.