It went from almost 60°F on Christmas Day to the low teens on Monday with wind chills below zero. While this is not unusual weather, it was an unwelcome change. Even the dog seemed unhappy.
It was so warm last week honeybees were flying around looking for food and water. I put out a gallon of two-to-one sugar syrup for open feeding, and two days later I had to refill it. I considered it a good sign that they consumed more than a gallon. Hopefully, this extra feed will strengthen the hives.
I should have treated the hives with oxalic acid while the weather was warmer, but we had company for the holidays, and I didn’t get to do so.
We did find the time for some target shooting. In fact, when I ran into one of my neighbors on Saturday, he remarked, “You must have got a bunch of ammo for Christmas!” If he only knew how much ammo I have!
My daughter and I shot pistols; first .22s and then 9mm. This time around, her Micro Dagger from PSA didn’t experience a single jam or failure to feed. I hope this means it is finally broken in. She hopes it means her grip is getting better. (It may be some of each.) I also used some of her 15-round magazines in my Glock 48, and they ran just fine in it.
One thing our practice session made clear is that we need more practice. My groups with a rifle are much tighter, even at far greater distances. I know this is to be expected, but when you are used to nice tight groups, seeing a bigger one at 25 yards is disconcerting. I ordered some USPSA targets so I can run some drills.
Managing Egg Production During the Winter Solstice
Here is the number of eggs per day our 15 hens have laid for the past week or so: 2, 2, 6, 3, 7, 2, 3, and 2. Can you spot the sunny days? Here’s a hint: The hens lay more eggs after the sun has been shining. 27 eggs over 8 days is barely enough eggs to keep us fed. In fact, we made pancakes one day to reduce egg consumption. We have lots of pancake mix in our prepper pantry, including some in #10 cans, for this eventuality.
On Tuesday, I tested out my new merino wool long underwear and can confirm they were just as warm as the sets I bought ten years ago. It’s nice to see that some things don’t change. An old set will now go into my truck’s winter emergency kit while this new one will take its place in the dresser. If you don’t find it itchy, I recommend merino wool thermals, socks, and sweaters.
Solar Power Suffers Without Sunshine
This has been a drab December with very little sunshine. We’ll make little more than 430 kWh, about a third of what we made in July and half of what we produced in October.
I spoke to a new neighbor who just built an off-grid house. Her sole source of electricity is a solar system about a third the size of ours, and she is also suffering from a lack of sunlight. She turned her hot water heater off to keep her batteries from draining. (Brrr!) Her house, which is smaller than ours, was built for off-grid living and has no 240-volt appliances. She also has a separate, stand-alone solar system to power her well. Like us, she heats with wood.
She told me she is thinking of installing a wind turbine and has already ordered another battery, adding about 9.6 kWh of storage to her system. That will give her as much battery storage as we have but only a third of the generation. If the batteries are fully charged, the new one should allow her to go another day without sunlight, but this month it is unlikely to be enough. A wind turbine would help, but so would a backup generator or more solar panels. We’ll see what she thinks after experiencing her first January and February on the system.
Another friend has set up a do-it-yourself 12-volt solar system in his shed to power his deep freeze. Unfortunately, the system is so small, it keeps running out of power. At least this week, his food won’t thaw! While 12-volt systems might be OK for lighting, a camper, or an RV, I recommend you start with 48 volts when designing a home solar power system. This is important when powering appliances that draw high amperage, particularly during start-up.
65 MPH Winds Catch Us Off Guard
You can’t have a wind chill below zero unless you have some wind, and we had so much wind the furniture on our deck drifted around. With gusts up to 65 mph, the wind moved the barbecue grill, the smoker, and knocked over the chairs. (I’ve offered to screw them to the deck, but my wife is not in favor of that idea.) We’re usually prepared for this, but we weren’t expecting it to be so fierce. At least there were no hanging plants this time of year.
We also had two power outages caused by high winds, which knocked down trees and snapped a power pole. That one took a while to fix.
After the first outage was over, I noticed my solar panels were generating power and the inverter was working, but the electricity wasn’t reaching the batteries. The solar panels should have been recharging the batteries until they reached 100 percent and then sending the excess power to the grid. That wasn’t happening. Since the app had recently updated, I called FranklinWH, our battery supplier, and asked if it was a system problem or an app issue.
They quickly diagnosed and fixed the problem. We were up and running in time to charge the batteries back up before the second, and longer, power outage. They also updated my system’s firmware. If you are looking for a grid-tied solar power system, I have been pleased with Franklin WH’s equipment and tech support.
Fiber Optic Outage Requires Backup Activation
When the grid power went out, so did our fiber optic. This was the confirmation we needed to know that when our local supplier replaced our fiber and got us back up and running, they didn’t add battery backup to their routers and switches.
I switched over to our Starlink on standby mode, and it gave us enough bandwidth to get email updates from the utility, to make calls, and to send texts. I detailed our use of Starlink to provide backup communications in a post a month ago.
We are not alone in experiencing winter woes. Much of the country has suffered through bad weather and power outages, both out West and in the upper Midwest this week. We moved here to get away from the hot summers in the south and the cold winters in places we considered, such as Idaho and Montana. After five years here, I’m happy with our local climate and have no regrets.
The Hurricane Helene Recovery Continues
While driving around earlier this week, I saw two large excavators replacing an old metal culvert that had been washed away during Helene. Afterwards, the least-banged-up section of the culvert was recovered and hastily reinstalled to allow the homeowner access to their property. It was a make-do job with only a six inches of rock and dirt above it.
It looked like they were repairing the river crossing the right way, probably making it better than it was. (Funny thing is, I don’t even remember what it looked like before the storm.) They put in a new 5-foot polymer culvert that looked to be 20-feet long. They had piles of dirt and rock, some excavated on site to fit the culvert, but most of it hauled in by dump trucks. My guess is that some FEMA or state money came through because I expect that was at least a $40,000 job.
Earlier this summer, I visited a guy four miles down the road, and his wooden bridge looked a bit rickety. I could see two pickups on the other side, so I figured it was safe to cross. “I guess your bridge survived Helene,” I told him.
“Oh no,” he said. “It floated downstream, but someone brought it back and stuck it in place for me.” He sighed. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get the money to re-do it the right way.”
In January, our landslide mitigation work is supposed to start, weather permitting. The storm hit 15 months ago, and recovery work is still underway. Much has been done, but as driving to town shows, much work remains.
Video of the Day
Speaking of Helene, a report at the link below has been circulating online. (My wife found it on Facebook.) I don’t know the organization that produced this piece to promote its conservation activities, but some of the video and still photography will give you a good idea of how things looked during and after the storm. I’ve only been to one or two of the locations mentioned, but the images of the damage and downed trees look so familiar, they could have been taken right around here.
While this piece is well done, it focuses on the land, leaving out the human stories. I know people who are still living in trailers because of the storm and don’t have their homes rebuilt. I expect our forests will recover with fewer scars than our population. This is the part of prepping people don’t think about: how to survive the immediate aftermath and the long-term recovery.
