The O-Zone

Mishkin is three years old now.  So I made him a hat.

"Well, ok, I'll wear your stupid hat, as long as nobody else sees me."

We were standing in front of our bush cabin in Alaska, and it was spring.

Before...

And thirty years later, we are standing in front of our house, and it is spring.

...and After.

Some things change, and some things remain the same.

It’s too early to think about gardening!!!  And don’t take that snowplow off the Ranger….

We watched this weather heading straight for us from the west. And we thought, no way, it's gonna rain.

Then, a couple of hours later, with a fresh inch of snow on the ground, Dan headed outside to split some firewood, and we watched the temperature drop 9 degrees.

The sidewalk was still clear of snow, so how bad could it be??

Another couple of hours have passed, and it is still snowing, and now we have a good fat two inches of new snow.

We can't see the hills across from us, the snow is falling so thick and fast.

But on the upside, the snowshoe hares which are still white are quite pleased with the state of the universe.

We are starting our major project for this year, a garden.  A garden and a greenhouse, to be precise, but we’re not working on the greenhouse part yet because we don’t know how we want to build it, just where.

First thing we did was to tromp around in the snow a week ago and figure out how big an area we want the garden fence to encompass.  We decided on 50 feet by 50 feet, plenty of room for fruit plants, and some dwarf fruit trees, plus vegetable beds.  And flowers!  I would love some flowers.

The snow melted!  The ground is still frozen, but the snow melted and so today Dan wanted me to help him with manual labor.  I tried “But, I’m a girl!” and it didn’t work.  He didn’t buy that for a second.  Oh well, worth a try.

We carried some pliers down the hill to the existing fences and took the wire fencing loose from fence posts.

Once the wire was loose along the fence line between the aspen grove to the east and the existing funky old garden to the west, it was time to get the Ranger out of the garage.  We removed the snow plow from the front of the Ranger and Dan remarked that he hoped we wouldn’t need to plow snow any more this year.  I told him if it snows again we just won’t go anywhere until it melted.

The trees on the left side of the picture will probably need to be cut down, but we haven't decided that yet. The aspens and old fruit trees definitely need to go.

Dan wrapped the winch hook around the first corner post. I had the winch control, which had two directions, in and out. I could figure that one out!

Moment later, the first pole was out of the ground, and laying to the right side.  Success!  We thought, this was going to be quick and easy.

The post was a lot taller than I thought it would be. We're thinking about installing an 8' fence, which means the posts will need to be 10' long, and set in concrete.

Using a tow rope, we wove it through the wire fencing to give us more 'breaking points' on the wire, and then Dan simply drove forward, removing most of the fencing which we had already loosened from the fence posts.

We folded the wire up on the ground next to the collection of fence posts.  Some of the posts didn’t come out – either because the ground was frozen or because some plants had grown up around them, anchoring them firmly into place.  When the contractor is here with the backhoe, digging the fence line for the underground gopher fence, he can remove those remaining fence posts easily.

The fencing is being drug through the grass. The house is above the garden space and Oro was watching us from his window, a birds' eye view if there ever was one.

Oh look, there was a very large beaver chewing up the aspen tree. No wait, that was Dan with a swede saw.

Then it was time to try an experiment and answer a question.  Could the Ranger pull out the stump on the trees we intend to cut down?

Dan hooked the winch to the aspen trunk and pulled. The Ranger dug a couple of nice holes spinning it's wheels as the winch pulled the vehicle closer to the tree stump.

Oh well, something else for the contractor to do with his much larger piece of equipment.

The tow rope attached to the downed tree made short work of dragging it across the grass towards the aspen grove.

Dan, sizing up the next tree and deciding which way it wanted to fall. Might as well cut it so that it falls the way it already wants to fall. Getting into arguments with trees is always a losing proposition.

Saw, saw, saw, saw....

Oh no, it fell right on the garden fence! An excellent example of exactly why we want trees close enough to the garden to be cut down.

