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| Trail? What trail? |
Monday 12/14. Had a nice long talk with Randy today. He thinks I should write more about being off the grid. He is probably right as I tend to write more about living on a mountain than being off grid. When I first began writing my blog, I wrote a lot about our solar power set up and living with it, but I guess I have not been too specific lately.
We really have to adjust more to solar power in the winter, with the shorter days and more cloudy weather. We use candles or battery-powered lights when the sun goes down until about 7:00 pm when we turn on an electric light and the TV to watch a movie or TV series. With the introduction of LED lights, there are now several good little battery lights that are very bright and use little power. We usually have the TV on for about 2 to 2-12 hours. During the day, we only use electricity to pump in water, run the computer, or run our few electric kitchen tools. If it is a very cloudy day, we will use the generator to power up the batteries.
Another issue with winter and solar power is that the cold tends to affect the batteries adversely, so the charge, whether from the sun or generator, does not last as long. With only four solar panels, we really have to watch our use. We do have a 3000 kwh set-up and the panels are on top of a ridge, but it's not at all like being Down There with unlimited usage.
There is an excellent article in the Jan/Feb issue of Countryside magazine about living off grid. Truly living off the grid is a matter of getting back to basics. Keeping it all simple - KISS. Using solar power instead of grid power to run all your toys and electronics is not what it is all about. Our attitude is like the author of this article, use electricity as little as possible. We have lots of candles and oil lanterns. Unlike the author, we do not have any kerosene lanterns, but I think we're good. A wood stove is our only source of heat, which means stocking up on fire wood each year and lugging it into the house each winter. What feels so good about this is that we are helping ourselves and not relying on the "system." I will be writing more about this in future posts.
It is actually more fun to write about living on a mountain. Like today when we all went down the road to groom it. JB and I in MAX with the dogs walking/running. By grooming it, I mean that JB uses MAX to flatten out the middle ridge. Without Miss Kitty, we won't be able to plow this winter as our plow will not fit on Big Red. (Wouldn't want to use it on a borrowed vehicle anyway.)
It was a beautiful day and a great ride. Has been a while since we used MAX, so I forgot how cold my face gets and forgot to wear a scarf I could wrap over it. I did remember hand and toe warmers though.
Our high for the day was 34, but even with the bright sunshine, there was no noticeable melting.
Larry and Elsie drove up for a visit this evening in their side-by-side Arctic Cat (same as Miss Kitty). Larry drove in Big Red's tracks that he could see. The only problem with using MAX as opposed to plowing is that with his wide tracks, MAX tends to sit up on the snow, whereas the Arctic Cats will sink down with their tires.
Tuesday 12/15. It is 24, partly cloudy and breezy this morning. That four degrees between 28 and 24 makes a big difference.
I found out this morning that my cousin's stepdaughter had lost her fight with breast cancer on Sunday. She was only 28, had two little boys, and had put up such a long, hard fight. This is going to be really rough on everyone.
So our day had a pall to it, as will the whole holiday season. Got ready for JB to go Down There tomorrow to mail all our Christmas cards & run a few errands. We are supposed to get more snow tomorrow night, and there is a big storm due in over Christmas.
Our high for the day was 32 and the sky remained partly cloudy.
Wednesday 12/16. It is 23 and overcast this morning and it looks like we received about 1/2" of snow overnight.
Thought for the day: Grief is a privilege - a privilege of having loved so much. Nancy Roberts, The Circle of Life
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