Making an Ash of Myself

With a couple of warmish days (and the first 24-hour period this year with the temperature staying above freezing), I was able to let the fire go out so I could more easily dig the ashes out of the fireplace. The fire logs burn relatively cleanly, but eventually you end up with too much ash. After waiting for the winds we been having to die down — trying to dump ash into the ashcan when it's windy is a fool's errand — I put on my N95 mask to avoid inhaling ash and cleaned the fireplace. The ashes should be cooled down enough to put into the dumpster on Monday evening for trash removal on Tuesday. (I certainly don't want to set my trash dumpster on fire!)