Jan 31, 2014 Notes on Solar Power

Our sign on the main canyon road.

Wednesday 1/29.  Happy Birthday, Elsie!!  Mother Nature gave Elsie a soft, white blanket of snow in celebration of her special day.  We awoke to 17 degrees and 4-1/2" of snow.  More fell off and on during the afternoon, each time chasing the fog away.  And the sun was able to break through a few times.

JB had to clean the panels first thing, then he shoveled pathways after breakfast.  I stayed inside to wash the dishes and do the laundry.  

I absolutely have to finish Dance With Dragons so I can get on with my life!  Took breaks to start making valentines.

So nice to see snow falling again.  This is more like winter.

Thursday 1/30.  It was 23, overcast and breezy this morning with another 1/2" of snow.  After morning chores, we decided that after lunch we would drive MAX down to our sign on the main canyon road, where our road branches off.  It was a great ride, although with the breeze we often found ourselves driving through small flurries as the snow blew off the trees.  The dogs thoroughly enjoyed themselves, running at least six miles to our three.  Even with this new snow, we should be able to drive JB's Jeep down the road.

I was finally able to finish my book late this afternoon.  Only problem is, now I have to wait for the next one.  T'is an enchanting world in which to immerse oneself.

The overcast skies broke into patches of blue in the afternoon, and the sun's rays scampered over the south ridge and down into Rose Camp.  Such a great winter day!

I have had some questions regarding our solar power system.  We have a bank of twelve GEL/AGM batteries, which are good for being in a non-heated shed but are a bit more pricey than regular batteries.  Fortunately, we were able to purchase used ones.  We have four solar panels mounted on one large pole.  And we have a non-standard sine wave inverter, which produces "dirty" power.  At the time we purchased it we had just lost more than 60% of our savings in the great Wall Street fiasco of 2008, so we really could not afford the standard one that was almost twice as expensive.  We also have the necessary charge controller.  This set-up gives us all the electricity we need for our home, but because of the type of inverter, we have to use the propane generator to run the clothes washer and well pump, and we cannot charge batteries for tools or even flashlights.  We charge them using the JB's shop generator.  On a really cloudy or foggy day, we also use the generator when we wash the dishes, for the cistern water pump, and that gives us enough of a charge for everything else.  Otherwise there is plenty of power for our lights, computers, printer, TV and microwave.  We do hope to one day be able to afford a standard inverter.  Larry and Elsie, however, have 14 solar panels with a standard sine wave inverter, and can run a small village!  Elsie has an electric refrigerator, washer and dryer, garbage compactor, and dishwasher (which she only uses in the summer), in addition to lights, computers, water pumps, etc.  And Larry has a shop full of electric tools.  But in the late fall and early winter, when the sun goes so far south and does not reach into the canyon where they live for more than a couple hours a day, they need to use their generator for an hour or so in the evening to power up their batteries.  JB says that Home Power Magazine is an excellent source of information on solar power and the various systems.

Friday 1/31. This morning is 16 with a heavy overcast and more snow predicted, and the valley fog is creeping up from the valley into the canyons.

Thought for the day: Dogs are like furry little life-teachers; they are the goofiest looking gurus.  They remind us that the true joys in life are happiness, love, affection and, of course, food.  And let's face it, they are right. Lucy Schwartz

Jan 29, 2014 Rime, Rhyme and. . . Snow!

Rime on Rose Camp -
 lizard.

Rime on Rose Camp - branches.

Rime on Rose Camp -
clothes line.

Rime on Rose Camp - everywhere!

Finally - snow, 4-1/2" this morning.

Rhyme on Rose Camp

Rime & fog on Rose Camp mine
White as snow but crystal light.
A dreamscape, a land of lacy ice,
A cold but beautiful sight.

Crystals form on every surface
As frozen fog creeps in to spite
The sun so far above,
Shielded from us by clouds & night.

My Grandmother was a poet,
But I am not & don't I know it!

Jan 27, 2014 Girls Rule!

Rimed landscape on the south ridge.

JB on our north ridge towards the end
of our walk on Sunday.

Friday 1/24. The fog in the canyon to the south was very persistent in attempting to creep up over the ridge and down into Rose Camp, but the sun beat it back at each attempt, and only a few light fingers of fog managed to rime the grass and trees around us more.

Finally able to do the laundry and dishes at the same time!  Woo hoo!  After that I had to get outside, so the dogs and I spent more than an hour on the south ridge and east slope.  I gathered a couple armloads of kindling and took them to the wood shed.  The dogs love it when one or both of us is outside, regardless of what we are doing.

