Low of 50F tonight... "good thing we're ready honey!"

[Paulywalnut]

Yahoo! Its shoulder season!!

 

[WellSeasoned]

46○F here tonight. It will be a nice open window night

 

[PapaDave]

Yeah Bster, I get it. Lived in suburbia for a while. It's different here in the woods.

 

[CMAG]

Perhaps I would not have a problem, dunno, but I am in suburbia with close neighbors. If my woodpile became a breeding ground, not only my wife would go nuts, my neighbors would too. My woodpile is not far from their house. So at this point it's poison. No clue what is dead under my stacks, but I've found two dead mice near them and I'm glad I found them before my wife.

Two cat's, no mice

 

[Woody Stover]

You guys are scaring me; Maybe I'd better hook my stove back up.

 

[firefighterjake]

Me . . . I'm not rushing the seasons . . . life is too short as it is . . . plus I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with a few more weeks of surprise summer like heat at some point. In any case, while I have always been a "If-I'm-cold-I'm-firing-up-the-woodstove" proponent, I think it's still a mite early for a fire or to even think about a fire until sometime in late-September or early-October.

Besides . . . Summer weather cannot be over . . . it never really got here! . . . Plus I still have plenty of projects that I have put off all Summer as I was too busy having fun.

 

[thewoodlands]

We went to a town board meeting (long meeting) so by the time we got back home we said never mind the fire. The last two years we started burning around Sept. 15.

 

[Bster13]

Woke up to the house at 71F, *grumble* no fire needed it turns out.

 

[Applesister]

Please stop pushing the cold!!
If you are all itching to build a fire, build a bonfire and roast marshmallows!!
I still need tanning weather.

 

[red oak]

Me . . . I'm not rushing the seasons . . . life is too short as it is . . . plus I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with a few more weeks of surprise summer like heat at some point. In any case, while I have always been a "If-I'm-cold-I'm-firing-up-the-woodstove" proponent, I think it's still a mite early for a fire or to even think about a fire until sometime in late-September or early-October.

Besides . . . Summer weather cannot be over . . . it never really got here! . . . Plus I still have plenty of projects that I have put off all Summer as I was too busy having fun.

Almost exactly the way I feel. We're still in for a good amount of days in the high 80s or 90s here in Virginia, I'm almost certain of it. I don't build a fire until second or third week in October. Before that is "sweater season". Shoulder season starts about two minutes after the wife says "I think we need a fire."

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Perhaps I would not have a problem, dunno, but I am in suburbia with close neighbors. If my woodpile became a breeding ground, not only my wife would go nuts, my neighbors would too. My woodpile is not far from their house. So at this point it's poison. No clue what is dead under my stacks, but I've found two dead mice near them and I'm glad I found them before my wife.

Suburbia is not so much different than the country except you have lots of people close to you. The wood piles should be the same there as the wood piles we have about 1/4 mile from the house. I've stated before that occasionally we might find the remnants of a mouse nest but more likely a squirrel nest but I can't remember the last time I saw an animal in any of our stacks. We do occasionally have a woodchuck dig under the wood stacks but I would not suspect you'd have much of that in suburbia. They are not a problem anyway and are easy to trap or shoot. As for mice and rats, we just don't get them in the wood.

 

[basod]

Lets not rush this Fall thing, but it was 61 here this morning and only got to 77 under overcast skies today. It has been a rainy cooler than normal summer here.
I think it got to 98/100F twice in mid June(the day my condenser fan quit was the 12th) and 3 days in July were 92, completely unheard of here.

GF thinks it's going to be a cold winter - outside my dear outside it will be

 

[Coal Reaper]

Us boiler guys with storage get to spark up all summer for dhw. Here a shot from this weeks recharge that i just lit ten minutes ago.

 

[WellSeasoned]

Us boiler guys with storage get to spark up all summer for dhw. Here a shot from this weeks recharge that i just lit ten minutes ago.

How much wood do you go through?

 

[Locust Post]

Suburbia is not so much different than the country except you have lots of people close to you. The wood piles should be the same there as the wood piles we have about 1/4 mile from the house. I've stated before that occasionally we might find the remnants of a mouse nest but more likely a squirrel nest but I can't remember the last time I saw an animal in any of our stacks. We do occasionally have a woodchuck dig under the wood stacks but I would not suspect you'd have much of that in suburbia. They are not a problem anyway and are easy to trap or shoot. As for mice and rats, we just don't get them in the wood.

