It is cold in the North Georgia mountains tonight. A slender crescent moon is making its journey across the night sky with countless twinkling stars as companions.
My husband and I spent the evening in front of a crackling fire. Our three dogs sprawled in front of the hearth, luxuriating in the warmth every bit as much as we did. We keep a fire lit most nights once cold weather sets in. We don't use the fireplace to heat the house, but simply because we both find a crackling fire so peaceful and beautiful.
According to a recent article in The New York Times -- Warm, Cozy & Cleaner -- heating a home with a wood-burning stove or fireplace insert can save you a bundle on home heating costs.
Heating second homes here in the North Georgia mountains with a wood-burning stove or insert tends to be particularly inexpensive because we are smack in the middle of the Chattahoochee National Forest, where firewood is much more plentiful -- and by extension, much less expensive. The going price for a cord of wood here in the North Georgia mountains varies, but if you shop around you can usually get a pick-up truck full delivered to your door for $80.
Of course, for the more hardy souls, you can get all the free wood you need if you are willing to harvest it yourself. You can collect wood from your own or a willing neighbor's property, or get a permit from the US Forest Service to collect dead wood from the national forests.
The important thing to remember is that you will need to make sure the stove or insert is an energy-efficient model that generates far less smoke and allows far less heat to escape through the chimney. It is also important to have your chimney checked regularly -- depending on your usage -- to make sure that there is no residue in there that might create a fire hazard.
And -- most importantly -- to make sure that Santa has plenty of room to come down.
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