We Can't Have Christmas at my House, it's Been Cloudy for Three Days

I had contemplated having the whole family over for dinner.  After all, the kitchen is large and so is the living room.   Although I dislike all of the paper waste leftover, yeah, bah humbug.  And the timing was right - a two o'clock dinner, but everyone showing up around noon.  Maybe we would even open the presents before we ate?!  Perfect!  Maybe next year.

About two weeks ago the generator stopped working.  I started it on a Sunday night, it started with a loud pop, ran for about five minutes and then died.  When I tried to restart it, the indicator lights said RPM sensor loss.  I would have to wait until Monday to call someone to repair it.  

Meanwhile, checking the weather, it looks like we have nearly a week of sunshine, so it shouldn't be a problem.  Of course the guy that installed it doesn't do generators anymore, so I had to call around some more.  

I finally got a hold of someone who could come out on Tuesday, about 60 minutes away.  The repairman looked it over, believed it was the starter, ordered a new one, expediting the shipping would put it here on Thursday - the coldest day of the winter thus far, but sunny!  

He came back on Thursday at 10  degrees above zero, with wind chills making it feel well below zero degrees Fahrenheit.  When he took the old starter out to replace it, he noticed a hole in the engine.  Yes, a hole, about one inch in diameter in the engine.  That must have been the loud pop when it started last.  This generator was installed exactly two years ago.  Why do generators always die in the coldest months of the year?  (Probably because that is when they are used the most).  So a new engine is on its way, but it is nearly the holidays.  

Checking the weather ahead, there are many sunny days, but my weather app is usually wrong.  Hopefully I can limp through.  One cloudy day isn't too bad, but more than one gets a little tight on energy.  It seems crazy, but shutting off the heat is an option to save on power usage.  This is a concrete house, so it takes a few days for it to "cool" down to sixty degrees.  Without a backup generator, no sun or wind, that is my only option.  And of course the weekend after the generator quit, was the coldest weather, Sunday's high temperature was -14 degrees F.  Yes, that was the forecasted high temperature.  I think it was only -8 degrees F.  But Thursday, Friday and Saturday were cloudy.  The forecast said sunny and cold on Sunday, but I didn't want to risk the system shutting down, so I shut off the stove on Friday night.  Saturday morning the stove was still hot, so started it up to run the hot water through the pipes.  The house was still around 68 degrees.  

By Sunday morning, it was 62 degrees in the house.  Yes, a little chilly.  Outside it was bitterly cold, but full sunlight, so I started the stove and the house was back up to temperature by mid afternoon.  I survived!  I would say this has been one of the sunniest Decembers I can remember.  Usually December is the cloudiest month of the year.  But, I still have no generator.  

It's the week of Christmas, the part is not scheduled to be delivered until the Tuesday after Christmas.  And of course, Friday and Saturday (Christmas Eve) and Sunday are cloudy.  I shut the stove off for another day to limp through the Christmas weekend.  And the day after Christmas,  super windy and sunny all day!  Lots of power to start the stove and heat the house!  So, no family get together at my off-grid house this year. 

How to Have a White Christmas

If you really want a white Christmas, start a major landscaping project in November.  Granted our November weather was super nice - in fact too balmy to cut wood, the grape harvest was finished, replacing broken grape posts was finally finished, so we started.

The Before Picture

 I've been mowing this area since 2009 and finally got a "plan" Christmas of 2015.  The patio stone was delivered in the summer and I was hoping to lessen the huge piles before the snow flies so my driveway doesn't drift.

By patio stone, I mean broken concrete pieces out of a former cattle yard.   Dirt (manure) and all!  What can I say, the price was right.  

Another factor in the whole equation was the use of a skid steer to move the heavy pieces.  We had to wait for the "man with the skid steer" to finish harvesting, and then, had to be free, or at least the equipment had to be free.  This definitely wasn't a one person job!   Three would have been nice, but two kind of worked.  

This is about all that was complete before the ground froze around early December.  The outline shape is established and the fire pit can be easily seen.  The problem was many pieces were too large and heavy to move by hand or the small bucket on the tractor. 

I did get all the crushed limestone moved down here, off the driveway.  We did make a dent in the concrete pile, but there is still plenty left.  And there is still a pile of washed river rock.  I have nearly surrounded the house in river rock and there is still plenty more.  Think before ordering a dump truck load of river rock.  :)

And this is about a week later - mid December.  

Pile of Concrete Remains

Recycling at it's Finest

Wow, so it has been over two years since my last post, the hiatus is over.   In that time, many things have changed, but much more has stayed the same. 

 Remember the pile of limestone foundation rocks from 2014?  It became the landscaping for the steep slope on the west side of the house.  

Have I ever mentioned that I hate mowing?  This eliminates some steep mowing of a large area. 

I also needed a walkway.  My father was ripping out the old barn concrete floor and I thought the concrete pieces would save some of that history (my grandfather had poured the concrete) and give me a recycled (cheap) walkway.  

I think this would be a great idea for a patio area.  To me, a poured concrete slab looks too formal and man made.  However, pieced concrete adds so much more character, especially when you know where the concrete came from and what it was in its former life.  The plan would include a pergola shade structure, outdoor dining room and maybe someday a pizza oven.   This is the creative project for the summer!

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!

Lessons in Life

I'm a firm believer that experience is one of the best teachers.  However, I would listen if someone else had the experience and could "teach" me that without going through the experience...  The lesson I learned this weekend was that 11 inches of snow with an inch of ice/snow on top acts much different than 12 inches of fresh powder.

 
How do I know this?  Since the temperatures warmed up last week for a couple of days and we received rain, the "temporary" driveway got a bit dodgey.  And since the three foot drifts were now melted down to around a foot, I thought the mighty beast of a truck could make a path through so I could actually use the gravel driveway.  Things didn't work as planned.  The hard top crust of snow and ice killed the momentum.  Luckily this ludicrous attempt was made on a sunny, Sunday morning, so I had many hours of daylight to dig.  And dig I did!

The man with the tractor and blade is in some sunny locale, so all I had was me and a shovel.  I did realize early on that as long as I broke the crust where the wheels would travel, I could make some headway.  Two hours and about 100 feet later, the truck is free and I can actually accomplish something productive today.  Chalk that experience up to a lesson learned!

On the agenda today is planting spinach, lettuce and carrots in the greenhouse, and begin pruning grapes.  It was 17 degrees F outside but 100 degrees in the greenhouse.  This makes winter more bearable!  The planting went alright except for the 3 cats trying to fight with my garden tools and digging up my rows.  The grape pruning was a different story.

The grape cordon is 36" from the ground.  Right now, the snow is about 32" deep which means I was kneeling in the snow to prune my grapevines.  I was fortunate that the snow was crusty and therefore I didn't sink with each step but could walk on top of the snowpack.  Fortunate?  I was only out for about an hour before my knees were frozen and I decided to call it a day.  There was progress, but with temperatures dropping again the rest of the week to below normal, not sure how much time I will spend out there.  I'm wishing for 20 degrees and above with sun.  Is that too much to ask for the end of February?

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.