Deja Vu

During those couple of days of -40 windchills, I thought to myself how lucky I was to have such a warm and cozy house.  If I needed more heat, throw a few more logs on the fire (yes, I would have to go outside, which I did complain about a little).  I had plenty to eat stored in the freezer and pantry.  In fact it felt like all I really did was eat and sleep.  Those extra days where nothing could be done outside allowed me to catch up on inside stuff.  I ordered all of my garden seeds for the upcoming year, worked on my taxes, relaxed and read some books and have plenty of leftover food for lunches the rest of the week.  Life was pretty good. 

And then Wednesday came.  I noticed the water for my shower wasn't very warm.  My domestic hot water is heated by the outdoor wood stove.  The hot water (with glycol) from the stove runs through a bypass arm attached to the water heater and thus heats the water for showers and sinks.  I know the stove is working and the water coming in is hot.  The issue seemed to be that the bypass arm was blocked with mineral deposits and so the domestic water wasn't able to flow through and therefore heat.  The bottom valve which allows the heated water back into the water heater had been blocked last year, so the intake valve or tubing itself must be the problem this time.  And it was.  So a full evening was spent on unhooking the bypass, draining the tank, using vinegar to flush out the bypass and a few screwdrivers and wire brushes to clean the stubborn deposits, a few more flushes and drainings and the water was flowing!  All seems good.  Except now the water softener isn't working.  I finally had this hooked up this fall, which is supposed to prevent the mineral deposits, but I guess it was too late.  The plumber never left a manual for the softener so I guess its time to call in the expert.

On Thursday, the plan was to lower the wind turbine to the ground to check on the tail.  Ever since we had an ice storm, the tail, even in low wind has not been in line with the body.  It's been at a 45 degree angle, which usually means it is braking.  And since the charge controller has never really worked (the new one) we were calling the company to trouble shoot that.  The wind turbine was lowered and the problem was a bolt was too tight, which was the manufacturers doing.  Easy fix, right?  With that done, the turbine was then pulled upright using the cables and gin pole.  Unfortunately, with the friction on the cable (which had raised and lowered this turbine roughly 5 or6 times, the cable broke and the turbine came crashing to the ground.  Well, nearly to the ground, the ladder was still underneath to support the blades, so only one blade was broken.    This is almost exactly where I found myself 8 months ago, the wind turbine on the ground with a broken blade, but then I also had an extremely bent pole that had to be replaced.  And one blade can't be purchased, you had to buy all three.  And the new controller needs to be sent in to see what the issue is with that.

  

The Polar Vortex

I have spent the last three days cooped up in the house with a psychopath kitten who can transform from a vicious, man-eating predator into a cuddly, sleeping baby in a nanosecond and a dog who seems to have cabin fever worse than me.  I've tried to figure out a schedule to her madness, so I can be prepared, but there is no rhyme or reason.  


In between psychotic episodes, I have watched some TV programs of homesteaders in Alaska.  (Oh yes, with wind chills at -50 degrees and a sunny day yesterday, I have had plenty of power!)  In comparison with them, my life is pretty cake.  Off grid is not equivalent in all parts of the world.  I feel like I live in luxury being off grid in Iowa.  However I do incorporate some homestead/sustainable principles.  Cutting wood and using only wood as a heating source puts me at least in the same ballpark.  I grow a lot of my own fruits and vegetables and store these for winter use.  But unless I become vegetarian, I couldn't survive off of the land.  I don't own a gun and have a hard time killing the mice in my garage tunneling through my styrofoam insulation.  (Hence the need for a cat, though so far she hasn't earned her keep.)  At least when I head out to the wood stove at night, I'm not worrying about a bear attack, maybe a mountain lion or coyote someday, but not really.  For this, I am grateful.

That's not saying my life is easy and uncomplicated!  Until a huge snow melt, my driveway will be impassable to two wheel drive vehicles.  The blade has done all it can, but with winds blowing from the south one day and switching to the northwest the next, some of the actual gravel driveway is  ruined beneath piles of snow.  Instead, the "driveway" veers off into the field.  I expected this and deposited both of my front wheel drive vehicles in an accessible place and was granted the use of the "beast".  The old full size, but 4 wheel drive vehicle.  And it's only the beginning of January!  It's going to be a long winter!  With that said, I did order my garden seeds yesterday.  Nothing like a seed catalog to diminish the winter blues with all of its promises of green and vibrant colors and sunshine!

I did spend longer than five minutes outside today.  I walked to the mailbox to gather the last few days' mail.  It was a balmy +6 degrees.  Stay warm!

Winter Break is Over

I spent the last few days cutting and hauling dead wood from around the property to add to the wood pile for this year.  Many people who have outdoor wood boilers say that they burn anything and everything, but with Murphy on my side, I try to follow the manufacturers instructions.  I figure I still have a couple of months of wood left, but since I have some time over break with daylight hours, I thought I should get ahead of the game.  

There are quite a number of dead trees on the south side of the pond.  Bringing them to the woodpile would require hauling them across the pond and uphill.  I don't trust a spring fed pond and leaving the wood hauling to a sled seems like a lot of work.  With about 6 inches of snow on the ground, I know (from last year) that the full size four wheel drive truck should have no problem hauling this wood.  Of course there is always a catch - it has a topper on it.  Definitely not ideal for hauling wood, but considering the alternative, its my best bet.

One pile dragged across the pond via sled.

I learned last year that two wedges are definitely better than one.  I would like to add to that, two chainsaws are better than one.  One of these days I will learn.

My niece and nephew were here to help haul some loads.  The novelty wore off pretty quickly.  However, we were able to achieve a nice stack of wood.