I rolled out at six, late for me. The bed had been warm and the radiator heater I keep near Bisbee's cage (which is covered by towels) had not done enough to warm the room. So I tossed on my sweats and got going. I closed the bedroom door so the bird could go back to sleep. No cats on the landing. They would be curled together on my big soft easy chair for warmth.

I turn the furnace down before I head upstairs each night. This year it is set at 61 at night, and 67 in daytime. I figure that should save me another thirty or forty bucks a month this year, if the gas price is the same as last. My high bill last winter was 261 dollars. It was $350 the year before. No more of that crap! I will try to keep it around two hundred this winter, but they say it is going to be a very cold one.

During the days when it gets colder I am going to put the second radiator under Bisbee's ceiling hook during the daytime. Then I can cut the furnace down to about 65. Cats have fur and I wear layers of fleece, wool and leather jackets. Birds are sensitive to cold and drafts.

The wind goes right through this old house when it blows hard. I have strips of duct tape around all the window cracks and old nailed-shut extra doors. I taped over the old mail slot, stuffed tons of rags in the unused dryer vent, and taped cardboard over the basement windows. I use folded rugs along the bottom of all doors as bolsters.

I have even taped mylar layers over the inside of several windows, although I doubt that will help. I keep two room doors upstairs closed all the time, and when I use the studio I open it up ahead of time so it warms. It was 36 degrees in there this morning!

There was a frost. It was our first one. The outside fleas are dead now, and I picked the last tomatoes. Now the leaves need to be raked and bagged.

Another season.