Damn it’s Cold

Temperature -1.

Winter has been well underway for some time now and although we both love this time of year, me probably more than Randy because the snow makes me so happy, there is a lot we have to do to keep things functioning. Being off the grid and heating with wood means we have to come up with ways to keep things from freezing. Rechargeable fans hung over vents to the connected solar and extra refrigerator closets to blow in warm air from the house. A propane heater in the crawlspace to keep the plumbing from freezing and remote thermometers to monitor everything.

Then there’s the animals to deal with. The chickens need fresh water twice a day to replace the frozen ice blocks they become within a couple of hours. And we are constantly running interference on the altercations between Pam the cat and Kevin the cattle dog who are going stir crazy but don’t want to brave the freezing.

But the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day. To be honest, I worry that winter is going to come to an end early this year. I’m not ready to be done with the snow, I still have more sledding left to do. Besides, if to be truthful .. Randy has to do most of the really hard stuff. I just cook!