Ready for Blizzards

I'm predicting a mild winter.  This is not based on any observations in nature, such as the brown and black wooly caterpillar, or the squirrels hoarding excess acorns for storage.  I figure since we've upgraded the propane tank from  a 300+ gallon to a 600 gallon, filled it for about a million dollars,  had our new wood burning stove installed today, and will have another cord of wood delivered this week, we have enough fuel and resources to carry us through a blizzard that knocks out power and confines us to the mountain.  Just as washing and polishing the car brings rain,  this should guarantee us a mild winter. 

 before

 notice the supervisor in the background

soapstone fireplace with black enclosure

The two young men did an excellent job.  They were neat, cleaned up after themselves, left no soot prints anywhere, and tolerated Cliff quite well.  I told them if he "supervised" too much I could throw him over the porch rails and let him roll down the mountain to the creek.  They let him stay, said he was mild compared to some of the people they have to work around.