Our Lives Are Not Our Own...

 “Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present … and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”

Cloud Atlas

Interesting. 

Ponder on this. what do you think about it?

Dark, Gentle, Harsh and Beautiful

Yesterday I was reminded of one of the benefits of living in the woods, or the "bush" as we Northerners refer to it. I was out picking ground hemlock (Taxus canadensis) with a couple of friends, we had found a beautiful patch, thick and dark and on even ground! (Hemlock seems to prefer slopes where one has to almost be a mountain goat to pick it) The weather was nice enough that we had shed our coats, it was sunny and I got two big bags picked! The only drawback was the radio that was blasting away. When I pick I prefer to hear nature, so that I can hear any unwelcome thumps, grunts or shuffling that might warn me of a bear or coyote. Both animals are prolific up here, and both have been sniffing around in broad daylight, so it's not unheard of. One of the friends I was picking hemlock with prefers to keep the music loud, and thereby scare off any curious animals bigger than a squirrel. I know her reasoning, and I respect it. So I put up with the loud music all day. At least it was country and not music that makes my skin itch and my teeth grind! All that being said, I had a great day. As I've said, I was pretty productive and I still had time to think.

There are so many people picking in this community that I worry there'll be no hemlock to pick next year. But I've seen quite a bit of hemlock over the last month, so the chance of there being none left is pretty slim. What's the attraction? Generally speaking, it's easy money for the amount of work one does. There's no one looking over your shoulder, you are responsible for how much time you put in, and you can work solo or with someone else, depending on your preference. You want to find branches that are no more than eighteen inches long and no bigger than a number two pencil. A harvester is paid .45 cents per pound, so the more hemlock one has, the more one is paid. The harvesters with trucks and ambition are better off than those of us who do not have trucks or ATV's. While I'd love to have an all terrain vehicle, it's not in the cards right now. So I pick what I can, and pack it out on my back and enjoy the birds while they're still here.

Yesterday, we were reminded of nature's dark side when we came across the remnants of a fox, reduced now to only scraps of fur and a skull. But that's Mother Nature for you. Kind and gentle one minute, and dark and harsh the next.

Catch Up and News!

I love autumn.
There's things to do that just can't be done any other time of year, the air smells different and there's an urgency that doesn't feel the same at any other time. The to-do lists are different, the days get shorter and you really need to watch your step on the back steps!
Here, our leaves have passed peak, we've had a couple of snows and more than a few frosts. We've harvested tomatoes, one of us ate peas fresh from the pod frequently, beets and we're pretty pleased with the showing of pumpkins. (We got 2!)We've made plans for crop rotation for next year, I've dug two more garden beds with hopes to get a couple more in yet, and we planted one bed with red clover as a green manure crop. I had plans to have 7 new garden beds dug, but a money making opportunity and weather worked against my plans. Oh well, modify and adapt, as Betty says. My to-do list has changed. Now is the time to weather-proof windows and doors. So the big picture window in the living room is on the agenda for today I think. Maybe even a couple of the basement windows. Next time we go to town I have to have measurements for two doors  and the windows in the craft room that need heavy plastic, since they'll be covered outside. Also on today's list is to start cleaning and organizing the pump room. Cleaning out the mud room comes after there is room in the pump room. This coming spring we'll be taking down the old mud room and building a newer, bigger, brighter and better one.

That money making venture I talked about? Picking hemlock. Quite a few people up here pick it and sell it to a neighbor, in turn, he sells it to a medical lab. Eastern hemlock is being used by many to treat cancer. So we were doing that whenever we could, and then the weather turned nasty. Which is why I didn't get more garden beds dug.

As if all that isn't enough, two days ago we got a new puppy!

His name is Harley and he is of "mixed heritage" Kind of sounds like a questionable tomato one has found in the garden, lol.
So, now you know why I've not been around much. With the cold and damp settled in though, and Harley, at least I'll be closer to home.
Are you getting ready for winter?

How Huge Food Corporations Will Make Upcoming Food Price Hikes Even Worse

An interesting quote this morning from an article I read called, "How Huge Food Corporations will Make Upcoming Food Price Hikes Even Worse"
First the quote, then a link to the article if you're interested.
(And there's a print link if you're like me and prefer to read articles without all the flashing ads on the side)

"Nearly 90 percent of U.S. cropland is comprised of just four crops. This year, the USDA estimates [10] that the nearly 30 percent of U.S. cropland is planted in corn, 23 percent in soybeans, 18 percent in hay, and 17 percent in wheat. Of these, only wheat is significantly different from the others: it mostly goes to feed humans (not livestock), it is less affected by the drought [11] in the U.S., and the U.S. is not the world’s top producer (it’s fourth)."

