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.  

The eve of a new Year

The last day of 2013 is a good time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the new one.  It does seem like the years keep moving along at a faster rate, or is that because we always seem to be in a hurry?  

Sunset over the snow dragon and farm fields.

This past year has seen a new wind turbine installed and running, 3x more solar collecting capabilities and so far, siding that hasn't come loose yet.  However, thinking back to last year at this time, I was dreaming of building a dock on the pond so that we wouldn't have to walk through mud to get to the water, landscaping and planning a patio area and finishing the landscaping on the west side of the house which is what one sees as they first drive in.  It's looking pretty plain yet.  None of those things were even begun.  I had expected to replace the storage batteries, but it looks like with the new solar panels, that can be put off awhile longer.  On sunny days, the batteries are getting fully charged which will help maintain them.  One thing that I'm not very good at is equalizing them often enough (very rarely, if that).  

Plans for 2014?  Air conditioning!!  With the increased solar capabilities, there should be enough power to run a small air conditioner on sunny days to at least eliminate the humidity inside.  The house is very energy efficient, with the inside temperature reaching 85 degrees on the third floor during the hottest days last summer.  This high temperature was usually after numerous days of high heat.  An air conditioning unit would make sleeping a bit more bearable.  Oh, the modern conveniences!!

I can still hope to get the patio worked out and maybe even a concrete driveway pad, and the dock.  But in my world, expect the unexpected.  Who knows what will come up.  I also need to work on another heating source.  There will be excess energy in the summer so setting up an electric water heater as a dump load could heat the domestic hot water.  But is there a way to set this up to also heat the floors?  Would an electric water heater be enough with the capacity of the floor tubing?  And the other question, since I don't need the heated floors in the summer, would there be too much heat energy for the limited hot water that I use in the summer?  Since there would be no temperature gauge on the water, instead the dump load device would turn it on and off.  Why are things always so complicated?

Sunrise on a new year!

Wishing you a great 2014.

Christmas 2013

The second annual snowshoe to Christmas dinner.  Does life get much better than that?  This year my 11 year old niece decided to join in on the fun.  It wasn't a sunny day, but the temperature was around 20 degrees with little wind.  It was a pleasant jaunt until the last mile through the open cornfields and it began to snow - really snow, blowing in our faces.  According to Google Earth, the trip was 2.83 miles one way.  Nothing like a little exercise before a big dinner!  

Luckily, we had a ride back.  The snow continued throughout the evening and put down another few inches with the wind blowing some small drifts.  The driveway was cleared yesterday and has proven passable to two wheel drive vehicles now.  How long will this last?

And my Christmas present?      A log splitter.  I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I've seen it demonstrated.  Nothing like manual labor to keep one's fingers and toes warm on a winter's day.

 

First day of winter 2013

The previously mentioned snow "storm" was overrated.  The first real storm of this winter began last night.  5+ inches of snow.  I did my morning routine of brushing off the solar panels.  I was hoping for a little sun today and it did finally show it's face this afternoon.  There were three solid days of thick cloud cover and no wind.  The batteries made it through the first day and night of clouds.  But by the evening of the second day I had to run the generator to charge them back up and again the following evening.

The driveway is filled with snow so my vehicles won't be leaving today.  The wind was supposed to pick up (more power) but it doesn't appear to have done so.  :(. Although, all of this snow and no wind would better my chances of getting the drive cleared and me free to go as I desire.  However, wind would supply me with more power...always the dilemma.  But, the temperature is supposed to drop and so the man with the blade and tractor is in no hurry to come out and play in the snow with its layer of ice underneath.  The bright side, and it is bright, the colder temperatures usually mean sun.  And there was sun.

More good news, the wood pile seems to be doing ok.  If I figure one row a month, there are two rows left which should be January and February.   Yes, I know there are a few more weeks in December, but there are still some logs yet to be cut and split that I didn't get to last year.

A New Life

Life with power how amazing you are!  I have been able to run the dishwasher, clothes washer on sunny days during the week, and watch tv at night with the outdoor stove on and power to spare!  This must be how most people live...  I can even watch some tv at night on cloudy days.  Amazing!

First though, I needed heat.  I called the stove guy and he said the motor of the pump on the wood boiler has probably gone bad and it needs to be replaced.  I reminded him that I had a couple spare pumps since I replaced two with a larger pump.  Then I remembered that I also had a spare rotor, for which pump I had no idea, but it was worth a try.  Replacing the rotor worked and now I have a working pump which will equal a warm house.  

I waited as long as I could, but when the inside house temperature was hovering around 58 degrees, I thought it was time to turn on the furnace.  The official start date this year was November 6, 2013.  My goal is always to make it until December 1st, but not this year. 

So far the wood pile appears to be holding its own.  I still have a few blocks of cherry to split from last year yet.  I have spent a weekend on clearing out a fenceline.  My dad's neighbor wants to bulldoze the trees in the fenceline, however this is where I've been getting my wood for the last couple of years.  I only had a couple of weekends to get the trees cut down (definitely not my specialty), clean up the logs and get them out of there.  I did call in help to cut the trees down, but otherwise most of the work I did on my own, and I was so glad when Monday morning rolled around and I could go back to my real job because my body needed a break!  Anyway, I haven't counted the trees I pulled out, over 20, but I do have about three left on the ground that I couldn't get out of there.  Now, I come to find out that the job probably won't get done until spring!  It would have been more enjoyable to do that work more leisurely than trying to accomplish it all in a few short days.  I have the rest of the winter to cut up those logs and move them to my woodpile for next years wood.

With the heat on, much more power, the winter seems easy to conquer...but there's always something.  Tonite we are receiving our first legitimate traffic slowing snow storm.  The panic begins...will I be able to make it out of my driveway in the morning?  Unfortunately, the man with the blade is not sure he can even get in his tractor.  He fractured a vertebrae a few weeks ago and is in a backbrace and on pain killers.  He never offered his truck (the old one of course), so I will have to wait until morning to see what Mother Nature has surprised me