It was a good thing we wanted to remove the rotten garden fence boards anyway.  Two trees down, several more to go.  I actually cut down the next two small aspen trees, and then Dan cut down the pear tree next to them.  This poor tree gets mauled by the bears every year since we moved here, and at this point there are very few branches left that would bear fruit.  And if they did bear fruit, the bear would get them and not us.

I cut down the apple tree and Dan hauled it away. Team work.

After cleaning up some remaining branches and boards, that was enough and we called it a day as far as the garden project went.

Mostly we have some brush to remove, but the first batch of trees small enough for us to handle have been removed, and the garden space is opening up.

Next on our agenda will be to remove the chicken wire fencing and old rotten boards surrounding the existing smaller garden space.

Shortly after we came inside, it started to precipitate outside, a mix of rain and snow.  We don’t care, it can do that if it wants to – spring is here, and our garden has been started.  There isn’t much green showing up here on the mountain, just small blades of grass only visible if you push the tall dead grass away.  It will transform quickly.

Two of our favorite things to do are sightseeing and birdwatching (and me being a passenger and letting Dan do all the work driving!), and combining them makes it even more fun.  Today we went for a drive, just to get out of the house and go see some new scenery now that the snow is starting to melt.

We went past my favorite rock formation.

This is the whole top of a mountain. Geologically I'd love to understand this formation.

It looks sedimentary, but tilted 90 degrees and then twisted.  I never tire of looking at this mountain top.

Some of the deciduous trees are flowering, and catkins festoon lots of the trees lining the road.

Ice has melted out of some of the lakes, but by no means all, and where there is open water, there are ducks.  We saw Canada Geese, a few American Wigeon, some Mallards, and two of our favorite ducks.

A pair of Hooded Mergansers were diving and splashing around in one small opening in the ice covered lake, in the mountains due west of us.

Next to the Wood Duck, these are the prettiest of all the ducks.

A male Barrow's Goldeneye, keeping a beady eye on us, from the far shore of the lake.

We’ve been seeing Common Goldeneyes on the river where we walk.  We don’t see the Barrow’s often, one or two birds a year is about it.

We also saw a Mourning Dove sitting on a wire.

So, not a lot of new species to add to the list for this year, but three new ones nonetheless, and it is just too neat for words seeing returning migrants making their way north.

Only 3 weeks away from hummingbirds!  And only 7 weeks away from a birding trip to Malheur.  Can’t wait.

Finally finished a scarf I started a while ago, before it was snowing actually.  Figures it’s done and the snow is melting.

This is a totally unique lace yarn, one of a kind, made for me by my friend Diana.

The finished blocked scarf is 9.5 inches wide, and about 38 inches long, without any fringe, and weighs 2.5 ounces at this time.  I’m thinking beads!  But I’m not sure.  The drape is nice and beads might weigh it down or pull it out of shape.  Experimentation time.

This is one of my most favorite patterns to knit. It's a super easy 6 row repeat pattern. Perfect for knitting while watching the television.

It’s snowing again. It’s not that cold outside, barely above freezing, and the house is too warm to have a fire in the wood stove in the living room, so the cook stove in the kitchen is doing double duty – fixing food and keeping the house warm.  I’m sitting in the kitchen with my laptop and using wireless satellite internet.  I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of being amused by the particular juxtaposition of technologies employed when I’m doing that!

The plum tree's bare branches catch the snowfall and it transforms into a lacy work of art.

Our sidewalk is completely white again, as is any bare ground. The sun isn't above the mountains behind us quite yet. Already the snow falling is mixed with rain, as temperatures begin to go above freezing.

Speaking of disbelief….

"Waugh??!!"

"Whoa, cool! Look, it's a toy all for me!!"

"Now, that just isn't right."

It’s hard to get serious about planning a garden when the area in which you plan to construct said garden remains covered with snow.  We know spring is here because the calendars says so, but our temperatures are 10 degrees below normal for this time of year.