On Thursday we had strung the wire for the radio from the loft down to my desk in the great room.  So much handier to have the radio there.  But today I was forced to sort through the pile of papers I had sitting on my desk.  I really need to get into the habit of filing things as soon as I have them.  There were items from 2011 in that pile. . .

JB was home by 3:00.  He still had the loaner SUV, which he parked at Larry & Elsie's, as the computer at the shop found that the reason the engine light came on in my Jeep was because of "misfiring".  They hadn't been able to make it happen again and the spark plugs seemed to be fine.  They will do some more testing and if the light doesn't come on again, we'll just get the Jeep back.  I know that engine lights can be very fickle, but I don't want to ignore it.

Saturday 1/25.  We stayed up late watching "Zero Dark Thirty" last night, which kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, so I slept in til 9:00 am today.  It was 12 degrees with fog when JB got up at 8:00 am, and we were fogged in the whole day with a high of 17.

It was a good day for reading the newspapers, magazines and mail.  JB worked some on my old computer, trying to clean it up, but that may be a lost cause.

We had an evening of "marbles" planned at Larry & Elsie's, so we left about 6:30 pm to drive down to their place.  The further down we got, the thicker the rime became, until we were in a scene right out of "Dr. Zhivago."  I felt like we should be riding in a horse-drawn sleigh.  It was phenomenal, and words simply fail me when it comes to describing it.  A dreamscape.  The trees sparkled in our headlights.  It was as if some giant had come through and over-flocked everything for Christmas.  Absolutely amazing!  And we saw a rabbit in its winter white, something I had never seen before.  On top of that we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.  Girls beat the guys best two out of three games!!

The temperature at their place was 25 when we left and at Rose Camp it was 11.  Most of the fog had cleared out by then, but cold is cold.

Sunday 1/26.  Clear sky and valley fog this morning with a temperature of 12.  The fog quickly moved in though, until the sun began to burn it off around noon, the rime glistening in its rays.  Even with a sunny afternoon, our high was only 20 - and that was at 9:00 pm.

Another day to sleep in, for me at least.  JB got up with the dogs at 7:00 am, which was fortunate, as our son called at 7:30 am on his way home from picking up our granddaughter at a big sleep-over for the girls in her private school's class.  JB got to talk to her and hear all about it.  Both our son's children go to private school.  Jake says if you live in Alabama and can afford it, you definitely send your kids to private school.

And speaking of weird winter weather, Jake says Mobile, AL, was been warned of a possible two inches of snow on Tuesday, with more than a foot in Georgia!

Monday 1/27. It is foggy and 16 this morning.  There is snow in the forecast for this week.  I can only hope that NOAA is right this time.

Thought for the day: On the road of life, meet people where they are.  Accept who they are. . . And there are some folks that you need to leave where they are and keep walking. Dennis Linn

Jan 24, 2014 Victory Dance!

A lake of fog, with islands, to our south.

Wednesday 1/22. The skies were clear first thing, but the clouds moved in slowly and by 3:00 pm it was overcast.  Our high for the day was 28.

We did a load of laundry and the dishes and a little water backed up into the bath tub.  So JB snaked the pipe in reverse - from the septic tank.  He found the problem about five feet in and soon the clog and water came rushing in.  Now it's time for a victory dance!

On top of that, Dinga's leg seems to be back to normal.  She's not limping at all any more.

I started another book that JB gave to me for Christmas, George Martin's fifth book in his Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance of Dragons.  It is much thicker than the other, 959 pages, in a large paperback the size of a hardback.  

It took a while to sink in, that the pipe was finally clear.  What a weight off our shoulders!  I feel like I can finally get to other projects.  I haven't even been on the computer for Facebook and email much at all.

There was an article in yesterday's paper that Elsie emailed to me about the wolves.  They are back, in the same place they were last Spring, and were sighted by a deer carcass.  Probably not much to worry about as there is plenty of wildlife for them.  Nevertheless, we will be packing, as usual.

It was Downton Abbey night, and I am so tempted to watch two episodes but we want to make it last as long as possible.  Boy, are we hooked!

Thursday 1/23.  It was 24 with clear skies and low valley fog.  Looks like Larry and Elsie had some sun today.

Before lunch we covered the septic tank back up.  I broke up the chunks of clay with the pick ax and JB shoveled it all back where it belonged.  Then I brought in wood, and that was it for the day for me outside.  The antibiotics are upsetting my stomach a bit.  At least tomorrow is my last day on them.