Here's the link to the article. It's worth a careful read.
How Huge Food Corporations Will Make Upcoming Food Price Hikes Even Worse

Chop Your Wood And It Will Warm You Twice

I found this of interest this morning, and thought perhaps someone else might as well.
From "The Farmstead" book,

"The most common measure of firewood volume is the cord. A standard cord can be described as a well-stacked pile of logs, 4 feet high by 4 feet long by 8 feet long. Since few people burn wood in 4 or 8 foot lengths, most sales are a face cord - that is, a 4 by 8 foot face, cut into desired lengths. A face cord of 16" long pieces is really one third of a standard cord."

Later on in the same article, the author continues with this advice,
"Most wood species will not burn if freshly cut, so the wood you purchase should be reasonably dry, or "seasoned". The surest way of having dry wood is to purchase it several months prior to using it. Splitting logs hastens drying. Split logs or small round logs should be stacked  outside under a roof for 6-10 months before burning."

I remember many years ago, when I was a teenager, we burned wood here. There was one or two places I lived after I left home that we also burned wood. That old saying that "chop your wood and it will warm you twice" is accurate. I remember splitting wood being a lot of work, then stacking it, then bringing it indoors, and then finally clean up. Not to mention keeping the fire a reasonable size, minding the chimney, keeping the chimney clean, etc, etc. But all of that being side, besides the mice that inevitably got indoors, I enjoyed burning wood. It smelled good, it was good exercise, and it was relatively inexpensive. Wood is a renewable resource, if managed correctly. And if you're lucky enough to own a wood lot, it can be source of income for those industrious enough to eke out a living from it.

Have you ever burned wood in a fireplace or woodstove? Do you plan to do it at some point in the future? Tell me what you think about burning wood as a source of heat in the comments!

Coming up next, what wood burns best, wood stoves and their history and the future of burning wood.

Water, Precious Water

WE HAVE RUNNING WATER AGAIN!!!

Turns out, the problem was two-fold. A bad pressure tank and a hole in the line leading from the well to the pump. Both issues are fixed. Thank you so much to all our friends. Everyone who put up with our whining, helped us get water from the spring, lent us water vessels, suggested and loaned family members to try and help fix the pump, those who went down the well, as well as those that were out in the rain this morning.
EVERY ONE OF YOU is an angel, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
And a SPECIAL thanks to those wonderful friends who let us shower and 
do our laundry at their house. YOU ROCK!!

A Tidbit About Aquifers

Did you know?
A hole dug into an aquifer will turn into a water well because the openings between the pieces of sand or gravel or shattered stone are so large that water molecules can easily flow.
The thickness of an aquifer from top to bottom varies with the nature of the earth. An aquifer can be only a few feet or inches thick, or it might be hundreds of feet thick. It might extend for miles without a break, like the Ogallala Aquifer which stretches from Nebraska to Texas. This aquifer is as large as California and contains as much water as Lake Huron. The aquifer might only be pond-sized, or it might stop abruptly because of some prehistoric geological upheaval. Generally an aquifer follows the topography of the land. Where the land dips, the aquifer does likewise.

From "Wells And Septic Systems"
by Max and Charlotte Alth

Tomatoes, Zucchini and Apples, Oh My!

Hello from the bush!

The other day was a very good tomato harvest day for us. They taste so sweet and such a nice colour! Wonderful in both the salad and the sandwiches we ate.

We were lucky enough this morning to be invited to a friend's orchard, to pick all we wanted. By my rough guess we picked somewhere around 10 pounds of apples. They were on the smallish side, but firm, very red, and did I mention free? Of course, we'll make him a couple of pies for all his help, with both the apples and some other things that are still "classified" as yet.

Another friend gave us a massive zucchini yesterday, there is zucchini relish in it's future! So tomorrow is all about fruit and veggie prep here.

Tuesday I think we'll go foraging in the bush.

What's new where you live?

