Day 791 (Daily Post)

in #off-grid5 years ago

Day 791. The last of this illness is stubbornly clinging to me and although it is not as bad as it was I really wish that I was feeling a hundred percent better instead of ninety-seven percent better. It was annoying before being 'full-blown' sick but this 'partial sickness' is driving me a bit crazy. The weather probably is not helping because it has been really warm in the day and cold at night and that combined with how damp everything is just amounts to what I can only describe as 'ickyness'.

I have also been feeling rather stressed about finances so I am sure that is not helping much either. I am down to my last propane tank for heating purposes and although I was thinking that I could avoid having to get more of it (until next winter) I got to looking at the extended weather forecast and there is going to be a lot more below freezing nights ahead and even if I thoroughly ration (more than I usually do) my propane supply I am going to run out of it by the end of next week. I am sure that one way or another I will make it through the next month or so until the warmer weather is here to stay but damn it sure would be nice to have some relative comfort until then.

With all the below freezing nights ahead I also need to look at either draining or insulating my new utility water system. I am leaning towards insulating it with leaves and seeing how it does because it would be a good way to test whether I can leave it functional for next winter and avoid the rigmarole of draining it of water and capping the tubing so that the critters can't make homes inside of it. I would also have a functioning utility water system during the cold months which could come in handy if I ever get a greenhouse, compost water heating system or micro hydro electric system setup to operate during that time of year. In other words the idea is appealing for a number of reasons.

One of my biggest goals/desires is to always keep the things that I am doing as simple as possible and by that I don't mean doing stuff in a janky half-ass way but in a way that provides the results that I desire along with the benefits of easy maintenance. It is a tricky combination to achieve but I think that my spring water system is a great example of such simplicity. All total (minus my own labor) I have something like a hundred and fifty dollars invested in it so far and that cost is primarily comprised of the tubing and plumbing fittings. The other thing that I like about that system is that it is all incredibly low impact and 'portable' in the way that it is installed so that if the spring runs dry it would not be all that difficult to pull it all up and move it to another spring.

Once the winter is truly over I have been considering uncovering the leaves insulating the spring head (and drinking water holding tank) and getting some good pictures of how I have everything setup and writing out a parts list for it so that I can share it with others. I documented the entire process of both capturing and developing the spring but it is strewn out over a two year plus time frame and mixed in with all my videos. I previously mentioned doing another capture on a different spring this year and documenting that process as well and although I think it is a good idea it is tricky filming (with a phone) as I work. There are a lot of little details and steps involved when working on a spring and although I have tried my best to cover them all (by recapping them) in my videos it has always been after the work is done so I think it would be good to somehow capture the actual work itself. As always I cannot help but to 'feel' the limits of what I can accomplish given the tools, resources and technology at my disposal. Sometimes I daydream about being able to live stream a project like spring capturing but the practical aspects of doing that are out of reach so I just muddle along and do the best that I can and call it 'good enough'.

On a different note. It is looking like another pseudo-sunny day today but if I am lucky the sun will shine brightly for at least an hour or two at some point. This time of year I get a pretty long exposure time on the solar panels because the sun is not disappearing behind a nearby hill by four or five o'clock and it is not blocked early in the day by yet another hill so on even these sort of pseudo-sunny days I am generating a useful amount of electricity which is a nice change from how things have been all winter.

Anyway I learned yesterday that some folks have had problems with clicking through the age verification on my Patreon page which I only enabled because of my liberal usage of profanity but considering that it is creating an obstacle (and probably an unnecessary one) I sent in a support ticket to get my page changed from 'adult content'. Enabling the feature was easy but undoing it apparently requires some sort of 'account review' from their support staff. So if you have tried and failed to visit my page then either keep trying to click through the verification, try a different web browser, try it on a computer instead of a phone or tablet, or hope that they honor my request to remove the 'adult content' flag on my page. Also while I am on the Patreon topic please note that I am still brainstorming about the structure/content of the payment tiers and I might add to them but will not be removing any of their current 'perks'. The page will continue to evolve and I have some great ideas for exclusive content, perks and rewards that I will only be sharing on that platform.

Okay enough phone typing for one morning. It is now time to do some equally tedious phone editing. I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the rapidly approaching Spring!