I baked a banana coffee cake and read my book.  This is not a book that I can read for a few minutes here and there, I need at least a half an hour.  And it's going to take me weeks, not days, to finish it.

We are trying to determine where to put the outside part of the weather station that our son gave us for Christmas.  It needs to be on a pole with nothing over it and can be up to 300 feet from the house.  We don't need to put it that far away, but because of the metal siding, we may need a clear line of sight to the receiver.  Going to test that out.

When Larry checked in on the radio this evening, he said they had indeed got a lot of sun.  Their solar panels pulled in enough power so that they didn't have to run their generator this evening.  They usually do in the weeks that the sun is at it's most southern point as they are in the canyon and the sun doesn't shine down there for more than a couple hours during the day.  And, of course, with all the fog they've been having. . .

Friday 1/24.  JB left for Down There a few minutes after 8:00 am, going very slowly.  He called me on the radio when he got to our sign on the main canyon road.  That was pretty cool.

Thought for the day: The state remains, as it was in the beginning, the common enemy of all well-disposed, industrious and decent men. Upton Sinclair

Jan 22, 2014 Fogged In

Sun off the south ridge trying to break
through the fog.

Rimed grass.

Monday 1/20.  JB had baked blueberry scones yesterday, so I had one for breakfast.  Just nothing better than a warm scone with puddles of melted butter on it.

We did a load of laundry in the morning - and nothing backed up!  To test it further, I took a shower in the late afternoon.  Still nothing!  Maybe the problem was just a bad clog that we finally got rid of.  We are going to start using water as usual to see if, in fact, that was it.  No victory dance yet. . .

The day was clear and the solar panels were sucking in a lot of power, so I finally vacuumed.  Also sliced up a ham that we bought last Tuesday and vacuum-sealed packages for the freezer.  Then I defrosted both the fridge and freezer.  Even had plenty of time to finish my book.

JB has the short-wave radio up and running, so every evening at about 7:00 pm he talks to Larry.  We all have our own handles and don't mention names of people or nearby places.  Sure saves on the cell phone minutes.  Larry said they never saw the sun today.  Their high temperature was only 26 and everything at their place is covered with a thick layer of rime.  Even with the sun, our high for the day was only 27.

Tuesday 1/21.  It was a cold 12 degrees this morning with some clouds and high valley fog that soon crept up and surrounded us.  The sun couldn't burn it off today so we remained fogbound until about 4:00 pm when it started to sink back down again, leaving a rime-covered Rose Camp.  Our high for the day was only 17.

JB wanted to open the small cover in the septic tank so he could watch how fast the water comes in when I flush the toilet, but he couldn't get it out by himself.  The tractor had a low front tire that he didn't want to deal with in the morning, so we did the morning flush and washed the dishes.  After lunch he filled the tire and will try to check the water in the tank tomorrow.

Being engulfed in the fog makes the low temperature seem even colder, so we cut both morning and afternoon walks in half.  Spent a busy day inside.  Read the Feb-Mar issue of Mary Jane's Farm magazine, which really can't be done in one sitting.  There is a very interesting article on breast cancer and bras.  It seems that wearing a bra "can constrict and interfere with circulation.  Lymph fluid cannot easily drain from a bra-constricted breast. . . stagnant lymph fluid cannot be adequately flushed away, concentrating waste products and toxins in the slowly toxifying breasts.  Ultimately, this can lead to cancer."  Certainly the perfect reason to whip mine off.  My, that feels better.

JB is going Down There on Friday, which is much earlier than we had planned, but he needs a refill on his meds.  The engine light had come on in my Jeep when we went to town last Tuesday, so I called to see if he can drop it off at the garage and get a loaner.  They will let me know tomorrow if they will have a loaner available, otherwise he may have to postpone til Monday.

Wednesday 1/22.  Blue sky and 20 this morning.  The valley fog is much lower than it was the past few days and the trees in the canyon are white with rime.

Thought for the day: You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know.  Knowing is not enough!  You must take action.  Anthony Robbins

Jan 20, 2014 Frozen Clay & Aching Muscles

After 3 hours of chipping away.  Okay, 20 minutes.
It only seems like 3 hours.

My, what a lovely odor you've
discovered!

Friday 1/17.  Read magazines with my morning coffee.  Birds & Blooms and Home Power.  Actually I just skim Home Power and read Kathleen Jarschke-Schultze's article in the back.

