We figured out two weeks ago that we had about a month’s worth of seasoned firewood left for our two wood stoves, and the winter was so cold and relentless that we would almost surely need more. We have already used more wood than we used all last winter.

It is possible to get fresh-cut firewood on short notice, but not easy to get seasoned firewood, which burns more cleanly and evenly. The wood stoves have been astonishingly good at keeping the farmhouse warm and the oil bills down. It is a good kind of heat. We load up the wood carts once a day and the fires run day and night in this kind of cold. We burn them hot for at least an hour a day to keep the creosote from building up. The furnace is only on for an hour or so a day, usually in the morning, and then again at night, kept on low temperatures to keep the pipes from freezing, a constant possibility in bitter cold with wind.

It took me a couple of hours – and the recommendations of some friends – to find seasoned firewood from a dealer in nearby White Creek. In the Fall, he fills a barn with firewood and waits for the calls to come in if it’s a tough winter. He charges $250 a cord, about 30 per cent more than we pay for firewood in the Spring – I do not blame him – that we order in May and leave out during the summer to season.  A smart businessman, he said he only has 40 cords left, they are going fast. I might get another if we can find a place to stack it.

We got the wood delivery today, it is good dry wood, it started snowing and we rushed out to get a tarp on it. We will scramble to get it stacked and under cover tomorrow before the Saturday/Sunday storm expected to hit here (not a blizzard.) This is a challenging winter, we have to work steadily to keep up with it – shoveling, raking the roof, keeping the stoves going, using the furnace as a back up and the infra-red heaters in between, monitoring the firewood. Vince Vecchio comes by with his plow truck to keep the driveway open. The farm is a next of paths and tunnels.

We finally got some heated blankets – there is no heat at all on the second floor where the bedroom is –  but it takes some learning to make sure you don’t end up rotating like a boiled egg in the middle of the night. The blankets really work, the plan is to put them on high, then turn them off when you get into bed.

We are good on hay, we have 20 bales left, that ought to get us to April, when the grass will start to come-up. I have a back-up hay supplier if the winter goes on longer than expected and we need some more.

There is no season as demanding here as winter, we plan for it all year, and rarely plan as thoroughly as is necessary. The weather is no longer predictable.

The cold coming this weekend is supposed to be intense, another challenge. Hopefully our frost-free water line will hold up; – 20 is not what it is used to, it will be a test. We have most of the snow off of the roof, we will have to rake it again on Sunday, I don’t think we have to worry about the roof. The dogs will only be out for a few minutes at a time, and I might curtail  Red’s work, I’ll keep an eye on how he is holding his paws.

We will be graining the sheep and the donkeys daily for energy and making sure they have proper shelter  from the punishing 50 mile per hour winds and frigid temperatures and lots of fresh hay. The winds could also bring power lines down and damage the farmhouse or barn roof. Nothing much we can do to prepare for that, except the obvious candles and batteries and stored water. The Dystopians like to get their guns and salted meat out for a long haul, I doubt we will be more than a few hours from food.

Spring cannot be too far off, we learn to look through to the other side. I see it, it is showing up in the sun and light already. That’s my motto. Be prepared, but not too prepared. Look ahead.