I've seen a mouse or 2 from time to time but the neighborhood cats usually get them. I just had a ground hog decide he like a spot around my unsplit rounds last week. I gave him a nice treat of double bubble for his chewing pleasure.

 

[Jacktheknife]

What's with all the bubble gum references? How does big red kill rodents?

 

[ScotO]

What's with all the bubble gum references? How does big red kill rodents?

I believe they cannot digest the wad of gum, and it renders their gut useless, thus killing them.......if I am not mistaken.

Kinda like how uncooked rice thrown at weddings was responsible for the death of many a sparrow....now they blow bubbles or throw bird seed.....

 

[Jacktheknife]

I believe they cannot digest the wad of gum, and it renders their gut useless, thus killing them.......if I am not mistaken.

Kinda like how uncooked rice thrown at weddings was responsible for the death of many a sparrow....now they blow bubbles or throw bird seed.....

Except the wedding thing turned out to be an urban legend. Hopefully the gum isn't.

 

[ScotO]

Except the wedding thing turned out to be an urban legend. Hopefully the gum isn't.

I didn't know that.....and all this time I could've been throwing rice instead of blowing those damm bubbles....I felt like an ass, for nothing!!

 

[Coal Reaper]

How much wood do you go through?

7-8 cu ft every five days burning ash

 

[red oak]

Lets not rush this Fall thing, but it was 61 here this morning and only got to 77 under overcast skies today. It has been a rainy cooler than normal summer here.
I think it got to 98/100F twice in mid June(the day my condenser fan quit was the 12th) and 3 days in July were 92, completely unheard of here.

GF thinks it's going to be a cold winter - outside my dear outside it will be

I don't know about the winter but summer is not over yet, just saw the 10 day last night and there was a 90 in it.

 

[red oak]

Suburbia is not so much different than the country except you have lots of people close to you. The wood piles should be the same there as the wood piles we have about 1/4 mile from the house. I've stated before that occasionally we might find the remnants of a mouse nest but more likely a squirrel nest but I can't remember the last time I saw an animal in any of our stacks. We do occasionally have a woodchuck dig under the wood stacks but I would not suspect you'd have much of that in suburbia. They are not a problem anyway and are easy to trap or shoot. As for mice and rats, we just don't get them in the wood.

That's interesting because I always find the remnants of a mouse nest in my wood stacks, usually 3-4 each winter as I'm unstacking the wood. In the summer that means a black snake or two is lurking around my wood stacks, which I don't mind since they eat the mice. I also have 2 young cats that take care of their share of mice. I think the difference in suburbia would be that more people would complain about the appearance of a woodpile, and more would definitely complain if word got out that mice or snakes were around it.

I've heard that moth balls help, but moths are tough to catch and their legs are so little.....

 

[ScotO]

I don't know about the winter but summer is not over yet, just saw the 10 day last night and there was a 90 in it.

Yeah, I'm OK with more summer yet.......we've got some upper 80's on the way next week......kids still want to do some swimming and such yet......

But, WINTER IS A-COMIN'!!

 

[Jacktheknife]

That's interesting because I always find the remnants of a mouse nest in my wood stacks, usually 3-4 each winter as I'm unstacking the wood. In the summer that means a black snake or two is lurking around my wood stacks, which I don't mind since they eat the mice. I also have 2 young cats that take care of their share of mice. I think the difference in suburbia would be that more people would complain about the appearance of a woodpile, and more would definitely complain if word got out that mice or snakes were around it.

I've heard that moth balls help, but moths are tough to catch and their legs are so little.....

And it just takes too many to make a pound.

 

[Locust Post]

I believe they cannot digest the wad of gum, and it renders their gut useless, thus killing them.......if I am not mistaken.

Kinda like how uncooked rice thrown at weddings was responsible for the death of many a sparrow....now they blow bubbles or throw bird seed.....

Yes that's what I was told about bubble gum and hogs. It worked last year so we'll see how it goes this year. I would rather they blow a few bubbles than eat my tomatoes.