Ceiling Fans Are Just Cool

I love ceiling fans.  They help reduce my energy bill.  We have 12 ceiling fans in our new home out in the country.  The one in the photo is on the screen porch – where we spend a lot of time.  Does it save a lot on the energy bill?  Depends on how you use them.

The most optimistic estimates I’ve seen on energy savings from ceiling fans peg the air conditioning savings at about 15%, assuming people do raise the thermostat setting and only run the fans when people are in the room, and taking into account the cost of energy used by the fan itself.  But most folks I know don’t raise the thermostat setting so the savings are probably nil in this case.

We raise the setting.  In fact, when coupled with our super insulation and high energy efficiency windows we installed when building, the fans have been a blessing this spring.  We have not turned on the A/C yet this year.   We open the windows at night (couldn’t do that in the big city – noise/crime/pollution), let the house cool off, then close the windows back up mid-morning when the temp starts to go up.  Unbelievable how well this house holds the temperature.  Right now, as I write this post, the temp outside is 87 degrees.  Only got down to about 68 last night and cooled the house down to about 72.  Hasn’t been above 75 indoors all day.  And the fans are just a twirling.

Following are some recommendations I found on Wiki Answers.

These recommendations depend actually on the height and size of the room; the season; and the activity taking place in the room.

The basic fact of nature is that warm air rises to the top and cold air settles on the bottom. Air settles in layers from warm at the top to cold at the bottom, if left alone at equilibrium.

Ceiling fan recommendations:

In the winter
Set the fan to run counterclockwise (reverse; this looks clockwise as you are looking up). This will redirect the warm air from the ceiling and down the walls and into the living space where the people actually are. In a house, you would run the fan at a low speed so that you don’t actually cool the warm air that you are moving downward. If you have a high ceiling, or are trying to heat a hall or a church, you may want to increase the fan speed so that the warm air will reach the living space as long as the fan speed does not create an unwanted downdraft at the people below.

In the summer
In a room of normal height (8 – 10 ft), you should operate your fan so that it turns clockwise (this looks counterclockwise as you are looking up), causing a more directed downdraft, especially with the fan running slightly faster. This causes a wind-chill effect because the skin evaporates slight amounts of water from the sweat glands and thereby provides cooling through the skin’s surface. However, the air is only moved but not cooled! You may find that you can turn your thermostat down a degree or two and save more money on energy costs. The air blowing down won’t actually cool the room though, so you should turn the fan off when there are no people (or animals) in the room.

Enjoy the breeze – we do!

Richard

The Funeral of Willie Earl King: Blues Singer

In Memory of Willie Earl King: Blues Singer

On Sunday, March 8, 2009 the outstanding Alabama blues musician Willie King passed away near his home in Old Memphis, Alabama, following a massive heart attack. His career started on a plantation with a one-string, homemade diddly-bo. Six recordings and a DVD later, along with numerous national and international festival performances, Willie King has gained a substantial national and international reputation.

Ever since he first heard a blues musician play at this grandmother’s juke joint over sixty years ago, Willie King has been consumed by the blues. His life story is about great music but equally it is about care, interest and concern for the community he grew up in – King’s own definition of the “blues life.”

The loss of this great blues man will be felt by fans and musicians all over the world who have been touched by his unique juke joint blues and uplifting message of peace, love and social justice.

The funeral took place on Sunday, March 15th at 2pm at the City Hall in Aliceville, Alabama. A wake was held the day before on Saturday, March 14, from 1 – 3 pm at Lavender’s Funeral Home.

Like many artists, Willie King had little money and made no provisions for his burial costs. The Willie King Memorial Fund has been created for those who wish to help with funeral expenses and to create a historic marker celebrating Willie King’s life and works. Please send contributions to “The Willie King Memorial Fund,” c/o West Alabama Bank, Attention Tammy, PO Box 406, Aliceville AL 35442.

Larry Lee is a friend of mine. He is the Director of the Center for Rural Alabama in Montgomery. Larry has lived in rural Alabama his entire life. And Larry is a story-teller extraordinaire.  And he loved Willie King and his music.  The following is an article Larry wrote on the death and funeral of the legendary blues singer and it was published in the Birmingham News recently.  I just wanted to share this with you … so enjoy.

“Once I heard the music of the Mississippi Delta, I was no longer English. I was a man of the world.” ~ Robert Plant

It was drizzling the Sunday morning I headed the car west out of Montgomery on U. S. Highway 80.  I searched for a particular CD to while away the drive.  It was Willie King’s “I am the blues” that he autographed for me on July 2, 2006.