Please consider becoming a patron on my Paetron page!!! I have three so far which really warms my cookies!
https://www.patreon.com/jacobpeacock

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Hello...(:
@jacobpeacock !!!!!
I'm sorry hear your not feeling 100% up to par.
The last few weeks of Winter always seem to go slow.
I love the obligatory photo of a dandelion. I look fwd to them every Spring . They are a very healthy wild edible. One of my favorite.....(:
My Grandmother referred to them as "Spring Tonic. If you have some on your property please consider eating them to help boost your health.
I hope you have enough propane to get you thru. I have been seriously rationing firewood. Extra blankets on at night and letting the stove go out.
I did a little research on the Patreon.
Very interesting platform.
(:

Hi @annephilbrick! Yeah there are a lot of dandelions here and I inadvertently always seem to forget that they are edible and medicinal. I think that I am going to follow your advice and fry some up today and eat them. Yeah the Patreon thing is really neat especially since it can provide a reliable source of income and creates a direct relationship between creators and patrons. A lot of other avenues I have explored just do not measure up as far as what I put in compared to what I actually get out of them. Steemit is a glaring example of that but I do not want to get off on a tangent about it. On the bright side winter is rapidly winding down and spring will be here soon so good luck on the rationing as well and get ready to start stockpiling for next winter. :)

Hello...!!!!! (:
@jacobpeacock
I always pick them to eat fresh and also dry some for tea. The roots are very good as well..!!!! It's TRULY an amazing herb...
Thank You. The nights in my cabin are chilly but I'm warm under the mountain of blankets. I am already planning on firewood...that tasks never ends...!!!!!!! Ran a little short this Winter..but at least I'm through the worst of it...
Take Care my Friend...
;D

(:

I took your advice @annephilbrick and ate some of them yesterday. I only ate the flowers themselves though even though the entire plant is edible. They are definitely tasty! Not quite as tasty as the purple dead nettle but not bad at all! :)

Hello (:
@jacobpeacock
Excellent...!!!
I hope your feeling better..!!
There are alot of good Spring cleansing herbs. Hopefully using them in your diet and more exercise out in the fresh air will help. Our system can get sluggish during the Winter. And hopefully the sun will start to shine alot more...SOON.
:D

I am gradually getting better @annephilbrick and that is the best I can really hope for all things considered. There are a wide variety of plants indeed that are good in a number of ways but I tend to gravitate towards the fungi more often than not. I am also a big fan of Usnea but seldom do I find myself in the position of warranting the usage of such a strong medicine. Like many things I like knowing where it is growing and that I can use it if need be but tend to just let it grow. :)

I would love to see pictures of your water capture system. We're on a spring too (the best water!) and I'm always curious to see how other people have their systems set up. We use rainwater for the animals but that's a whole other plumbing story!

I will be sure to post an article about it on Steemit once I can un-bury everything. I have seen a huge variety of spring water catchment system over the years and as long as they work consistently and do their job they are all useful but the little system I have in place now is by far the simplest and most cost effective one I have seen yet. Not so much a feat of engineering on my part as it is dumb luck on how the spring is position and the location of one of it's heads that I tapped. There are six heads in total at that particular spring so I can actually capture more of them if need be but the one is sufficient for my needs. :)

That's great! Do you have trouble with the water supply in the summer? If we have too much dry weather in spring and summer we tend to run out of water in the fall. We have to be very careful.

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No i do not actually. I spent the better part of the first year developing the spring so it would flow all year. I highly recommend the SKAT pdf document found at the bottom of this website if you are interested in spring development. http://www.clean-water-for-laymen.com/spring-development.html

That's so nice. We started capturing the rain water for the animals to take some pressure off the spring. Thanks for the link! I will check it out.

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I started the opposite way by doing rainwater catchment first and then transitioning to spring water. I was able to discontinue my rain water harvesting but I do plan on setting it up again eventually when I need it for irrigation purposes. The spring water is great but it is not the best for irrigation. I am not sure if it is because of how cold the water is or if it lacks the nutrients that rain water has or both but eventually I will probably implement a system that mixes the two sources of water so that I have the best of both sources.

As for spring/seep development it is a tricky prospect at best and some springs/seeps are what they are and not much can be done about it but even if you can marginally improve the production (or consistency of production) it is well worth the time to at least give it a try.

Definitely. Our spring was here when we bought the place. I looked at the PDF you sent and it's got some great ideas. Our water comes from under a huge maple tree so I don't know how much we can do to improve the flow, but it's certainly worth a try just to relieve some anxiety! We have an old cistern that we think used to feed the house but it only runs in the winter now. Hence the new spring. If we could get that to flow year round that would be awesome.

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@goat-girlz Well your biggest problem is actually probably the maple tree itself. Trees and springs never mix well together because one they consume an incredible amount of water and two the roots growing in or near a spring can disrupt the path of the water. The only benefit a tree(s) give a spring is some shade so that the sun does not evaporate the water or work to gradually dry the spring area up. Shade can be easily created though with a small pole building whose water shedding potential will help add water to the ground around the spring itself. If i were in your position I would look at deleting the maple tree (along with it's root ball) from the equation entirely or at the very least pruning it back as much as possible so that it does not 'drink' the spring dry every summer. The other big concern to note with trees growing in a spring area is that if they ever get uprooted by the wind (which is highly likely in such wet terrain) there is a good chance that when the root mass tears free of the ground it will either divert, partially obstruct or fully destroy the spring itself.

P.S. If you post some pictures of your spring, the catchment system around it, the silt trap (if there is one) and the cistern I may have some helpful advice on things you can do.

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