Black Bean Soup and Bright Yellow Happiness

There's lots happening out our way lately, never a dull moment you know.
I've been knitting a little more lately and I'm happy to report that I've recently gotten a long-hibernating project finished! I started a very wide, bright yellow baby blanket as a bus project a few years ago. It got packed away when life got too busy, and then forgotten, and then found again as we were packing for our move. I've finished it, and I'm quite proud of it!

I've also started and finished the first hat in a series intended to be gifts to our local soup kitchen for Christmas. Because they will be given to the soup kitchen, and because I organize and chronicle all my projects on Ravelry, I've decided to name all the hats after soup! Corny? Maybe, but I like to have fun when I can. Here is "Black Bean Soup"

Now all I need to do is wash the blanket, and block it and it can be given to our community's newest expectant mother!

What have you been doing to stay busy?

A Disappointment and Good News!

Today we harvested a bright orange, yummy looking tomato that we'd been watching slowly ripen. We anticipated each of us getting a slice, chins running with orangey, tomatoey goodness.
This was a new kind of tomato for us, "Golden Queen".
I couldn't wait!


With slightly shaking fingers I gently grasped the fruit, tugged it gently from it's green plant, and found;

Blossom end rot.

I can't tell you how many dirty words were uttered in the chipmunks' presence. But I'm sure I expanded his vocabulary.

I brought it inside and cut it open, and found this.



Blossom end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency in the soil. And the cause of many nasty, foul words uttered by a gardener. The soil PH can also contribute to the deficiency, so between this month and next spring, I'll be amending the soil. Surprisingly, we've only found one other tomato with this maddening issue.

But every cloud has a silver lining, and this is mine;

Our  "Small Sugar" pumpkin is almost 11" around!!


So I celebrated by toasting it with a glass of orange juice.


A lesson for the day, and hope.
What's new with you?

We Canadians have a reputation for being polite, Canadian  gardeners are both polite  and generous! K, over at My Old New House is having a dried bean giveaway, and who doesn't like beans that have interesting colours and stories?
Go check out her blog, won't you?

A Wriggle Fence Here, A Wattle Fence There...

Back in May of this year, I posted  about a style of fence I wanted to use here, the Wriggle Fence.
Well, at long last I've gotten off my butt and started  a fence, although not quite the one I wrote about. I was unsure how the cross-pieces were to be attached, and the video was of no help. So I did the next best thing and improvised. I'm quite happy with what we've gotten accomplished so far.

In time, this patch will hold a variety of herbs, as well as a young apple tree that resides there now, along with a mallow plant, I believe.

There's not a lot of fence so far, but enough that I think you can see some progress. The corners are solid, and in fact, you can stand on the branches we've woven in so far.

It won't be high enough to keep out deer, but when it's done, it will at least be a deterrent to the squirrels, rabbits and neighborhood dogs.

No Soil, No Veggies

It's always been an interest of mine to see what other people do on their land, including design, functionality,  Then I come back and look at my piece. I used to get a little depressed about our gravel-laden, mossy, weedy yard. (That's it there to the left) Then I turned my thinking around to realize the potential it has. I certainly don't need to worry about drainage! I don't need to worry about putting a shovel into it and coming up with construction trash (like our last home). I can do whatever I want with our piece of land...mostly. Because the front yard is where the septic tanks and weeping field is, I'm going to plant most of our vegetables in the back. It's logical, larger and by growing crops in the back, I'm not tempting Murphy (of Murphy's Law fame).

My first issue to address in the back is the soil. As far as I know, there is only one way to grow anything in this soil, and that's to amend it. Many of you know I am a big fan of organic gardening and farming. Some of you know I believe whole heartedly in growing food and not grass. I know we have the potential here to grow a butt-ton of food, using a combination of square-foot and bio-intensive methods. But first things first, something has to be done with the soil.

We have two composters here on the property, and they get used, tended and mixed quite often. One of them had sat in the same location for a couple of years until just recently. When I moved it, I was happy to see that there was enough finished compost for me to use in a few spots around the yard. Those spots will be herb beds next year. (With what remains of this growing season, I will be focusing on building garden beds, growing herbs and lettuce indoors and of course, soil improvement.) The composter that I moved had a lot of wet items in it, what the composting gurus call "green" matter, but it wasn't real high in "brown" stuff. Before I confuse you, let me explain.

