17.02.2023 Otto storm warning!

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 Friday 17th 7C/44F, very heavy overcast, rain, wind and mist. Storm warning from this afternoon until the early hours of Saturday. The trees are already rocking. Gusts are expected to reach 25m/s or ~56mph. 

 Up at 7am. It is too wet to continue tidying around the back of the house. I had such plans to start afresh. After slacking for months. Or wandering off on so many other projects. 

 9.00 Pouring down! I have restocked the lounge with the last, split logs from the previous trailer load. The greenhouse hasn't been particularly warm, sunny nor the air dry. So the moisture content is what it is. The firewood has been sheltered and warmer than outside. Which is the best I can do. Without stocking many month's worth in advance. 

 That might be possible if I stack two deep instead of only one layer leaning against the wall. Though double stacking would demand further tidying of the greenhouse interior. Not to mention a level of self discipline, in arrangement, not seen in my lifetime. The inner stack would not enjoy the same drying benefits of sunshine and warm air. The result certainly would not be remotely as decorative as one might hope. Log containers in the greenhouse might lift the decor slightly but I am not overly optimistic. 

 Stacking wood anywhere outside would demand proper protection from driving rain. Which increases the risk of wind damage to the structure itself. The upside would be some insulation of the house wall from winter temperatures. Simply due to the thickness of the logs. Though the leaky nature of log stacking would still allow considerable air infiltration. It would take only the slightest breeze for the cold air to penetrate to the house wall. 

 Huge piles of loose logs, stacked against the house, are anything but attractive. No matter how neatly it is done. Even having a few day's worth stacked indoors is a level of rusticity few would try to emulate. 

 A formal frame, to contain the logs more neatly, might help quite a lot. Though the storage capacity would be less than the present heap. The eye is far more forgiving of containment. 

 The 70cm Ø log rack appeals at quite a modest price. [Some dealers were asking three times the price for a very similar storage rack] It would hold a little less firewood than the bare corner of the lounge. Though allow much more air movement all around the logs. 

 More importantly it makes the storage into an eye catching feature. One which looks as if it was given some consideration. Rather than a crude stack. Which can only ever look like a crude stack of logs. See images above. 

 The log frame would demand more frequent refilling. Though, even this, would be less time consuming, per refill. In carrying countless baskets full of logs in from the greenhouse. Currently standing at 12, heavy baskets full. Just to restock the lounge corner from scratch. 

 So, restocking a log rack would be less of a chore. There it is then. It took only a full page of text. To convince myself into placing an order online. 😌

 Enough waffling. I had better catch up on the shopping before the wind makes life more difficult. 

 12.30 Returned from shopping. I managed to find several items which aren't usually stocked. The rain has stopped.

 13.00 Lunch over. It is brightening but the wind has yet to show itself. It should already be blowing 20m/s from the west. With gusts peaking at 26m/s after 17.00 for several hours. 

 Sickly sunshine is showing briefly through a hole in the overcast. Then there was a sudden gust. Just to prove it can. There is a tall and spindly windbreak of trees in that direction. 

 Damage is reported in Scotland. The image shows the DMI wind gust forecast for 18.00. Which seems to be the peak wind speed for our area today. Central in this image. [m/s x 2.2 = mph]

 14.15 That was odd. I just went out to check the post box. Going from the complete silence indoors of a rural cottage. To a howling roar outside was rather unnerving. We used to hear the wind all the time in the past. Just as we heard the traffic on the road hundreds of meters away. Neighbours slamming their car doors, day and night, year after year. What has changed? I replaced the single glazed window in the bedroom. With a smaller, triple glazed one. The whole house is quiet now.

 16.00 30m/s or 66mph was recorded north of Odense on Fyn. 

 21.30 The storm was a non-event as far as I was concerned. I was wearing my hearing aids but heard nothing. Dinner was fish fingers, with organic Fettuccine pasta and organic tinned tomatoes.

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