Winter is playing with us this year!
Our snowfall was insignificant, just enough to turn the world white once more.
Then came sleet, and then a hard freeze.
There was no flat surface for the bird trays which I had moved to the porch during the storm.
When I put them back, they were a bit topsy-turvy.
The water trays promptly froze this morning.
And the sparrows were perplexed.
The Starlings did circuits to check things out.
They approached like a squadron of WW2 fighter jets.
.
Not that I ever saw one, fortunately, except in movies.
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Thursday afternoon, after posting my blog I was enjoying a concert on YouTube. I’ve been in a classical mood of late…
Time for the cats to gain some culture.
.
Grant appeared from downstairs and sat in:
*the chair.
This meant I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
He began to explain to me the mechanics of the thing which I had no hope of comprehending:
“Just tell me the bottom line!”
“There’s a leak in the boiler.”
The boiler is one of our three heating systems. It runs on oil.
The leak is more of a slight seep, but a problem, nonetheless.
Getting things of this nature sorted has always been a challenge here. You call people up and leave messages that they don’t respond to.
Or, if you do manage to actually speak to a live person, they always say they will get back to you.
Or they have 5 other jobs to complete first. (Always 5)
You begin to plan around whatever the problem is.
If such and such is plugged in, you can’t run the vacuum cleaner.
etc…
However, we do have a plumber and I learned that I must follow his required system of contact. Send a message through his website.
In the past I called his number, but no, no, that’s not the system.
The website generates a job number with date and time.
So that’s what I did.
Well, well.
A couple of hours later I had to consult my phone for a code number in order to sine in to WordPress for the 6th time….(can anyone tell me why this happens?)
Ah! There was a voice message.
Anyone who calls that is not in my contacts goes straight to voicemail. This is because I am plagued all day with scam calls. I block them. Still they call….it’s another modern annoyance…
The plumber is in my contacts, but not his employee who uses his cellphone. So….I called the dude back and got his voicemail.
And left him a message….
Ring-around-the-roses. Life in the 21st Century.
Assuming that this chap would eventually call me back, I programmed his number into my phone and basically forgot about it. We have other means of heating the house, so it’s not an emergency.
Yesterday morning we were slouched over breakfast, I with Wordle, Grant with his phone.
“Look,” he said “we’ve become what we despise! Me with my phone and you ignoring me!”
“I’m not ignoring you. I can multi-task!”
Which I was able to prove when a call came through.
Abandoning porridge, I went to the window to take pictures of the Starlings doing their circuits. Big deal, I can talk and take pictures at the same time. When I am engaged in a long conversation I have to keep my hands occupied.
All caught up, I returned to breakfast and the phone promptly rang again. Would you believe…the plumber’s mate!
Not only that, but he could be with us in half an hour.
As my mother would have said, he nearly “caught us on the hop.”
It was, of course, too good to be true. There would be no quick fix. The boiler is old, the world has moved on to hopefully more efficient things.
Our plumber doesn’t “do” boilers anymore. They do heat pumps.
It might be possible to replace the leaky valve but it is equally possible that the rest of the unit is corroded.
Heat pumps are the in thing. Maybe they are cheaper to run. Maybe they really are more environmentally responsible. Maybe I’ll get one.
A man will come on Tuesday to discuss our needs.
One thing is certain, they are not cheap.
We can carry on without the boiler, using propane gas and electric heaters which are sufficient. The boiler has a tank 3/4 full of oil worth several hundred dollars that I would prefer not to waste, but we can probably use up quite a bit before the leak becomes a real problem.
So what are the considerations? The future value of the house.
The future, period.
Should we really be investing in a wood burner?
The pure hatred and viciousness I saw yesterday afternoon sent a shiver down my spine. Where does it come from?
What are those people so very afraid of that makes anyone who looks different into a threat?
What they claim to be fighting to protect is precisely what they are in the process of destroying.
It is hard to imagine a 21st Century Civil War in this country but more and more you hear talk of it. What form would it take? Are our representatives in Washington DC addressing the possibility?
Mostly I enjoy where I live and the animals that share my life and I am grateful for each day that I remain upright. To give in to anxiety over matters I cannot control would be a shameful waste.
It is responsible, I think, to remain informed and I do, to the extent that one can in this endlessly mendacious world.
It is now snowing again, quite heavily, though I think it will not amount to much.
My house cleaning lady was here today which gave further reasons to certain cats for being upset.
Well, only one, really. I explained about Lucy’s blindness and that was all fine. Lucy seemed unruffled.
Willow, on the other hand paced back and forth and eventually deposited her opinion against a wall as I watched.
At least I was able to leap straight into action!
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*the chair: “property” disputed by Willow and Lucy
Do you have TV? I really like Ananpore(?). Also David Brooks, Judy Woodruff et all. Intelligent, informed commentary. A shame Anise Alsendore(sp?) is shifting from Washington Week. How about BBC NEWS.
We don’t have TV. I get BBC news out of habit. I always liked Amanpore (?) also. I do miss the likes of Walter Cronkite.
Over the past few years many people have been encouraged to fit wood burning stoves only now to be told that they are the most ecologically damaging forms of heating and contribute more to lung and breathing problems. There is now talk of them being banned!
It would also involve burning trees and I am loath to do that!
I love the chatty nature of this post! Hope you get all your issues sorted! 🤞 May I ask what are the last two birds in the post? Thank you! 🤗
A Bluejay and Red-winged Blackbird. Bluejay are year-round, related to crows. The Red-wings are just returning from further south, though they may not be pleased with our weather!
Thank you! They are very striking! Sadly, not seen here.
A white landscape … definitely not a sign of Spring yet! Heating systems are something we don’t need at all here in East London – but rather fans and airconditioners that can make COLD (both for Summer and Winter) 😬. Your bird photos are lovely.
We have oil heating in Beetley, and I can tell you two things with complete conviction.
1) Oil heating (new) boilers are much, so much cheaper than heat pumps. (Really!)
2) Heat pumps rarely deliver any heat above 20C. Sometimes, that is not enough.
Obviously, I suggest replacing the leaky oil boiler, and sticking with that.
We paid almost £4,000 to have a wood burner installed in 2014. It has proved to be a boon when the heating broke down, and is nice to look at. But seasoned wood blocks for the burner are expensive, and not suitable as the only source of heating a house, or hot water. Even if you have lots of your own wood to burn, it takes almost a year to dry out sufficiently. And in the summer, you would not want the heat of a wood burner running to heat water.
Life is never easy, is it? Sorry.
Best wishes, Pete. x
I love the chatty nature of this post! Hope you get all your issues sorted!