What you put into your composter has a lot of influence on  how quickly  the raw materials break down, as does the size of these items. If you fill your composter with only sticks and dry leaves, they're going to take longer to break down. The same can be said of vegetable trimmings. The trick is find the right ratio. The organisms that do the work in a composter need four things to work properly; carbon (this is where dry plant matter comes into play such as small broken up twigs, dry leaves and straw), nitrogen (in order to make new and more of the aforementioned organisms to oxidize that carbon), oxygen to help decomposition, and water (to help maintain organisms without giving too much moisture and creating a stinky situation). Now, if you remember that fresh, juicy, wet materials are usually "green", it gets easy to think of "green" compostables. Apple cores, grass cuttings, banana peels, feathers, manure, tea leaves, potato peelings, watermelon rind, coffee grounds and so on. All of these are high in nitrogen as well. Now the "brown" ingredients are easier to identify as well. Dry leaves, shredded corn stalks and cobs, wood chips, small sticks, grass cuttings that have dried on the lawn, peanut shells, straw, bedding from all kinds of animals from gerbils to horses ... you get the idea, right? Remember, the smaller the pieces you put in, the faster it will all break down. I've heard of a lot of people acquiring worms and dumping them into the compost pile. Proponents of vermiculture say there is only one kind of worms to use, and that's the red wiggler. I don't know this for sure myself, but I know that it's now possible to order them through the internet! Google is so useful...

So, compost is a key element of organic soil amendment. No matter how much I want to hurry it along, it takes time. Depending on the style of your composter and what you put in it, and how often it's mixed; it can take either months or weeks to get finished compost. Or so the experts say. I've never had compost in weeks. Apparently if one has a tumbler style composter (this one looks like a barrel with a handle), the drum can be rotated every week or so and therefore better mixed. There are composters that look like a drum that gets narrower at the top. I've never been able to see why this design is better than any other, but if you ever get the opportunity to go look at composters for sale, this may be the most common design. Another design is the three bin system, with each bin holding progressively more completed compost. I have never tried this style, but with six of us in the house, I am faced with the possibility of making a three bin system soon! I think design comes down to the preference of the person composting. What's more important is rebuilding the soil, and giving back to the planet instead of taking away.

So what's in your composter, you might be asking me... We eat a lot of fruit and veggies here, and the fresher the better. So we have a lot of vegetable trimmings. Potato peels, watermelon rind, cucumber trimmings, and beet ends Small twigs and dry leaves from my ongoing battle to not let the forest take back our property, dried straw, and coffee grounds. This week I'm hoping to acquire a source of goat and chicken manure that I can mix into the composter as well. Before you start wondering about the smell, let me assure you that if a composter is managed correctly, there is no smell. I had a 5 gallon bucket that I had put small holes into at my former home, an apartment, that I put all our kitchen waste into, as well as dried leaves and sticks and some small amounts of soil from a local ravine. (The soil came with the dried leaf matter on the shovel. I wasn't digging holes in the ravine, in case you wondered) As long as I was conscious of the ingredients of my bucket, and kept an eye on things, (or should that be nose?), and kicked the round bucket around the yard to mix it all up my neighbors never smelled a thing. In fact, many didn't believe me until I showed them the compost.

So, to wrap up, compost is the first step to any soil amendment, and definitely my starting point. It's not as overwhelming as it first seems when you break it all down. Pardon the pun. Plants are better off for the time and effort put into compost, the soil will be richer for it, and in the end, the vegetables grown with it will be all the healthier for it.
Do you have a composter? If you do, what style do you have? Is it a barrel or three bin system? What do you put into yours? If you don't have a composter right now, is this something you plan on doing?
Let me know in the comments section; I love learning what everyone else is doing!

An Award !!

Wow...an award? Me? Shucks....

Many thanks to Jacqueline of Blether fame for it. Oh? It comes with rules? Oh...
Here are the rules as she explained them:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.
                                            5. Go to their page and tell them.
                                            6. Remember, no tag backs!

Here are the questions she has given for me to answer:


1. Why?
Why not? Ok, seriously, to grow into a better person. I hope.

2. You have the power! The superpower! What power is it?
The ability to tell when others are lying.

3. Are you Clark Kent, Magneto, or Wesley from The Princess Bride? Or are you Lois Lane, Cat Woman, or Princess Buttercup?
Cat Woman. Slightly unbalanced, but in an interesting way.

