You know, you don't truly realize how much you love someone until you witness them being chased by a 1000 lb moose. Today Justin and I went on a leisurely ski up on the trails near Ballaine Lake. A moose encounter was really bound to happen sooner or later, but I didn't quite imagine it happening the way that it did. We were nearing the end of our ski when I saw a moose charging out of the brush ahead of me (this is where Justin was because he always skis way ahead of me). I guess Justin startled the moose and in turn began chasing him out of fear. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! This moose was a ski poles length away from Justin as he sped away. After my initial shock I started screaming Justin's name which then caught the attention of the moose. It looked back at me and then tore off the trail. I threw off my skis and by this time Justin had stopped to remove his. I was nearing tears when he yelled back to tell me to stop; that there was another moose on the other side of the trail (probably the baby). Now we were in even a bigger predicament. The mom was on one side, the baby on the other and I was going to have to cross between them to get up to where Justin was. Eventually another skier came along and we built something of an alliance in order to pass the moose safely. It gave me a real scare. When we came to a stop I kissed him and smiled knowing that I still had my husband in one piece. Love is a funny thing. Sometimes when you have it so good you forget how precious it is and how easily it can be taken away.
Chrissy
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Solar Power
Chrissy and I went to the Homebuilder's show today, mainly because it was something interesting to do indoors on a Saturday. It was still pretty cold out today and its hit that point of pseudo-spring that makes you just want it to be occasionally warm outside. So, indoors was the name of the game. While we were there we ended up talking with some people at a solar power booth. I am really intrigued by the idea of being able to live off grid, while still having the available grid if necessary. The only problem with that up here is that the Electric Co-op currently has a buy back power program that is paying $1.50 per k/w when they sell it for only .17 cents per k/w. In turn the way it was told to me was that you can't have a solar system with a battery bank in combination with the grid power line. You can have the panels and the inverter feeding your daytime or "lighttime" power comsumption, but after dark you'd be dependant on the grid. That doesn't fit in well with my idea about power independance, so it would only make sense to look at "off grid" units. For what its worth, they really didn't seem that expensive compared to what I had figured they would be. The company that we talked to has a primer on the basics of how the system works here.
This all got me thinking about a couple differnet things, we're going to be building a greenhouse soon and one of the things that I have always been intrigued with is a biotherm. Its a water heater with a pump that runs warm/hot water through a bunch of small hoses that sit on top of your shelves but under your plant trays in the greenhouse. It keeps them warm as they are starting out.
I was wondering if its possible to make a closed loop water heating system that would get its energy soley from the sun and not need an inverter or pump or anything. Could the action of heating water be enough to make it funnel through a system of hoses and circulate? Would the sun warm it enough that it would make any difference? Is there enough Fairbanks sun in March and April for the whole thing to even work?
I don't know, but I think that its worth looking into a little bit further.
Here is a link to my terrible diagram of what I was thinking about earlier. Its terrible, I know. I was essentially just scribbling, but the idea seems doable. I was reading about all sorts of differnet solar systems on Build It Solar and realized that you can pretty well adapt it to most any application. At worst it looks like I may have to get a small electric pump to run the whole thing.. Looks like this solar pump might do the trick.
Who knows, it just seems like interesting stuff to look into. That is just about all that is on my mind tonight.
-Justin
This all got me thinking about a couple differnet things, we're going to be building a greenhouse soon and one of the things that I have always been intrigued with is a biotherm. Its a water heater with a pump that runs warm/hot water through a bunch of small hoses that sit on top of your shelves but under your plant trays in the greenhouse. It keeps them warm as they are starting out.
I was wondering if its possible to make a closed loop water heating system that would get its energy soley from the sun and not need an inverter or pump or anything. Could the action of heating water be enough to make it funnel through a system of hoses and circulate? Would the sun warm it enough that it would make any difference? Is there enough Fairbanks sun in March and April for the whole thing to even work?
I don't know, but I think that its worth looking into a little bit further.
