The cold weather arrived much earlier than official this past year, but both of us had a short, cold and rainy summer.
Fall blended right in with gray skies and thunder storms. By mid October, both of us needed to start up the oil furnace. There was a large rush to winterize the pool pump and lawn mower. I rushed around putting away our summer time clothes and digging out wool coats, Wintertide boots, hats and gloves. I located the snow shovels and ice scrapers and obtained rock salt. I made sure all of the windows in the house were closed tightly. I totally forgot about seasonal repair for the oil furnace until I noticed it making a bizarre sound. There was entirely less heat than normal coming from the vents and an bizarre smell to the air, and with the weather getting nothing but worse, I was afraid the oil furnace wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand. By the time I called around trying to schedule upkeep, all of the local dealers were fully booked weeks in advance. I imagine that all of the homeowners in the section were in the same panic as I was. I could not get an appointment until early November. Throughout the month of November, both of us experienced hot and cold temperatures in the teens and accumulated nearly three feet of snow. The wind chill was actually brutal. I was a bit reluctant to turn up the temperature control and provide the heating system a reason to fail. However, the house felt downright cold. I was thankful the oil furnace didn’t quit before the appointment and leave us separate from heat entirely. When the business looked over the system, he found a significant buildup of contaminants restricting airflow.