4. You dream of the past, I know you do, what would be your perfect era?
Hmm. Toughie. Either steampunk (beginning of the tech age) or the 1800's.
Both are fascinating.

5. What have you listened to most recently?
Birds, squirrels and my family.

6. In what medium do you best express yourself?
The written word.

7. For 24 hours you may change the world to suit yourself; in what way would you change it?
I would do away with war, killing, poverty and hunger. Everyone would have a home, food and basic needs. Oh, and a job if they wanted it.

8. What comforts you?
Love, a peaceful home, a warm blanket and smiles.

9. You are locked inside a white room, do you try to escape or do you grab crayons and/or paint and use the room as a blank canvas?
I'll take crayons, markers, paint, anything that will allow me to color that room.

10. How difficult is it for you to say no?
Very!

11. You are at peace with yourself; how do you show others how to achieve that peace?
By appealing to their sense of maturity, logic and teaching them how to tune out our "inner babble"

So now it's my turn to nominate some of my favorite bloggers. No tagbacks, damn.

Stephanie the Yarn Harlot
Paula, from Weeding For Godot
CD at Canadian Doomer
Liz at Darwin Hills Farm
Gaye at Backdoor Survival
CallieK at Backyard Farms
FarmGal at Just Another Day On The Farm
Jarhead Survivor, RangerMan and Calamity Jane over at SHTF Blog
Todd at the Prepper Website
Bernie at The Apartment Prepper
BadVoodoo at The Retreat

Now to try and provide questions for all you fine folks, no promise there'll be 11 though.

1) What prompted you to start and maintain a blog?
2) What makes you smile?
3) What is your favorite season of the year?
4) Zombies are coming! What's the first thing you do?
5) Are you a tea or coffee kind of person?
6) What hobbies do you have, if any?
7) Do you watch television or read books predominantly?
8) Would you classify yourself as a deep thinker?
9) If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
10) What do you think is the healthiest habit one can have?
11) If society were to go BOOM tomorrow, what would you miss the most?

Hmm, that was easier than I thought.
Back to the outdoor chores!

Productivity and A Spring

Today was a busy day for me. Today's highlight was burning some of the brush that the boys helped me cut down over the past week.

Of course, every time I added a branch, the wind would pick up. So I took it slow and got a little brush burned, as well as a few more boxes. So over the course of the day I got 6 boxes unpacked, burned a few as well as the aforementioned brush, sorted and repacked two boxes of kitchen stuff which then went out to the shed.

Got some things sorted out in our bedroom as well as a couple of things hung up. Checked on my meager growing things, and I'm happy to report the pumpkin is still growing.

We all took a ride out to the spring this afternoon where Betty took some pictures, which I then put up on Facebook, and will be sharing over time, with you all here.

That spring water sure is cold, but man is it good! It's great to wash one's hair in too!

A Lesson From Five Acres and Independence

This is interesting advice from a book written in 1935, "Five Acres And Independence" by M.G. Kains, B.S.,M.S., on how to tell if your soil is poor or healthy just by looking at what trees and weeds grow on it.

"Beech, sugar maple, hickory, black walnut and white oak trees of large size and positive thriftiness indicate rich land; white pine, scrub oak and scrawny trees of most species are typical of poor land; extra thrifty willows, poplars and alder and elder bushes suggest too much water and probable need of drainage.
Weeds however, are more often telltales than are trees and bushes because they follow cultivation, whereas large trees precede it. It is not necessary to identify species, although this is desirable. What does count is the character of growth made by the weeds actually present. Lush, sturdy very dark green, leafy growths indicate that the plants are well-fed, especially with nitrogenous compounds, but if the growth is pale, sickly colored, scrawny and apparently eking out a miserable existence the land is certainly not rich."

He continues by saying,
"Ox-eye daisy, wild carrot and mullein in abundance and poorly developed indicate lack of humus as well as fertility and prove that the land has been badly mismanaged, for these plants cannot stand neither rich soil or rational tillage."

For me, this was both interesting and disappointing.
Guess what's in the backyard where I want to grow?
Mullein, scrubby trees, pale stringy weeds and moss.

Sigh.
I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Chevy's Icicle Pickles

I'm pleased and proud as punch to report that we spent a bit of the morning canning! We've now got eight jars of Chevy's Icicle Pickles. So far, they've all set as they should (I love hearing those lids ping!) and they should taste delicious if the last batch made with this recipe is any indicator! Yes, that's them to the left.
Here's the recipe.

