I slipped into sleep last night to the rumble of thunder — yes, the opening act for the bitter winter blast headed our way was a line of strong storms more typical of spring and summer. Fat raindrops on the roof of the camper were my lullaby.
Apparently, the heavy weather got a whole bunch heavier after that. I found a message from Deb on my phone this morning, with a screenshot from her lightning-tracker app — around 12:30am, a strike hit right next to us. I’m guessing that it was the transformer pole, though it didn’t knock out power and I didn’t see any damage to surrounding trees.
The thunderclap, according to Deb, launched her and the dogs “three feet in the air.” And somehow I slept right through it.
Today began with rain, followed by The Dreaded Wintry Mix, but the big story would be wind. It was, more or less, a replay of what we got a couple of days ago, with 40mph+ gusts from the west. The upside is that it managed to blow-dry ‘most everything before temperatures really plummet. Trees, power lines and road surfaces are better for it.
First thing this morning I opened the LP compartment and checked levels — all good. We’re into one 30-pounder, with a full tank next to it. Another full 30-pound cylinder stands in reserve, along with a partial 20-pound tank (from the grill).
We may have what we need to keep the furnace running through the deep-freeze — or we may not. I’ll keep an eye on it, and we’ll make refill runs as necessary.
Once Deb was off to work and the dogs were settled, I went on a simple mission — transfer station (just one bag, two bucks) and post office. I saw rain, sleet and snow during the hour I was out, and the temperature dropped from 44°F when I left The Mountain to 35°F by the time I got back. The wind was relentless, the gusts a lot more persistent than on Monday and Tuesday.
I picked up another 12-foot heated conductor, planning to apply it to the well and pump — belt and suspenders, y’know, better safe than sorry. There was one more outlet available in the well enclosure, so I decided to supplement (back up, that is) the heat lamp that’s been keeping things toasty in there.
I mean, bulbs do burn out. And if that one did, we’d have no way of knowing — and a big problem.
That possibility gave me just enough motivation (or fear) to do the job today rather than wait for more agreeable weather tomorrow. I actually drove my truck down to the well, parked it and left the engine running, several times getting back in and warming up before continuing.
There are no pictures — I didn’t take any, and if I had I wouldn’t show them to you. It might be the ugliest job I’ve ever done.
But it’s done.
By late afternoon, the temperature had fallen to 21°F. The wind was steady at 18mph, gusting to 41mph, taking the “feels like” temp to between 7°F and 0°F and sucking heat off the camper almost as fast as the furnace could generate it. (It was running more than it wasn’t.)
I went back to my scheme of building up heat in the structure and set up the space heaters again. That’s not the most cost-effective way of doing things, I’ll concede that, but the objective is to heat the camper. It also should stretch our supply of propane.
There’s no excuse for not using the tools we have.
Ironically, the sun came out 45 minutes before sunset today, but it didn’t contribute much to the cause. Tomorrow I expect a healthy dose of good ol’ “passive solar” before the bottom falls out on Sunday.
This is our American Life on The Mountain. The extremes of weather influence and affect what we do. I can wax pithy about lots of things, but this is what occupies us right now.
Aaron Lewis has a new album, “The Hill,” coming out on March 29th. The first single was released today — “Let’s Go Fishing.”
This one brought a smile and struck a chord. From the lyrics:
Got to work two jobs and rob a bank
To put food on the table and gas in your tank
And everybody knows who’s to blame
But I ain’t gonna worry about none of that shit todaySo let’s go fishin’
Let’s go wishin’ on a star in the dark in the middle of the night
The world’s gone crazy and this shit ain’t right
Let’s go ridin’
A little backwoods hidin’
It’s all so fucked up, I can’t stand itLet’s go Karen
Let’s go BrandonAnd let’s go fishin’
Those of us enraged at what’s being done to our country — and who stand up and speak out about it — often forget that we need to unplug from time to time and live the American Life we’re fighting for.
And go fishin’.
We’ll never take a day off from our principles. But it’s okay to step away from the battle now and then.
Just kick it on back
With a smile on your face
It’s not easy for some of us to let up. But you’ll notice that not every Ubi Libertas Blog post is a rant, and this is why.
I’m lovin’ the song. Hope you do, too.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB