Category: self sustainability

560 Articles
self sustainability, solar power

I lost the solar monitoring for a few days. While I do have a backup for everything that gets us electricity, I don’t have a backup of the monitoring system. And I’ve gotten real used to watching these graphs. It’s very much second nature these days, much like keeping an eye on the weather to adjust your day.

On top of this, I have scripts that will turn on and off the inverter based on that monitoring data. It makes my life easier for automation to keep watch and make decisions. And so for a few days, I was flying blind. Well not entirely, I still had the one voltage indicator with busted segments.

And really it’s not too bad, I’m so much better today at knowing where things are and where’s they’re headed with just that information. But I still missed the automated decision making.

Anyway, this Phidget part is busted, and it took a few days to get another one from Canada.

I might have to get an extra for backup, but they’re pretty pricey. The previous one lasted 7 years, and died for no particular reason, having gathered 16,719,281 data points. It’s a bit of a shame, and my readings are a bit off now, I’ll likely have to recalibrate the sensors.

self sustainability, wood

I’ve been using our newly earned trail access to get some fire wood. There’s just a ton of really good downed trees, ready to be picked. The few times we hiked up there I’d see them all and be bummed I couldn’t get to them. I feel like I’m logging in a whole new place, everything is different. the trees, the topology, being more remote, the feeling of the forest. I just walk around and start sawing where the heart tells me, it’s awesome. No real decision to be made.

How about a nice pre-felled maple?

This one was actually a bit far from the trail, but thanks to the magic of gravity, I didn’t have to carry logs the whole way.

All this awesome potential, now within reach, I can’t wait to go back.

self sustainability

I pushed trails a little this Summer. They’re starting to be very usable, not just barely accessible with the ATV.

Following them from our house takes you to quaint places in the Forest. We are starting to dream of a secluded cabin now that we have access.

Thank you Jared for the drone pics :).

building, self sustainability

I still have another day of finish work but all the panels are up. I really don’t mind roofing, it is no longer a big scary thing.

poultry, self sustainability

Did you know? Chickens have an uncanny ability to keep their heads perfectly still regardless of what happens to their bodies.

A baby chicken (more like teenage chicken by now) felt a little too fearless and strayed way away from mama hen and the rest of the flock. To teach it a lesson (and for sport) we ran after it and caught it. It’s hard to catch these guys, they go fast and they’re small. This one hid under basil, it’s easier for us this way because you can at least get close when they think you can’t see them.

We traumatized it a little to teach it that it’s a big scary world away from the flock. First Esther petted it 6 ways to Sunday. Then we made it dance to observe its perfectly still head. That’s what happens to fearless chickens in these parts.

It’s funner to watch on a bigger chicken with a longer neck. But this still illustrates their amazing ability. That poor chicken ran back to its mom so fast when we let it :).

Sometimes life on planet Earth boils down to 2 small apes rolling on the floor laughing at poultry being made to dance by a big ape. It’s the miracle of life.

poultry, self sustainability

The chicks got their first dirt bath and the whole scene effused with well being. Between the little chick by itself who doesn’t know how to do it, the one who can’t not fall asleep, and the extreme contentment of the mom.

poultry, self sustainability

We had another broody hen this year. Only 1 of the fertilized eggs we gave her made it, so quick thinking Nicole went to the store and got a few more chicks. The hen adopted them all and has been a great mom. We gave them separate quarters so the rest of the flock can get used to them without being able to attack them. It is absolutely brutal what mother hens have to go through, beyond the deprivation of not leaving her eggs for almost a month. Separate quarters is a must or I’d personally murder the rest of the flock. Friends of our told us that their broody hens leave the flock. It’s literally safer for them to sleep in the woods with coyote, fox, mink, hawk, bears, racoon, fisher, skunk, …., than it is to stay within their flock.

Esther is enamored with the baby chickens, but mom won’t let her get too close.

self sustainability

A couple of years ago we built a small bridge that let me take the ATV to the other side of the land. I was just able to take the tractor over it, after 7 years of pushing for it.

I’ve been working on trails back there, and the tractor will be a huge help. Not only that, but I’ve also been able to take the ATV with the big trailer up the hills, loaded with lumber. This means we can start considering building there. I wish I had more time for this, trail building is just fun. Alas, it competes with more important projects.

agriculture, self sustainability

We get a good 10lbs of blueberries every single day. It’s hard to keep up with all the harvesting, processing, gifting and eating. Next year the operation will most likely be turned lucrative.

This season, I can safely say that we have enough berries for our family’s generous yearly consumption. It got me thinking about all the things we solely provide for ourselves. Heat, electricity, water, maple syrup, garlic. These are all major sources of pride, savings, and resilience. Blueberries and currants can definitely be added to the list this year, it took 6 years of tending to the frailest sticks in the ground to get there. As with many things around the homestead this year, we are finally reaping the rewards, and they are plentiful.

This year’s canning label

Soon, we’ll be harvesting en masse from Nicole’s massive garden. We might have other staples to add to the list then. Others like cider are close but not quite 100% self produced yet. Although we don’t particularly seek autonomy as an endpoint, it is pleasant where we have achieved it. It all feels unreal sometimes, that our decade old typical silly dream of leaving the city for greener pastures, could end up being so fully incarnated.

self sustainability, solar power

For a couple of days, we struggled to keep batteries charged even though Sun was plentiful. Quick investigation revealed the charge controller taking pauses for no apparent reason.

I looked at the charge controller’s screen which had some sort of fault, the manual wasn’t particularly helpful but the screen did show that the battery temperature sensor was reporting 67°C, which was absurd (and checked by hand).

The culprit was the sensor, which held against the batteries inevitably got acid water splashed on while refilling the batteries.

The charge controller does not need to know the battery temperature, but it is better for charging decisions and fault protection. So it can simply be unplugged for a bit, but also… I actually have been slowly accumulating double our solar setup, 18 more panels, 1 more charge controller, 1 more inverter, and all the bits and pieces to put them together. We are slowly getting our ducks in a row for an electric car and this currently not deployed expansion is for it. In any case, I just grabbed the sensor from the extra charge controller and plugged it in and ordered another one. It’s nice to have backups of everything too :).

I also added to the monitoring script so it would bark if no amps were coming in during day hours, this really should never be the case.

building, self sustainability

To make my life easier, this time I’m insulating the floor while I can get to it from the top. I also blocked at 47″ meaning the rockwool batts fit right in with no cutting whatsoever. I still spent some time crawling under to sheathe the flooring and that very much sucked, but at least the next step (insulating) which used to suck horribly, went like a breeze.

I popped in a couple of walls next, more coming soon.

3D modeling / printing, building, self sustainability

Driven by necessity, I finalized the plan for construction 2022. I struggled pretty hard on this one, because I tried to figure out many ways to gain half a floor, and I had to think hard about snow management. Ultimately I ended up keeping it to just 1 floor because I do NOT want to mess with the existing tin roof. In Vermont currently contractors are impossible to get, let alone roofers who are notoriously difficult to begin with (and rightfully so). So it was always the plan that I’ll be doing the tin myself, and because of that, I really cannot mess with the existing roof. So this addition has an independent roof line which does not at all integrate with the existing one.

There were a couple of challenges to solve but in the end, it’s a pretty straightforward build. Nicole is getting a whole 12’x16′ all to herself to accommodate all the projects she’s spearheading on the homestead.

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