Sunday
Linda
Pot Hole Farm is in the end of summer phase. We pulled out the string bean plants as they were no longer producing and the carrots I planted didn’t do well. They looked squished and stunted like little orange mutant carrots. Not very appetizing at all. They actually need a more sandy soil rather than the clayish and rocky soil we have here. I recently found out that like potatoes they need to have dirt pushed up on them as they grow, forming a hill. Our garden this year was an experiment anyway and this particular one failed. Sonny crinkled up his nose and carried them to the compost pile as if they were nuclear waste. I don’t think carrots will be on the garden menu next year. The tomato plants are turning brown and dying off. Grass has begun to take over the now vacant areas where the red potatoes were planted and the pumpkins have taken over the squash and zucchini plants. We still have Lima beans and the sweet potatoes and pumpkins will be harvested before the first frost.
This weekend Sonny and I cut up one of the large limbs that broke off an ancient Maple tree this past winter. It was the size of a small tree itself and will help to keep us warm this winter. Our minds are beginning to turn from summer projects to winter preparedness. We need to install the wood stove, put in insulation under the house, and cut wood for our winter fuel. Those are the major projects but there are also small things like painting the root cellar and the door trim of the chicken coop. We need to install a solar panel on the roof of the chicken coop so we can run a light in there during the shorter winter days. Chickens need about 12-14 hours of light to produce eggs. We also ordered and received three more 205 watt solar panels and he plans to order a ground mounting rack for them next. I think he is wanting to try to get a third bank of batteries before Christmas. Sonny wants to make sure that we have enough energy to support the house when grey days arrive.
It’s possible we may have phone service in the near future. I was surprised last Wednesday when a guy showed up with a ditch-witch to dig and bury the new phone cable. At least we are that far now. We have to wait for the phone company to come out and attach the connection box to the house and hook us up. It’s hard to say when that will be but its one small step closer to being able to communicate with the outside world. I know my Mom and daughter-in-law will be ecstatic when it gets connected. The phone lines will be smoking when that day arrives.
Off-Grid in West Virginia 
Why would you even install a land line? Just use the cell like everybody else. Lot’s of people are ditching Bell altogether.
This is a pretty rural part of WV. There is no Cell signal in our area. We have to drive 12 miles before we can get a signal so the copper lines is our only bet at this point.
Even the thought of allowing them to put a tower up on my property would not work. All it would gain them would be 4-5 cell customers and it would not be worth the investment for them.
do you all have DSL or how do you connect your computer to the net? Do you have to go to town to connect?
the plants are looking good. PS take a vacation to the beach down here and get some sand for you carrots at the sametime!
I had to put in HughsNet. Not my first choice but it was the only choice. It is just slightly better then dial-up because they have what they call “Fair Access Policy” (FAP). The standard plan allows for only 325mb download per day. I got the next up plan at 425mb per day. If you go over your daily limit you are automatically put into quarantine for 24 hrs (basically you can only check email). On a good note, from 0200 – 0700 has no limits.
Through managing my downloads and getting up at 0200 for patch and updates I can keep out download jail.
I had originally hoped to stream my TV from Hulu or others but I quickly realized that it was impossible to do for more then 45 minutes per day.
when you finally get a land line, check out Pioneer L-D. It’s dirt-cheap L-D and you can get a tool-free number for $0.99/month. I use that for my business.