Here is a link to my terrible diagram of what I was thinking about earlier. Its terrible, I know. I was essentially just scribbling, but the idea seems doable. I was reading about all sorts of differnet solar systems on Build It Solar and realized that you can pretty well adapt it to most any application. At worst it looks like I may have to get a small electric pump to run the whole thing.. Looks like this solar pump might do the trick.
Who knows, it just seems like interesting stuff to look into. That is just about all that is on my mind tonight.
-Justin
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Northern Lights late tonight
The northern lights were the best I've ever seen. This was my first attempt to photograph them. It's not as easy at it looks. The forecast calls for more painted skies until Saturday, so I have a few nights to play around with photographing them.
Chrissy 4 degrees
Sunday, March 23, 2008
new beginnings
A lot has happened since my last post. We've gotten through the coldest part of winter (January and February) and now Spring is at our doorstep and on the brain. It's been on the brain since the beginning of March when we had our first premature bout of warm weather. You would'nt believe how tropical 30 degrees feels after 40 below. Everyone shed about 10 lbs of winter gear and had stripped down to sandals and short sleeves. Fortunately the days have gotten much longer, but warm weather can't get here soon enough. It's trying really hard to snow right now and the temperatures have been hovering in the upper teens.
In preparation for our warm weather we have been building a chicken coop that will house six birdies (laying hens). We've been doing a lot of studying and chatting with local folks who have 'wintered' them over with success. Designing/building has been an interesting challenge for Justin and myself. Let's just say that it's been a real test of our communication skills. It's been fun though, even through the arguments. The coop is tightly insulated and should keep the hens laying even through the coldest months of the winter. We already have people lined up and ready to buy fresh eggs. If all goes as planned, which nothing ever really does, it should be a self sustaining venture. We've decided to raise the chicks ourselves and they should be arriving the first week of April (only 48 hours old).
I've also been trying to speed up Spring by planting/sewing seeds in our south facing windows. So far I've planted some Dahlia tubers, annual seeds, and tomato seedlings. I like to just sit there and watch them grow with childlike wonder. It's good to see green. The last chance of frost is usually around the first of June, so I still have some patient waiting to do. Living in this climate really makes you appreciate the seasons.
'Every moment Nature starts on the longest journey, and every moment she reaches her goal.'
-Goethe
Chrissy 14 degrees and snowing
In preparation for our warm weather we have been building a chicken coop that will house six birdies (laying hens). We've been doing a lot of studying and chatting with local folks who have 'wintered' them over with success. Designing/building has been an interesting challenge for Justin and myself. Let's just say that it's been a real test of our communication skills. It's been fun though, even through the arguments. The coop is tightly insulated and should keep the hens laying even through the coldest months of the winter. We already have people lined up and ready to buy fresh eggs. If all goes as planned, which nothing ever really does, it should be a self sustaining venture. We've decided to raise the chicks ourselves and they should be arriving the first week of April (only 48 hours old).
I've also been trying to speed up Spring by planting/sewing seeds in our south facing windows. So far I've planted some Dahlia tubers, annual seeds, and tomato seedlings. I like to just sit there and watch them grow with childlike wonder. It's good to see green. The last chance of frost is usually around the first of June, so I still have some patient waiting to do. Living in this climate really makes you appreciate the seasons.
'Every moment Nature starts on the longest journey, and every moment she reaches her goal.'
-Goethe
Chrissy 14 degrees and snowing
Friday, March 21, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Updates and the dome house idea
Been just a little while since I have posted anything on here, there has been alot going on.
Dad came up to visit for two weeks and caught the end of the Junior Yukon Quest and the beginning of the 1000 mile Yukon Quest. We had a really good time and he got to see some real cold Fairbanks weather. The lowest I saw a thermometer in town was down by the river and it read -56 F.
We all stayed here at the cabin, a luxurious 16" x 20" 1 and 1/2 floor beauty. We found a cot a few months ago at the transfer site which really came in handy for the occasion.
The cold spell lasted about a week and I learned a few new things about really really cold weather that I never knew. 1. When its -30 all day long, don't just rely on plugging your car in, you will need to occasionally start the thing. Otherwise you will hit your fancy autostart and realize a minute later that you never heard anything start up, just cranking.