It only seemed proper that I should listen to his music as I drove to his funeral.

So on through the rain I went.  Across that swath of west Alabama we call the Black Belt.  On the cusp of spring this morning, greening grass and budding flowers masked the region’s choking poverty.

Turning north at Uniontown, I passed through Newbern, Wedgeworth and Clinton where remnants of the long-ago cotton culture are still visible.  I was headed to the Aliceville City Hall where I would be one of many to pay their last respects to Willie.

As I rode along past pastures where Hereford bulls rubbed winter’s coat against mock orange trees, I thought back to July 2, 2006.

It was hot.  Brutally hot as July Sunday afternoons tend to be in Alabama.  Some friends and I gathered in Pickensville to hear Willie play for the grand opening of a convenience store.  We set up our lawn chairs at 3 p.m. with the only shade in sight being the cover over the small bandstand where Willie played.

And though I’m Baptist and not given much to drinking anything stronger than sweet iced tea, sometimes the heat and humidity are so oppressive than stronger measures are called for.  And so it was this afternoon.

Like always, Willie kept the crowd entertained.  Just him and his drummer, the heat and folks scattered in lawn chairs.  But it could have been Carnegie Hall for all he cared.  Because he was among his own, playing the music he understood the best.  The blues.  Music that mirrored the life of a black man who knew the tug of a cotton pick sack and “separate but equal.”

Willie put his guitar away about 6 p.m.  But the day was far from over.  The next stop was Bettie’s Place, a genuine juke joint just across the river in Noxubee County, MS.  To find Bettie’s, go west on Highway 86 out of Pickensville, take the first left past the bait shop-grocery store over the state line, then another left down a narrow dirt trail known as Jack Tate Road.

That’s what we did because Sunday nights, Bettie’s Place and Willie Earl King were synonymous in these parts.  I have no idea how long Bettie’s has stood in this spot.  But it is obvious that its walls have listened to the sound of thousands of songs and its floors have been scrubbed by thousands of dancing feet.

And so it was that night.  Willie set up in a corner by the door, his guitar sounding through the hot Mississippi night while another beer bottle clattered into the trash can outside and sweaty bodies swayed.

The funeral may have been the largest ever in Pickens County.  Hundreds of people filled the city hall auditorium.  Whites and blacks alike eulogized Willie, praised his music and his service to mankind.  They recalled his struggles and his kindness.  A harmonica player brought the crowd to their feet.

I just mostly remembered July 2, 2006.

Afterwards it only seemed fitting that I retrace that Sunday.  So I drove to Pickensville and turned left just past the convenience store, went across the river and found Jack Tate Road.

There were a handful of cars parked outside Bettie’s Place.  I spent a few minutes inside, this time without even sweet iced tea, before heading back to Montgomery.

Willie’s fingers will never thump another guitar string.  But it was Sunday night in Mississippi and the blues was still on the air.

He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Larry Lee lives in Montgomery.  He can be reached by email at larrylee33@knology.net.

Learn more about Willie Earl King:

http://www.alabamablues.org/Web%20Shop/WebShopIndex.htm

http://www.myspace.com/williekingblues

Drying Clothes on a Clothes Line

I grew up without an indoor clothes dryer.  We hung our clothes on the clothes line – pretty much like everyone else in our neighborhood.  It was part of your job as one of four children to hang the clothes on the line … and to bring them in when they were dry.  And who can forget having to run out to the line and get the clothes in quickly when it started raining? And during the winter, we had a clothes line in the basement.

I really haven’t thought much about a clothes line until we moved out here into the country.  Seems country folk still use clothes lines.  You see them everywhere.  And we’re looking into putting one up, too.  With the skyrocketing costs of everything, including electricity, a penny saved is a penny earned.  Besides, I like the way clothes smell when they’ve been outside drying.  Yeah, I know, some clothes come in all stiff – like your jeans.  But I don’t care.  I can live with that to save a little money.

Do a search on Google on “clothes lines” and you’ll find some pretty impressive equipment.  A lot of it comes from places like Australia and Ireland – places where I’m sure people still use clothes lines a lot.

But think about all of the advantages of drying clothes outside.  Saves money. Less wear and tear on your clothes.  Smells great.  No static cling.  No shrinkage.  And the advantage list goes on and on.   While looking for commercial made clothes line apparatus, I also discovered that some cities and local governments have actually outlawed drying clothes outside.  I guess they think it doesn’t present a pretty picture for their towns.  I call that stupidology – especially in this day and ago of high costs of living.

