So, what's new with you?
Our house is hooked up to the municipal water supply, so we don't have a well. But there is no sewer system and there's no natural gas network. We have a septic tank and a big (1000 gallons) propane tank out front. When we moved in, we wondered: what's the relative cost of heating the house with propane versus wood (because we have a nice wood burning stove, too).
Half a cord of mixed oak and madrone cost $240 and lasted us through the winter. We didn't have a fire every night, but there were several days where the furnace never came on because the fire can get the house plenty hot.
Now, you can't fill a propane tank to 100% capacity. The sun shines, and the pressure inside the tank increases, and you're really not safe filling the tank to more than 80%. We got the tank filled up when we moved in. It was almost empty at the time, less than 100 gallons left, and propane was selling at just over a dollar per gallon. Now, over the past six months we've used about 400 gallons. Summer is coming, and we'll probably start using the clothesline and not need the furnace any more. So, maybe we can get by on a single fillup per year. Maybe.
It would appear that propane is the better deal, I guess. But then, stories like this make a fellow nervous.
Aoibheall often grumbles about my tendency to be awake and alert early in the morning. This behavior on my part no doubt mystifies my parents, who mostly remember that I arranged my college schedule so that I didn't have classes before noon, and who remember that I didn't like getting up before noon when I lived at home. Well, at least it's not genetic.
The container garden is doing pretty well. However, there are some disturbing new leaves on the tomatoes. They're all curly and kind of blistered-looking. I suspect some kind of little parasite is biting the leaves. So, organic gardening be damned, I'm going to spray heinous chemicals on the plants. They're our tomatoes, goldernit.
Half a cord of mixed oak and madrone cost $240 and lasted us through the winter. We didn't have a fire every night, but there were several days where the furnace never came on because the fire can get the house plenty hot.
Now, you can't fill a propane tank to 100% capacity. The sun shines, and the pressure inside the tank increases, and you're really not safe filling the tank to more than 80%. We got the tank filled up when we moved in. It was almost empty at the time, less than 100 gallons left, and propane was selling at just over a dollar per gallon. Now, over the past six months we've used about 400 gallons. Summer is coming, and we'll probably start using the clothesline and not need the furnace any more. So, maybe we can get by on a single fillup per year. Maybe.
It would appear that propane is the better deal, I guess. But then, stories like this make a fellow nervous.
Aoibheall often grumbles about my tendency to be awake and alert early in the morning. This behavior on my part no doubt mystifies my parents, who mostly remember that I arranged my college schedule so that I didn't have classes before noon, and who remember that I didn't like getting up before noon when I lived at home. Well, at least it's not genetic.
The container garden is doing pretty well. However, there are some disturbing new leaves on the tomatoes. They're all curly and kind of blistered-looking. I suspect some kind of little parasite is biting the leaves. So, organic gardening be damned, I'm going to spray heinous chemicals on the plants. They're our tomatoes, goldernit.
posted by PirateGuillermo | 9:58 AM
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