Off-Grid in West Virginia

MONDAY

Linda

My sister and her husband came for a visit this weekend.  It was the first time her husband Rick had been out to Pot Hole Farm. When he arrived and stepped out of the car Sonny and I instantly smiled and said,  “Yea, we live way out here.” We recognized the look on his face.  You know, the “Man, this is so far out it reminds me of a scene from the movie Deliverance” look.  We’re pretty used to that look, but it’s only a first impression. Rick is an outdoorsy guy and could probably work circles around Sonny and I. He was gracious enough to come out and lend a hand at cutting up some firewood.  So we will forgive him for “the look.”

We have two trees next to the house that tend to block sun from a portion of the PV Array every afternoon. We can’t afford to lose any of the suns rays and need all of them to charge the batteries. Those trees have been a constant thorn in Sonny’s side and he has been chomping at the bit to do something about it.  This could be a tricky operation.  The old apple tree would be easy to cut down, but the ancient cedar is another matter.  Its large and twisty and you cant tell which way it might fall.  It could potentially fall on the house, so Sonny opted to cut only the branches that cast shadows on the solar panels.  This was a job that called for reinforcements.  Rick and my cousin John volunteered to come to the front lines.

Shadowing Cedar Tree

They cut the apple tree down first, and cut the branches and trunk into firewood. My sister Janice and I loaded the wood into the wagon that was attached to the lawn mower and transported it to the backside of the woodshed. There we unloaded and stacked it to cure.  On the trips back she and Ruby, our Lab rode in the wagon. I wish I had gotten a photo to post but unfortunately I didn’t.  When I was little she used to give me wheel barrow rides for hours, so it was my turn to give back to her.  Your never too old for a wagon ride. It beats walking back and forth.

Next the guys tackled cutting down three trees on the hill across from the house. They left enough of the trunks so they could be used as fence posts. Next year we want to fence in that pasture for some goats. The men had been working hard but did one more chore before quitting time.

Future Goat Field

They pulled that eyesore of a water tank to the backside of the chicken coop. Last year when we had a big rain the tank didn’t have enough water in it and it popped out of the ground. It was actually a good thing because we found out we don’t need it. We can pump water directly from the well.

Old holding tank

I have to say I have a great brother-in-law. He not only worked all day cutting wood, he made some outstanding ribs for dinner. My sister made a good choice some thirty- seven ( I think ) years ago.  He’s always been ok in my book. Hope he enjoyed his visit to PHF and comes again to the backwoods of old West Virginny.

Hard Days work and a Great Supper

Oh, and that cedar tree?  It’s still casting some shadows. Unfortunately the limbs are too high and dangerous for Sonny to cut.  We will have to get a professional to do the job.