Well, as soon as we get our clothes line erected, I’ll put up some photos.

Happy clothes hanging to you.

Richard

The Bluebirds are Coming

I know we’re just barely into February but we’ve been seeing our Bluebirds now for about two weeks.  Last year, we had one box we brought with us from our home in Atlanta – never had Bluebirds in it in Atlanta … never.  Put it up down here as soon as winter was over last year and there must have been five families fighting over it.  Seriously!  One family decided to build their house in a place where two pitches of the roof come together right above our screened porch.  Pretty cool to watch them all last spring and summer.

So this year I decided to get some more boxes built so every Bluebird family that wants to hang around our home … can.

Today I got two built and put up (see photos).  Pretty easy.  Lots of plans online if you do a search.  Click here to see the plan I used.  Since you should use rough  lumber, I went down to an old cow shed on some property across the road from us and found a great piece of old heart pine – beautiful piece of wood.  And it was long enough to get 2 houses out of it.  Once you look at the plan, you’ll see you cut all the pieces out of one 6′ long board – a 1 x 6 x 6.  Very easy. Although my old piece of lumber was bigger than that, it was still easy.

This project went so well and easy that I’m going to build two more as soon as possible.  Bluebirds are fun to watch and they are very pretty.  And if all goes well and I get the camera I want this spring, I’ll be posting some Bluebird photos on the blog as they set up home.

If the Bluebirds are coming, spring can’t be too far behind.  And that’s a good thing. Just been too damn cold the last few weeks for me. I’m ready for spring.

Take care – Richard

Riding Dirt Roads

I just returned from 3 days of working in the big city (Atlanta) with a client and when I go on these regular trips, I just can’t wait to get back home.  I can’t wait until the last 3-4 minutes of my ride home when I hit the dirt road that leads to our home.  There is just something good about the slow ride down a dirt road.

In the summer, the temperature drops about 5 degrees on our road as you glide through the twist and turns under the thick hardwood canopy. I catch myself smiling wide as I take in the beauty and keep my eyes wide open for another surprise glimpse of a turkey, deer, hawk or other country animal.  The ride down our dirt road does my soul wonders.

In the wintertime, it is so quiet.  No matter the temperature, I catch myself turning the radio off and rolling the window down so I can hear every noise in the woods.  Our road is posted 20 MPH but I suspect I am rolling along even slower – especially at dusk and dawn when the deer are usually roaming.

When I was growing up in the big city back in the 50s and 60s, there were still a number of dirt roads we would wander just to get away – now you don’t find many dirt roads in the cities.  When my buddies and I go backpacking and hiking in the north Georgia mountains, most of the trails we take require a ride down a nice, cooling, and soothing dirt road.  It sets the tone for the hike. Slows you down. Makes you look with your eyes, nose and ears.  You just don’t ever know what you may see and or capture in your mind’s photo gallery.  It is wonderful.

I love my ride down our dirt road to our new home in the country.  As I got out of the car with my bag and briefcase, I stopped and listened.  So peaceful and quiet except for the frogs down by the creek.  I’m thankful I’m here and my dirt road welcomed me home again.

Richard

Sunset Over Boogie Acres

I don’t think I have mentioned this before now but we called our sweet 21 acres of Heaven … Boogie Acres;  in memory of our wonderful black lab dog, Mojo “Boogie” Blues.  The Best Damn Dog ever.  Born May 15th, 1994 – Died Oct 1st, 2008.  What’s important is the “dash.” More on Boogie later.  But Boogie Acres is where we live – out in the country.

Anyway, I had a pretty good weekend and caught some good sunset photos on Saturday evening.  Sharon has been traveling a lot lately due to trade shows for her work so I’ve been a batchelor for a few weeks.  It finally dried off around here enough that I could cut the grass on Friday evening. Me and “John” (my John Deere lawn tractor) went over it once and then me and the “mulcher” went over it again to vacumm up the leaves.  I planted new grass last fall and it really needed some work – just been raining too much to do anything in the yard.   But I have a grip on it now … finally.  More on this later, too.

So here’s a few photos I took late this afternoon as the sun was setting over the Talladega National Forest to the west of us.  Just damn pretty out here in east central Alabama.  Click the photos for a larger view.

Hey Buddy, Can You Lend a Hand?

