I don’t think we’ll get a white New Year, but it feels cold enough… at night anyway. We’ll see how warm it gets in the daytime and sunlight, but it was 37F when I went to bed. It’s supposed to be clear and cool.
Got my errands done, truck loaded, and made the trip to the BOL yesterday. Nikki Heat audio book kept me awake and alert. Freaking moon was HUGE and yellow orange, and just above the horizon for most of my drive. VERY dramatic. Unfortunately it was cloudy when I got here.
I drove up to the house and half my Christmas decor was dark. Dang fire ants love them some electrons… They’d built a mound over the outdoor timer/photosensor and invaded it enough that it wasn’t turning on. I banged most of the debris out, and got it working again. Wife and kids got the full experience when they drove up later.
There was some extreme weather up here this last week. The wheelbarrow was full of water, and there was plenty of evidence of high wind and severe gusts. Lake is still not at normal levels though. I think I better get some rainwater capture set up because long term, anything could happen with the lake. Sabotage could drain it, it could get contaminated, or it could just be very low in a drought. ‘Course in a drought, there won’t be much rain either. Still, I’ll feel better if I have a few hundred gallons of my own sitting here.
Wish I could store a few buckets full of electrons as easily.
And why the h-e-double-el is kerosene $15 per gallon? Gas is $2.50, and even the pre-mixed gas-oil for small engines is only $9/ gallon… it pains me but I picked some up anyway. It’s an expensive choice for heat at the moment. I pay $12 for a bbq bottle of propane,and even less in the bulk bottle for the house. I will look at firing up my Mr Buddy to warm up the garage rather than the kero heater.
Maybe I’ll install one of the wood stoves in the garage (now that we’re using it as another room)… Plenty of wood around here… and it’s not dependent on infrastructure I don’t control. Of course, that’s why I’ve been holding on to the stoves, for the house and my eventual workshop. Insulating the garage is on the list, and will happen. I skipped the step at the house in Houston when I had the chance and have regretted it ever since. Funnily enough, there have been several stoves come through the auctions with shipping damage (like mine) and despite sometimes severe damage, they STILL sold for more than I was willing to pay. Some other folks are getting ready too.
Think about infrastructure and what you can live with and can’t live without. Make some choices, and start some stacks.
nick