It's Still Winter!

This morning's view

 I woke up to a shocking reminder that it is February, and it is still winter!  Time to put on the winter clothes and brush the snow off the solar panels.  

I shut off the outdoor wood boiler almost 10 days ago.  We've had almost a week of 60 -70 deg. F temperatures.  Most days were sunny so the house stayed warm and with the dump load water heater,  I had hot water without burning LP.  Life off-grid was smooth sailing.  I could get used to this spring like weather and roll right into summer.

It is still February!  It's been overcast and rainy for a couple of days.  I woke up to house temperatures around 61 deg. F.  and tepid domestic "hot" water.   However, the sun is shining so the water should heat up nicely today. 

1 week ago

It is still February, I keep reminding myself.   It is a little early, but I started pruning grapes during this spring like weather. I remember one year I was pruning in full winter gear on my knees in the snow because the snow was 2-3 foot deep.  

No snow so far this year.  Much of the pruning has been done in a T-shirt and one day, shorts and sandals.  My wool socks made my feet overheat.  

The disadvantage, I got a blister since I wasn't wearing gloves.  My winter hands aren't used to repetitive friction caused by a pruner.  

The high temperature today is 32 deg. F.   The big question is, do I start the wood boiler to warm up the house or do I try to heat the main floor using the dump load hot water.  The forecast calls for a sunny day!  And tomorrow is a bit warmer at 45 deg. F and sun.  As for pruning, maybe I should wait until it warms up.  

Spring Break?

Happy St. Patrick's Day and where is Spring?  It's the time of year when it's supposed to be spring and I should be pruning grapes, but it's too cold to work outside without gloves.  So, on my five day Spring Break I, of course found other work to keep me warm and that I could do with gloves on!

Limestone barn foundation

Friday's job.  A neighbor tore down an old barn and I couldn't bear to see these old limestone blocks buried.  Two trailers full and hopefully I have enough for some retaining walls.  Will I finally finish my landscaping this year?



Saturday's job?  Clean the house hoping it would warm up outside to prune grapes.  I tried, I really did, but it was too cold.  I managed to get a few rows finished.

Current Woodpile

Sunday, Monday and probably Tuesday morning, the job was cutting wood.  Trees were drug out last fall, sitting in the field waiting to be cut.  Unfortunately, the snow and cold continued for so long that I didn't get to them.  Thank goodness for a father who can back a trailer and run a loader tractor!  This is three trailer loads and there is yet another one to get.  It might be more impressive if it was stacked neatly!

Greetings from the Tundra

How much more can I comment on the weather?  We have missed seven days of school since January started, and not to mention the numerous late starts.  I can't remember a full week of school or even what it feels like to work a full five day week!  And Mother Nature keeps socking it too us!  More cold and snow!  But there does appear to be a warm up in the future - maybe even above freezing temperatures?!

Observations on the winter of 2013-2014:   

1). I think we have had more days of sun this winter.  Yeah for the new solar panels!  Last year one cloudy day would force me to run the generator that night, but not this year.  I have only started the generator once since the wind turbine wasn't back in operation, which was mid January.  Before that date without a working turbine it's hard to compare data.  But I'm sure you can all attest to the clear skies, because they brought us so many days of frigid temperatures this winter.  

On a side note pertaining to the wind turbine...we put it up on one of those -20F days in January.  Why?  Well, it was sunny, the wind wasn't blowing and I had the day off from work due to the low temps.  The turbine went up fairly quickly and easily, but then the cold job of tightening all the nuts and bolts on the anchors.  I'm sure you can imagine the frustration of maneuvering nuts and bolts with mittened hands, and I sure wasn't going to remove those mittens!  A quick thought jumped into my head about using my mouth, which I always do with nails and screws while I'm working (in warmer temps, usually).  And before I really thought about it, my lips were bleeding.  Now, I'm not one to go out and lick a metal pole with my tongue, but I don't know what I was thinking...my lips would be dry and therefore the metal wouldn't freeze on contact?  Lesson learned!

2).  Another observation this winter, with the freezing cold temperatures and lots of snow, I have become a total home body.  I guess I have saved quite a bit of "entertainment" money.  I did get out one partial weekend...went to Baconfest.  Of course, who wouldn't leave the hermit shell for that?  It was a great time, except I worried about the heat in my house the entire time.  The only heat source I have is the outdoor wood boiler.  I had my dad scheduled to put wood in it Friday afternoon, and my brother Saturday.  Easy, right?  Apparently they filled the entire stove with wood Friday night and never checked on Saturday.  When I got home on Saturday night, the stove was fairly full of wood, but it wasn't burning and the water temperature was very low.  I had to pull out all of that wood and restart the fire.  Luckily the house will retain quite a bit of warmth, even without heat.  I usually just shut the stove off, but since it has been so cold I wanted to avoid that.  I did pay extra for the dual fuel capability and I should be able to switch it to lp backup, but there must be a wiring issue because that keeps blowing the fuse.  Time to call the repairman.

3). We have had a lot of snow, not all at once but an accumulation over the entire winter.  So far there has been no mid winter melt.  This means my driveway is an absolute mess.  The snow on the actual driveway is about 3 feet in some places.  The man with the blade gave up on that weeks ago and instead I have a plowed path in the cornfield.  With the freezing temperatures it has been bearable, but the forecast is finally calling for a warm up.  Melting snow and maybe even rain mixed with cornfields equals mud.  I suppose it's time to test the capabilities of the 4x4 truck in mud!

The best way to enjoy snow is with cross country skis.  Mine have been out of commission for most of the winter due to delamination.  I have tried to glue them, but so far it hasn't lasted very long.  Third times a charm, right?  I have had my snowshoes out, but those seem like a lot of work and you seem to use the same muscles as walking.  Xcountry skies just make the winter go by much more quickly!  With the new snow today, time to get out there and enjoy before it all melts later in the week!