Makes 5 500 ml jars

Approx. 12 pickling cucumbers
6 med size onions, sliced and cut into pieces. OPTIONAL

Pickling liquid:
3 cups granulated sugar
4 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup pickling salt
5 cloves garlic
5-6 heads fresh dill or 10 tsp. dill seed

* Fill boiling water canner with water. Place 5 clean pint (500 ml) mason jars in canner over high heat.

* Wash cucumbers. Remove blossom ends, at least 1/16th of an inch of all cucumbers. Cut the cucumbers into 1/4" spears, set aside.

* Place Snap Lids into boiling water, boil 5 minutes to soften sealing compound.

* Combine sugar, vinegar, water and pickling salt in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan, bring to a boil. At this time, you may wish to add onion pieces.

* Place 1 clove garlic and 1 head fresh dill (or 2 tsp. dill seed in a hot jar. Pack cucumber and onion (if desired) to within 3/4' of the top rim. Add pickling liquid to cover cucumbers to within 1/2" of top rim. Remove air bubbles by sliding a rubber spatula between glass and food, readjust head space to 1/2". Wipe jar with a clean, damp cloth, removing any stickiness. Center Snap Lid on jar, apply screw ring/band just until fingertip tight. Place jar in canner. Repeat for remaining cucumbers, onions, garlic, dill and pickling liquid.

* Cover canner, return water to a boil, let boil for 15 minutes. Remove jars and let cool. Check jar seals after cooling. Sealed lids curve inward and should not bounce back when pressed lightly. Wipe jars, label with contents and date, and store in a cool, dark place.

Lettuce-nappers!

Well talk about frustration! I had started a handful of lettuce seeds last week, they sprouted fine and so they went in the cold frame where I harvested the beets. I had been checking on them every day. Yesterday there were four sprouts left and this morning there is only one. One! I have no clear suspect, but I know it's none of the rabbits, they can't get into it. Our first suspect of the day is the resident chipmunk. The cold frame is built with 2X4's, so we're wondering if he's been climbing down those and into the frame. All of my onions seedlings are gone too. Do chipmunks eat lettuce and onions?
Clearly, I'll need to start again and start making wire sides for the garden beds that are already here.
Little punks... First squirrels now chipmunks!
Good thing he's cute...

Water, Water, Everywhere...How Do We Get It Inside?

I'm pleased as all get out to report that the pump is fixed and seems to be running well. It took our kind friend and neighbor 4 hours to fix it, after installing new parts, priming the pump a million times, finding air in the lines, priming, cutting, going down the well to check something down there...
You get the idea.
At any rate, the poor guy dedicated his entire afternoon to our pump and was subjected to rounds of hugs from all the women here after declaring the pump working. Yes, I hugged him as well. We made a point of asking what his favorite baked good was and I've promised that I would deliver it to his house personally.
And I will too.

So this water crisis has had me thinking a lot about water. How important it is and how much we take it for granted. Now, our problem was not a lack of water exactly, but a lack of usable water inside the house. So, I was grateful for the rain barrel. Until I looked in it and found so little water that I had to tilt the barrel to get any water to wash dishes in this morning.
Uh oh...

We'd been using water from the watering hole in the back to flush with, since it didn't need to be clean enough to drink. The water barrel had the water to do dishes with, which required a lot of hauling in from outdoors and boiling, and we traveled to a spring for drinking water. The system wasn't perfect but it was better than nothing. On the slightly more personal side of things...I don't recommend waiting to "make solid waste", so to speak. Waiting is not good for a body. Anyway, all of this has gotten me thinking about water. Did you know that for the kidneys to eliminate waste products effectively, the average person needs to drink enough water so that she or he urinates at least one pint each day? (When water is not limited, most people drink enough to urinate 2 pints. Additional water is lost in perspiration, exhaled breath, and excrement.) Under cool conditions, a person could survive for weeks on 3 pints of water a day if he eats little food and if that food is low in protein. Cool conditions, however, would be the exception in crowded below ground shelters occupied for many days. Under such circumstances, four or five quarts of drinking water per day are essential in very hot weather, with none allowed for
washing. (Thanks to the unknown author of the Water Procurement and Treatment PDF for that info.)