You come out to find a nearly dead battery and a car that just wont start. 2 cans of Heet fuel cleaner and some serious throttling later, its running again. Apparently the small amount of water that condenses in the fuel tank all headed up into the fuel lines and froze when it got that cold. The Heet bonds with it and allows it to pass through the engine as though it were burning is how it was told to me. Either way, after lots of trying and frustration, I had a running car and a puddle of black goop at the tailpipe.
2. When its really really really cold, you start to recognize the value of indoor plumbing and start using restrooms wherever they may be found. At work, at restaurants, at the grocery. The ideas of "I'll just hold it till I get home" go out the window.
3. Automobiles hate running when it gets really really really cold. Maybe its just our truck, but I think that its a general distaste across the boards for the extreme cold. Fan belts scream, bearings whine, transmission fluid becomes a solid mass that is just waiting to explode out of the seals and seemingly dares you to give the car gas before its warmed up for 20 minutes.
The weather seems really warm now, we've had a veritable heat wave. Records were set for all time highs when the mercury hit 44 yesterday. Today was colder, staying down in the teens and 20's.
...for something completely different,
my uncle Ron has been getting really into the idea of building a dome house for himself out of a material called Grancrete. At first I was intrigued by the idea, but as its come farther and farther I have been considering how cheaply we could build such a structure here in Fairbanks.
Hes in Kentucky, where the ground is workable 365 days a year, but up here with the permafrost things may be a little bit more interesting. He is posting photos of his progress at http://www.grancretedomes.com it seems like a very affordable way to build a nice structure that wouldn't require much maintenance at all.
Enough for tonight, just finished downloading the new episode of Lost and its calling.
-Justin
Dad came up to visit for two weeks and caught the end of the Junior Yukon Quest and the beginning of the 1000 mile Yukon Quest. We had a really good time and he got to see some real cold Fairbanks weather. The lowest I saw a thermometer in town was down by the river and it read -56 F.
We all stayed here at the cabin, a luxurious 16" x 20" 1 and 1/2 floor beauty. We found a cot a few months ago at the transfer site which really came in handy for the occasion.
The cold spell lasted about a week and I learned a few new things about really really cold weather that I never knew. 1. When its -30 all day long, don't just rely on plugging your car in, you will need to occasionally start the thing. Otherwise you will hit your fancy autostart and realize a minute later that you never heard anything start up, just cranking.
You come out to find a nearly dead battery and a car that just wont start. 2 cans of Heet fuel cleaner and some serious throttling later, its running again. Apparently the small amount of water that condenses in the fuel tank all headed up into the fuel lines and froze when it got that cold. The Heet bonds with it and allows it to pass through the engine as though it were burning is how it was told to me. Either way, after lots of trying and frustration, I had a running car and a puddle of black goop at the tailpipe.
2. When its really really really cold, you start to recognize the value of indoor plumbing and start using restrooms wherever they may be found. At work, at restaurants, at the grocery. The ideas of "I'll just hold it till I get home" go out the window.
3. Automobiles hate running when it gets really really really cold. Maybe its just our truck, but I think that its a general distaste across the boards for the extreme cold. Fan belts scream, bearings whine, transmission fluid becomes a solid mass that is just waiting to explode out of the seals and seemingly dares you to give the car gas before its warmed up for 20 minutes.
The weather seems really warm now, we've had a veritable heat wave. Records were set for all time highs when the mercury hit 44 yesterday. Today was colder, staying down in the teens and 20's.
...for something completely different,
my uncle Ron has been getting really into the idea of building a dome house for himself out of a material called Grancrete. At first I was intrigued by the idea, but as its come farther and farther I have been considering how cheaply we could build such a structure here in Fairbanks.
Hes in Kentucky, where the ground is workable 365 days a year, but up here with the permafrost things may be a little bit more interesting. He is posting photos of his progress at http://www.grancretedomes.com it seems like a very affordable way to build a nice structure that wouldn't require much maintenance at all.
Enough for tonight, just finished downloading the new episode of Lost and its calling.
-Justin
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
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