Yesterday looked like this, pretty much all day long.

The snow would stick to the ground briefly, and then melt.  Where the snow is melting, the ground is pretty saturated with water.

The returning spring migrants are very happy to have the feeders, and we have a continual riot in our yard.

We are also seeing the Snowshoe Hares changing into their summer coats of brown.  Right now the brown fur is just peeping through their white winter coats, and they look like dirty snow.  They can blend right in.  I tried to take a picture of one this morning, but he did his best OMG and scampered down the sidewalk as fast as his little feet could take him.

This morning we woke up to a fresh fat inch of snow, and it was pouring.

It was a veritable winter wonderland for several hours.

But in typical spring fashion, the snow stopped, the fog rolled in, the sun came up, and there is blue sky somewhere overhead.

Perhaps today our solar panels will have something to work with.  Already most of the snow that fell this morning has melted and everything is very soggy.  The birds are back to swarming on the ground under the feeders, and having their party, and we are hearing a Ruffed Grouse drumming nearby.  That is a definite sign of spring!

Fat buds, promising fragrant purple flowers probably by next week sometime.

A neighbor gave us two plants which we transplanted on Thursday.  They are Daphne, a flowering bush that blooms extremely early in the spring.   These are three year old plants, about 18 inches tall, and they will grow to several feet talk and almost as wide.  They get flowers before leaves, and then in the summer they have red berries on them.

The parent plant was discovered by our neighbor in the aspen grove right below our house, by the road, about 20 years ago.  A passing bird dropped the original seed which grew beneath the shady trees and bushes.  Since then, the plant has produced lots of offspring, and it has come up to our house again, sort of where it started.

The Equinox is next week, and then, maybe, it will stop snowing.  But that was not today.  It’s a good thing we can maintain a sense of humor this time of year.  The good thing about snowfalls this time of year is that, generally speaking, they don’t actually stick to much of anything and just look pretty when they are falling.  We really want our driveway to be free of snow and ice.

This hen grouse has been hanging around in the Serviceberry bush next to the house. She takes big steps over low lying branches.

She looks surprised with her crest sticking straight up.  I guess that is a normal state of mind for these little guys.

She's in fine feather - a very pretty bird, and much admired by the male Ruffed Grouse in the neighborhood.

Yesterday we had to make a trip to town to take care of various and sundry chores.  While we were there, we stopped by a pet store to get Mishkin a new scratching post.  He’s so adverse to changes in his world we weren’t sure he would like it.

We needn’t have worried.

He knew immediately that this was HIS!

Happy cat.  We put his toys inside the tunnel and he fishes them out again and flings them around the livingroom.  And there was much rejoicing.  We also brought home some hanging chew toys for the parrots.  Opal has actually played with hers.  The other two are pretending the toys are deadly intruders, but in the morning when they wake up, they will have forgotten the toys are ‘new’ and they will proceed to destroy them.  Good birds!

Big storms have gone past the mountains today, sprinkling snow as they go.

There are no green leaves on any of the bushes around the mountain.  Even down in the valley there are only buds.  But the buds are getting fatter, so that’s definitely progress.

Spring, next week….

A couple of months ago we realized the batteries which provide our electrical power needed to be replaced.  And like all things involved with this house, that meant we had to accomplish three others things first, before we could get to the batteries.

What happened…  First, last year the propane generator died, and we switched to our old 27 year old Honda gasoline generator, which wasn’t strong enough to run the well pump.  We decided to use a transformer and convert 110 volts to 220 volts to run the well pump, and only would pump water on really bright and sunny days.  The method we used for pumping water resulted in the batteries we were using being drawn down too low on voltage, and overheating at the same time.  This was not a good thing to do, and they no longer hold a charge like they are supposed to.  Too many amps were being drawn from the batteries at one time, for too long a period of time, and they couldn’t handle the strain.  Live and learn.  It was one of those “it seemed like a good idea at the time” sort of things.