The title of this post says it all for today.  And for living in the country and not the big city.   I’m not saying people in the city aren’t friendly or helpful or kind … there are exceptions to every rule.  However, the longer I lived in Atlanta and the bigger it became, I witnessed less and less acts of kindness.

Today, I had to go to town – Ashland – for a Chamber Board meeting and while there, I stopped by the Post Office to get our mail.  Chamber business and the post office are about the only reasons I go to town these days – 10 miles up the road.  Seriously … I love working from home out in the country.

Anyway, as I’m coming out of the post office, I see an elderly man struggling with attaching a jump box to an old Buick – I mean really old – maybe an 80’s model.  At the wheel is an elderly lady – she has to be in her 90s (probably shouldn’t even be driving).  So I approach the elderly man and was about to ask if he needed assistance but he is blunt – say’s, “Hey, can you help me get these cables attached – I don’t see so good lately.”  I, of course, say, “Sure!”

As I take over the situation, he is just a jabbering and I’m loving it. He’s asking me a million questions …. what’s your name, where you live, you from around here, thanks for helping, etc., etc.  This may not be too funny to you but my friends know me as the “20 Question Guy” – I can interrogate you before you even realize what has happened.  The old man is a hoot.  It’s cold – the high today was 36 degrees and I suspect at this time it was about 30 degrees.  The wind was blowing and it was cold.  But he didn’t care.  This was an “event.”  He was having fun.  By the way, he told me he was 85 years old.

Anyway, I thought I knew this guy and being down here only a year and half, I don’t know many people but this guy looks familiar.  We keep talking under the hood and working to get the jumper box hooked up.  It’s one of those batteries with side posts and there wasn’t much room.  I get them hooked up and we try it a few times.  I realize his jumper box is not charged enough.  He agrees.  Then tells me he has some jumper cables in his trunk – his car is parked next to the old lady’s car.  As he continues to tell me his story and ask me more questions, I learn these two seniors are neighbors (probably secret lovers!).

So I look in his trunk (another very old car – I love seniors – they are frugal) and he has 3 sets of jumper cables.  I grab a good looking set and hook up his car and the lady’s car and he revs his car and within a minute we have her car cranked and running.

As I am working on getting her cranked, he tells me about his sons living in Atlanta and one of them owning Smith’s Olde Bar (a main stay in Atlanta), one owning Atlanta’s best BBQ place and another one being a premier lawyer.  I can’t remember his name – I’m sorry.  But I met him at an event in town last year because I remember the stories about his sons – he went on and on and on – which old people (and people like me) are apt to do.  It was a wonderful chance meeting with him … again.

It made my day.  He thought I was an angel.  The old lady thought I was an angel. There were hugs all around.  I just did what any good citizen would do – helped a fellow human being(s) in need. Took 10 minutes of my day.  And as an Eagle Scout – I got to do my Good Turn for the day.  Unsolicited advice – help your fellow citizens when you get an opportunity – it feels good.  It doesn’t have to just be a country thang.

So if you know the fellows who own Smith’s Old Bar in Atlanta, let ‘em know you read a post about their dad. Might make their day.  The old man made mine.

Have a great one!

Richard

Small Town Music & Arts Festival

When we moved out to the country, I decided to get involved in the local community.  In my previous life in Atlanta, I was actively involved with our neighborhood association in Berkeley Park and served as its President for 3 years. I was also the Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) rep for 7 years.  I’m not saying this to brag – just saying I like being involved with what’s going on in my ‘hood.  And since I worked from home most of the time, having time during the day to call politicans and beaurucrats helps to get things done – things that are hard to get done after normal business hours.  Any of you that have been or are involved in neighborhood association work knows it can be a thankless job – but hey, somebody has to do it.

So, back to my new community.  I got invited to join the Clay County Chamber of Commerce in the fall of 2007 after being here for a few months.  Due to some “turmoil” on the Board in early 2008, I was elected President.  My term ended on Dec 31, 2008 and now I am a Board member.

One of our annual Projects of Work is the annual Clay County Music and Arts Festival.  Our 3rd Annual event is scheduled for Saturday, May 16th.  Clay County is a very poor, rural county and we put on this event to bring some joy and fun to our community citizens.  It is free to the public.   The majority of folks here can’t afford to pay for a whole family to attend an event like this.  All of our expenses are covered by sponsors and donations.  Last year we lost money.  Our goal for this year is to make a little or worse case – break even.