I was trying to hold back on drinking water or coffee while we were without a pump. Just thinking about a big cold glass of water made me feel guilty. If you ever find yourself in a tight place for water, keep drinking as much as you can. You can drink during the day and still get dehydrated you know.

I also recommend re-prioritizing your job list if you ever find yourself without water for a short period of time. Yard work especially will make you sweat and you'll be thirsty. All that sweating will not only make you feel slimy and nasty but yes, you'll smell bad too. So save the yard work for when you have water. Later on, you'll be glad you did.
Also, try and learn as much as you can about your water pump and/or well now, BEFORE something happens. Do you know how to prime it? Do you know how it works? Can you get a backup water pump even? I have spent the past week wishing we had a backup pump. I tried to learn how to prime it the other day, but after watching a strong guy almost burst a kidney on loosening off what needed loosening, just to PRIME it...I knew I was out of my league. So learn what you can while you are NOT in a state of emergency. You'll be better off for it. And look less like a dork if you need to bring in help.

My final piece of advice if you are ever in a water-down situation... this too shall pass.
You WILL get water again. I promise.
In the meantime, consider storing drinking water.
More on that tomorrow.

A Gibbs-smack From The Universe

It's funny how the Universe will slap us upside the head sometimes to reset our priorities. Wether we listen though... that's up to us.  I swore this recent move wouldn't be done hastily and haphazardly, everything would go smoothly.
Yeah...right.
There things left behind, the truck was too small, but I couldn't afford a bigger truck. Without going into all the details, let's just say I wasn't happy with the way the move went. But I was damn glad when it was over. For a couple of days I bitched and moaned about it.
And then the water taps spit air....

We thought we were out of water. When Dad and I opened the lid, there was water. A neighbor came over and lowered his ladder down and took a peek. (It's only a shallow well.) We had water, and good flow, so it wasn't that. So the same neighbor went downstairs to the pump and gave that a once over. He did whatever he did, and came up scratching his head. He was stumped, he said, he couldn't figure out why we weren't getting water. Then we hired someone to come and dredge the well. Even they said we had good flow. We got one load of laundry done, and one shower in and then...air again.
First one thing was tried, then another and the neighbor came over again. He started the pump again, I watched carefully so that I might learn how to prime it, since it's next to impossible for Dad. He's not a contortionist, and I felt frustrated that I couldn't do anything. All through this experience, I still hadn't learned the lesson the Universe was trying to teach me. I did learn about the pressure switch, where the points are, I learned too that we don't need a check valve on the pump in the basement, I learned it was installed stupidly and in a bad corner and that only a small strong man can take it apart in three places to prime it. With a torch.

So the pump was primed, the neighbor left for Manitoulin Island and we celebrated having water. I even sent the youngest son in for a shower.
He came out saying there was no water.
So now we are making trips to a local spring to get water suitable for drinking and using what's in the water barrel outside for washing of dishes. Yes, after it's boiled. Super-Neighbor is supposed to be back on Sunday (tomorrow) and replacement parts for something on the pump down in well have been purchased.

This morning I was the first one up, not counting Dad at 4 am because he made coffee and went back to bed, and I was sitting outside with my sweater and coffee when it hit me...
This is the Universe teaching me to let go of the "stuff" in my life and focus on what's important.
Like running water.
Like showers and clean clothes.
I sat there letting the lesson sink in with the rising sun, humbled by how stupid I've been.
Regardless, today the family and I, minus the parental units because they aren't spring chickens anymore, bushwhacked a path back to the spring that I remembered from 12 years ago. It's just at the back of the property, we just needed to get to it. It was an enjoyable way to get the kids out of doors, and they were each given a job they liked. I was a little disappointed to find not a spring, but a small waterhole. Stagnant water was not what I was hoping for.
But on the bright side, it's enough to flush the toilet with, so I wasn't complaining! And as an added bonus, I made acquaintance with a small green frog.

Of course, all of us here are glued to the Olympics. None of us here are very spry to be sporting, but we do enjoy the world stage for others to compete. Are you following the Olympics? Who are you rooting for?

So, I would say that all in all, it wasn't too bad a day...I suppose. It could have been worse.
It can always get worse, and this too shall pass.

(Btw, for anyone wondering...The Gibbs-smack in the title is a nod to Leroy Jethro Gibbs, of NCIS fame)