It's Still Winter!

This morning's view

 I woke up to a shocking reminder that it is February, and it is still winter!  Time to put on the winter clothes and brush the snow off the solar panels.  

I shut off the outdoor wood boiler almost 10 days ago.  We've had almost a week of 60 -70 deg. F temperatures.  Most days were sunny so the house stayed warm and with the dump load water heater,  I had hot water without burning LP.  Life off-grid was smooth sailing.  I could get used to this spring like weather and roll right into summer.

It is still February!  It's been overcast and rainy for a couple of days.  I woke up to house temperatures around 61 deg. F.  and tepid domestic "hot" water.   However, the sun is shining so the water should heat up nicely today. 

1 week ago

It is still February, I keep reminding myself.   It is a little early, but I started pruning grapes during this spring like weather. I remember one year I was pruning in full winter gear on my knees in the snow because the snow was 2-3 foot deep.  

No snow so far this year.  Much of the pruning has been done in a T-shirt and one day, shorts and sandals.  My wool socks made my feet overheat.  

The disadvantage, I got a blister since I wasn't wearing gloves.  My winter hands aren't used to repetitive friction caused by a pruner.  

The high temperature today is 32 deg. F.   The big question is, do I start the wood boiler to warm up the house or do I try to heat the main floor using the dump load hot water.  The forecast calls for a sunny day!  And tomorrow is a bit warmer at 45 deg. F and sun.  As for pruning, maybe I should wait until it warms up.