If you have ever been involved in a big event like this you know it takes a lot of work and money.  This event will run us about $1oK.  I know, $10K is not a lot of money these days for many people, but it is a lot to raise in this small community – especially in today’s economic times.  But we will figure it out some way, somehow.

Our pre-planning is going well. We have our musical talent lined up and we have secured country recording artist Doug Stone as our headliner to close out the music on Saturday night.  In addition, Clay County and the surrounding area has a lot of very good musical talent and many of these acts are set to play during the day.  We also have 60 exhibit booth spaces for arts & crafts vendors as well as food vendors.  It should be a great day of family fun.

Here’s where I beg and ask anyone reading this post for help and assist.  Maybe you’re from Clay County or maybe you grew up here or in the area.  I invite you to attend.  I also solicit donations – financial or door prizes.  Maybe you know a generous soul who may be willing to help.  If so, let them know about this blog and this event.  If you do this you will be helping us bring some much needed fun and music to some great people in East Central Alabama.

For more information and to donate, visit the Clay County Chamber of Commerce website or call our Executive Director, Mary Patchunka-Smith at 256.396.2828 and she’ll tell you more about how you can help.

Thank you,

Richard

Throw Another Log on the Fire

There’s something about a wood stove and country living … just seems to go together – kind of like the metal roof in the country. 

When we were planning the build of our new home, we decided to include a wood stove for the great room, main living area.  Research and talking to friends brought us to the Woodstock Wood Stove Company in West Lebanon, NH.  Woodstock Wood Stoves incorporate soapstone.  Soapstone is nature’s perfect stove material.  It holds twice as much heat per pound as iron or steel, and it radiates heat steadily, even hours after the fire has died down. Plus the warm grain and color of soapstone make these woodstoves attractive pieces of furniture that you can enjoy year-round.

I don’t think there is a better wood stove made. The Woodstock Wood Stove also uses a catalytic combustor.  The catalytic combustor is designed to clean the smoke that the leaves chimney, reduce creosote, and enable you to get more heat from each piece of wood. Most of the chemical compounds in wood smoke are combustible. High temperatures (in excess of 1000° F) can loosen the bonds of these chemical compounds and “burn” both combustible gasses and particles in wood smoke. However, most stoves cannot consistently produce temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees, particularly during long burning times. A catalytic combustor lowers the temperature at which particles and gasses begin to burn. With a Catalyst, wood smoke begins burning at 500° F instead of 1000°F.

It works.  And works wondefully.  Once you get the temperature up and throw on some good dry hardwood, it doesn’t take much wood to keep it going for long periods of time.  And man does it throw off some heat. With very little smoke going out the chimney.

There’s nothing like spending a cold, gray winter weekend, like we had here this past weekend, next to a glowing and warm soapstone wood stove.  If you’re considering a wood stove, I highly recommend the Woodstock Wood Stove.  And they have a sale going on right now and they also usually put them on sale again during the summer months. That’s when we bought ours and saved a lot of money. And the folks at Woodstock couldn’t be any nicer.  They’ll answer any questions you have – some of the friendliest people I have ever done business with – all over the phone and by email.

Learn more at their website – www.woodstove.com

Stay warm,

Richard

Metal Roof Melody

When we built our new home out here in the country, we decided to put on a metal roof.  For lots of reasons.  Just looks damn cool.  Got an energy tax credit.  They’re  durable and last a long time.   The sound is beautiful when it rains.  And it has been raining a lot around here the past 4-5 days.

Even though we have 2″ sprayed in foam insulation on all outside walls, you can still hear the wonderful sound of rain on a metal roof – especially in our bedroom with its cathedral ceiling.  Sleeping doesn’t get much better than with the sound of rain on a metal roof.  It also sounds great out on the big screened-in porch.  The photo at left is looking out the upstairs guest bedroom across the porch roof … and yes, it was raining when I took the photo.  Click the photo to hear rain on a metal roof.

You see a lot more metal roofs out in the country than in the big cities – don’t really know why but it seems to be true based on my own unscientific survey.  Maybe it’s just a country thang.

I won’t get into all the benefits on a metal roof but they are many. You can do a Google search and educate yourself.  But here’s one link I found that has some pretty good info – on the FacilitiesNet website.

If you’ve never experienced the sound of rain on a tin roof, put it on your Bucket List.  You won’t be sorry.  I can’t wait until the rain comes again.

Richard

Sound Credit:  Rain on Tin Roof was served by the Freesound Project and produced by www.digifishmusic.com.