The plumber wants to do a maintenance project on our hot water heat boiler - clean the heat exchanger, replace the backflow valve, among other things. The estimate is $1200. I'm waiting for relatively nicer weather because I don't want him to get it taken apart and then have to wait for a part or some other complication, leaving me without heat.

It would be easy to put the whole thing off, but he did us such a favor by installing a new circulating pump in such a way that the thumps and bumps the system made whenever the heat turned on and off no longer occur. He said the previous pump was installed backwards, and I have given up thinking about why the system worked all these 20 years, even though with those noises.

Maybe 7 years ago a different plumber said the noise was caused by the pipes being kind of loose, so when a valve closed they would vibrate and hit some structural thing nearby, making a thump. And there was nothing that could be done about it. But he wasn't looking at the pump to see if it was installed properly.

So now our heat comes on and off without a sound. I can't get over it. And feel like I owe it to this new plumber to give him the further business of doing maintenance on the boiler.

Meanwhile, some snowy weather is in the forecast.


This is fine because we can always use the moisture. There may be more storms to come, but I want to get this guy before air conditioning season really kicks in, so will try to schedule him within the next couple of weeks. Air conditioning didn't used to be such a deal here at 7000 feet and higher, but with climate change and tourists thinking they can't live without it, our nearby resort town has a big demand for retro-fitting it in. Meanwhile, at our house we open the windows at night, close them in the morning, and the house is chilly all day. Try to tell that to tourists.

"Springtime in the Rockies" is a song made famous by Gene Autry.

It's a sweet song, here's the lyrics:

When it's springtime in the Rockies
I'm coming back to you
Little sweetheart of the mountains
With your bonnie eyes of blue

Once again I'll say I love you
While the birds sing all the day
When it's springtime in the Rockies
In the Rockies far away

The twilight shadows deepen into night, dear
The city lights are gleaming o'er the snow
I sit alone beside the cheery fire, dear
I'm dreaming dreams from out the long ago

I fancy, it is springtime in the Rockies
The flowers with their colors are aflame
And though I long to be back in the Rockies
I'll wait until the springtime comes…