So, first we had to replace the generator since we needed a strong enough generator to pump water.  That was accomplished.

Then we ordered new batteries, and we decided to use a different type of battery, one that would allow us to draw them down a bit deeper, and also to give us a slight increase in storage capacity.  And then we had to get them into the house and into the basement.  Each battery weighs in at a hefty 120 pounds.  With the help of friends, that was accomplished.

Then we had to build a new battery box as these new batteries are ‘flooded’ batteries, which means we have to be able to inspect each one and refill them with distilled water on a regular basis.  They could no longer be behind a wall.

The bottom and two end pieces of the battery box being dry-fit before we got too far along.

So, carpentry was the first order of the day.  Much sawing of lumber and plywood ensued.  The old batteries were sealed batteries, and each was 12 volts, so they needed to be in pairs to make 24 volts, and then they were linked together in four pairs to provide our storage.  The wiring part got a bit complicated.

The new flooded batteries sitting in a few rows, waiting to be installed in their new box.

More carpentry, and construction of the box was completed.  Everything fit into the space in front of the old battery bank and beneath the inverter, controller, circuit breaker box, all that good stuff hanging on the wall.

The battery box needed to have a completely removable front, in order to be able to slide the batteries out someday and slide new ones in. It's not intended to be used as a seat or table, so the plywood itself is providing a lot of the structural strength for the box.

Now that battery box was ready, we removed it and the scary part of the process started – disconnecting the old batteries.  The most critical part of that process was to make sure that none of the metal tools being used would touch the metal racks the batteries sat on, nor touched any of the other battery parts when disconnecting one end of one of the battery interconnect cables from either the positive or negative battery terminals.

Dan used a small sock to insulate the wrench, and it did exactly what he needed it to do. In fairly short order, the batteries were all disconnected from each other.

Next step was to move the battery box back into position and start moving the new batteries into their new home.  We had to keep in mind the positioning for positive and negative terminals on each battery in order to make it easy to hook them up again.  Each of these batteries is 2 volt, instead of 12 volt.  With twelve of them wired in a series instead of in paralell, the wiring was much simpler.

All moved into the box, and the fluid level in each battery was checked. Ready to proceed!

Moving the new batteries around was hard work, but not scary.

The heavy battery cables are hard to bend, and getting them hooked up was hard work. Again, we had to be very careful not to touch anything metal to anything else.

A bit more wiring was necessary, once the batteries were hooked together, to feed the power into the circuit breaker panel, and connect a couple of sensors for heat, and also to get a fan ready to go into a pipe to vent the batteries to the outside of the house.  Flooded batteries generate an explosive gas (if it is really concentrated), and just generally speaking it’s not something we want to be breathing.

The front piece of plywood was put into place, and then the top was laid into place.

The plywood which had concealed the old batteries contributed to the top of the battery box, and the remainder has been slid into its former location, but needs to be permanently attached.  We still need to drill a hole in the exterior wall of the house for the vent pipe, and then I want to do something to make it all look finished and nicer.  But since the whole basement room needs that to be done, there’s no particular hurry on that front.  We also need to put a gasket underneath the lid on the box, and silicone around the holes in the back where the cables go that connect the batteries to the breaker box,  And some other minor trim work.

We flipped the breakers, and we had power again!  Woo hoo ensued.

Then Dan had to reconfigure the controller between the batteries and the solar panels, the inverter since the amp hours for storage was different, and a meter which helps us to keep track of where the batteries are in terms of charging and capacity.

So, we are back in business.

A pair of Golden Eagles has been hanging around lately, soaring and claiming their territory.  One morning before it was very light, one of the pair was sitting on the large Ponderosa Pine tree down the hill from our house.

Poor Opal was not at all pleased that this particular bird was sitting on that particular tree on that particular morning.