Timing Is Everything

"Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes" ("My Favorite Things," The Sound Of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein, 1959)

At daybreak there was an inch or so of snow on the ground yesterday morning and by the time the sun came up proper most of it melted away.  That meant I could use the wagon instead of the sled to get alfalfa to the goats.  It was pretty slippery getting feed to the chickens and down to the barn to give Missy her breakfast, but I got it done without incident in spite of the strong winds.  It was all in the timing.

I had a talk with Stove as I fed him, too.  Like so many of his kind, he said, "It's not my fault."  Turned out he was right.  It took three blocks of fire starter to get a blaze going and then, wait for it, smoke started coming out of places that smoke should never be.  Drat!  I hate, hate, hate to ask for help, but the chimney was blocked and there was nothing else to do.  The rain, wind, and snow had stopped so I called Beau.  He said he was just on his way out and would stop by and do a quick sweep.  How's that for timing?  (Think "Chim, Chim, Cheree" from "Mary Poppins," 1964.)  The wood I'd fed Stove continued to smolder so I couldn't reach in to pull out the accumulated creosote after Beau left, but at least the room was warm.

Not ten minutes after Beau had driven off, the storm came back full force.  I hate to think what might have happened if it had hit when he was on the roof.  This outburst didn't last long and that was a good thing.  In the spirit of "Be Prepared," I really needed to get to Mt. Aukum and fill Truck up with gas.  Like firewood and canned goods, it doesn't pay to let the supplies get low.  Mission accomplished, I waited for Stove to finish his meal.  He took his own sweet time.

Unfortunately, when I could reach in it seemed that Beau had compacted the creosote in the chimney instead of pushing it all the way down.  Hey, it happens.  Stove was completely choked so there was to be no fire for me.  If I hadn't wanted to call him in the first place, think how I'm going to feel when I have to call him back today.  Aarrgh.

Tree Guy called and said he'd try to come by this morning, if only to make an assessment on how to deal with the dead oak lying on the barn roof.

I had brought in groceries from my trip to the store, but cooking took some planning.  Stove top versus oven?  Oven depends on electricity when we have it and stove top even if we don't.  I opted for oven last night just in case.  It's all in the timing.