Kindling and ice dams

Well, I admit it, life in southern Vermont involves a lot more physical work than working and living in the DC area.

Before, I was a bureaucrat, I worked in an office. Before, I lived in a townhouse, I didn't have many concerns about my home.

Now, I live in a single-family home, with Lily, my calico cat; a hungry woodstove; and a gutter full of ice, also known as an ice dam.

The woodstove and I are becoming good friends. I am getting better at feeding it, though I still don't know how to damp it down at night so it still has embers in the morning. Embers in the morning are good, they would make firing up the stove a lot easier every day. But I am learning. I am getting closer. And I have realized I need more kindling, so, where do I get more kindling? I had been thinking I would call the woodstove store and ask where I could buy some, but decided I could do better than that. So, I bought a good ax and have been chopping up bigger pieces of wood, making little pieces of wood. Homemade kindling!

As for ice dams, they suck. I now know what I should have done each time it snowed. I should have gone out on my deck and raked the snow off the roof and I should not have let the ice accumulate in the gutters because when ice collects in gutters, it also collects under the eaves and any snow that melts under the eaves cannot run off, so where does the water go? Inside, down the wall. So, I've got buckets lined about along the wall, collecting cold, dirty water that drips off the rafters.

That's a good solution for this winter, but not for the longterm. I'm going to get a new roof put on, I'm thinking I will have standing seam metal roofs for all 3 structures. This will be a major expense, but, in the long run, it will be worth it.

So, not only have these few weeks of winter been good for getting things accomplished, like the unpacking and sorting I have done, they have been good for learning what needs to be done to make this place more comfortable, more livable.