Winter came early (in October) and it was very exciting for our desert children. The snow inspired a holiday feel and thankfully I was able to find some hats and gloves that fit so they could go out and enjoy it.
This was a real test of our systems and a reminder that it was time to finish insulating pipes and ensure the cabin can support us during the cold months. I spent a few hours wrapping the pipes with insulation and duct tape to prevent freezing.
In anticipation of colder weather coming, a week before the snow, we added the rest of the tubes to the Sunbank. On the advice of James at Sunbank I spray painted half of the tubes so that when warm weather returns I can turn some of the tubes and moderate the heat (because we get LOTS of sun in the summer). This completely passive system is absolutely amazing. Despite the cold we have had enough hot water each day to take showers and wash dishes. I cannot sing the praises of the Sunbank enough. There is something special about taking solar hot water showers. Yes, the amount of hot water fluctuates and one has to consider how much sun we get each day - but using this device and not having infinite hot water on demand is another way we are living in harmony with nature and with daily consideration of the natural world.
Speaking of low-tech ways of dealing with the cold we have learned how to be a functioning part of our wood burning stove system - I say it this way because, when you look in the manual to figure out why your house is filling with smoke, it says, "Your stove is only one part of a system that includes the chimney, the operator, the fuel and the home." Conclusion: the operator must not be doing something right!
If you haven't operated a wood-burning stove it is all about getting the draft to flow correctly (up and out the chimney). When lighting the fire the chimney is cold and that hinders the draft...anyhow the way to fix it is to really get the kindling fire hot - like 700 degrees F hot - keeping the door shut while the chimney warms up. Once there is a hot bed of coals you can add wood and avoid smoking up your house. Yea!!
So since we have snow and a fire in the stove it really seemed like we ought to set up a Christmas tree. We've never set up a tree with our kids. For the past three years we were in the RV and we had a tiny ceramic tree and before that we just didn't have one...so this is the first year we have one.
Another plus of the stove being lit is that I can cook on the surface. I have made all kinds of things, tacos, pasta, hashbrowns, beans, fried rice - it is way better than trying to cook on my outdoor stove which looked like this when it snowed. Of course cooking on a wood-burning stove is also much warmer (especially on one's legs)!
With burning wood comes the need to chop wood. Thankfully we have a lot of dead wood on our property and we are now able to clean it up and put it to use.
Also, we finally got the backhoe on the tractor and it has come in handy for digging up stumps after we cut down dead trees...
...and haul cut wood back to the pile.
Husband has been cutting and chopping wood...I drive the tractor and help stack :) Life on the land is peaceful, safe from COVID-19, and full of beautiful scenes.
Of course our time at the homestead is limited by time in the valley. Halloween was spent in the city and we enjoyed a local art scavenger hunt in Mesa in lieu of trick-or-treating.
The cycle of life has also been on the forefront of our minds this winter as my grandma passed away two weeks ago. She was 92 years old, living independently in the house she had lived in for the past 35 years, and relatively healthy until the last months. She died in her home, under the care of hospice and my parents for her last weeks. She was dear to me and I value the many times we had together including the year I spent living with her in my freshman year of high school so that I could attend a better school. Her house is the most consistent one in my life; one that I have visited, slept over at, and lived in (for a school year) since I was 9 years old. I last saw her in December of 2019. The kids and I visited and celebrated Brother's 10th birthday. I am sorry it had been almost a whole year since I last saw her. Here is the last picture I took of her. Due to COVID-19 the family had a graveside service and will hold a memorial in the spring (hopefully a vaccine will be available then). I hope we can attend the memorial. Her life ends as this eventful year, which isolated her from the family, comes to a close. Her sensibilities and understandings were of times past. She was not progressive in her thinking and we disagreed on some major issues. She was overly sensitive, she would cry easily over happiness or sadness. We also had many very funny times and fun travels. She embodied hardships that she could not, or would not, speak of. She did not understand many of my motivations or choices, but she loved me. She last visited AZ in 2017. She flew, although she hated to fly, to attend my doctoral graduation ceremony. It meant so much to me. She will be missed, but we were blessed to have been touched by a life such as hers. Goodbye grandma. I love you.
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