We were out to start digging a little before 10:00 am.  And, as you can see by the photo above, it was very slow going in the frozen clay.  We worked till 11:30 then went in for lunch.  At 1:00 pm we trudged out again to chop on the clay some more.  After almost four hours we didn't seem to have much to show for all our effort.  We were able to open the little top to the second section and everything seems to be working fine in there.  As Han said in Star Wars, "My what a lovely odor you've discovered!"

It was definitely an ibuprofen night. . .

Saturday 1/18.  This morning dawned with a mostly light overcast, valley fog and 20 degrees.  Just couldn't get going as early as I had wanted to.  We are both sore, to say the least.  Got outside about 9:30 and worked a couple hours.

The fog tried to sneak up to Rose Camp around noon, but the sun had broken through the overcast and would have none of that.  Our high for the day was 26.

After chipping on the dirt for another four hours today, we finally found the inbound pipe.  It seems to be fine, with no leaking.  JB had to use the tractor to lift up the small top.  A little muddy water was was coming in the pipe and that side of the tank look okay also.   We will take tomorrow off, and on Monday I'll go down under the house and dig around with my trusty spade to see if anything is leaking there.  With the ground so frozen, we may just have to wait til Spring to figure this out as it looks like most of the water going down the pipe is getting into the tank.

Sunday 1/19.  It is 27 and overcast this morning with high valley fog.  As I said, we are taking today off.  Even if we hadn't planned to, our muscles would demand it.  With no sun to burn it off, the fog moved in from the canyon to the south about 11:30 am and stayed til mid afternoon.

Was so nice to just relax with my book after JB's yummy breakfast of eggs, polenta and toast.  We did the dishes late and then I had a burst of energy.  Must have been because I felt so much better after taking some ibuprofen.  So we moved a couple wood chests and an end table around in the great room, which I had been wanting to do for several months.  Makes it look bigger and I really like the change.  

Around 4:30, Larry drove up with our new neighbor from the canyon.  He is on the other side of the gate and not off the grid, and Larry was giving him the grand tour.  Was nice to have visitors.

Today is the one-year anniversary of my Uncle Jack's passing.  There are some things in life where time simply has no meaning  I can only hope that the Seahawks' game helps to distract my Aunt Nene.  I tried calling, but she wasn't home. 

Monday 1/20.  The sun is shining in a clear blue sky this morning and it is a chilly 22.  Not looking forward to climbing under the house, but that's just the way it goes Up Here.

Thought for the day: Trust yourself.  You know more than you think you do.  Benjamin Spock   

Jan 17, 2014 Discouragement Is Setting In. . .

Valley fog this morning.

Wednesday 1/15.  After we washed the dishes JB drove MAX up to Erno's to give the dogs a nice long morning walk.  Halfway down, Jesse went off somewhere on his own and came walking up the driveway about ten minutes after JB and Dinga had returned.  He wouldn't have stayed away too long as he knows they get a treat after their morning walk.

After lunch we snaked the pipe again.  I crawled under the house to listen and be sure the snake got all the way down, and it it.  Was so much easier using JB's knee pads.  

By the time we were done, it was too late to do laundry so we will do that tomorrow and hope the pipe is clear.  Sorted through all the junk mail, chucking most of it.  Read the papers, and will start on the magazines tomorrow.

Am already feeling a little better now that I am on the antibiotic for my sinus infection.

Watched another couple episodes of Duck Dynasty.  What a hoot!

Thursday 1/16.  It was 28 with clear skies this morning.  Enjoyed some magazines with my coffee.  There is a very interesting interview with Maria Shriver in the AARP magazine.

Did my lingerie in my hand washer, then put them in the washer for rinse and spin.  And watched the bathtub fill with about 3" of dirty water (not from my laundry). . .  I think I have bad water karma.  Almost every house I have lived in has had water leakage problems, whether there was a basement or not.  I am not a water person.  Don't like being in or on the water.  Maybe I have to make my peace with water somehow.  Anyway, first thing tomorrow morning we are going out and dig down where the pipe meets the septic tank.  All we can think of is that the pipe broke or became disconnected, like what happened to the cistern.  I really am starting to get discouraged now.

This evening we started watching the first season of Longmire, and enjoyed it very much.

Friday 1/17.  It is 23 with clear skies and valley fog that is trying to move up and engulf us.  A few minutes after I took the picture above, I could barely see out the window.  Am not looking forward to our day. . .

Thought for the day: Sometimes you're the windshield.  Sometimes you're the bug.