Snakes in the Grass

Nice day yesterday - exactly the "way life ought-to-be"! Sunny with a breeze and temps in the high 70s. Since there haven't been many of these this summer, it seemed like a great day to bring in some wood for the winter to come. Dave has an plan for getting it much of it out of the weather - he has built several bins in the back garage (enough to hold a winters worth - which for us is less than 2 cords!). That will be for the next year. There is enough space in the attached garage for the coming year. Anything outside (usually on a tarp and a slant for drainage) is for 2 years down the calendar. Should be a good plan. But the cycle is just beginning - so, this was to bring seasoned wood into the attached garage. As the first bucket (using the tractor bucket) was being loaded, a resident made him(her)self noticed. A small snake (2 feet or so) slithered around the pile from section to section as the wood was being removed. Now, this was kind of interesting and even a bit funny to watch. However, on the second load - it slid into the bucket with the wood and took a ride to the garage. Luckily, Dave noticed and unloaded while I stood guard with the broom just in case it escaped (the plan was for me to then scoot it out the door). That wasn't necessary though as we saw it hiding and drove the tractor back outside, lowered the bucket and got it into the grass. Problem solved. Back for another load - oops, another snake! Process starts all over again. Soon - snake number three (or the one we had rescued found the way back home). Anyway, it was like playing hide and seek. Trying to load the bucket, keep them out but not injure either one. Seemed really strange that they didn't just crawl away with all the disturbances. Finally, the pile was gone and we were down to the planks which had been used to keep the wood off the ground. Dave lifted a plank - and there they were, the rest of the family. It really was a reptile home. Slowly lowered the board over the 5 or so "teenagers" and mom and dad to give them time to move away before actually removing the roof from over their heads. Later in the afternoon, we went back and got the boards. Only one youngsters was to be seen, but both parents were all over the grass. After Dave hauled away the remaining planks, I waited around with the camera and managed a couple of shots of mom and dad. Two of the young came up out of holes in the ground, but I was unable to catch them before the hurried into the grass. Sure hope they found a new condo............

Tile - down to two

The only concrete floors remaining are the two bedrooms - and we have the slate in the garage! I highly recommend all tile floors for passive solar homes -

and for anyone owning large dogs in the hills of Maine! Several people have asked to see the final combination in the dining / living / kitchen / hall - we have

tried to blend patterns in a comfortable way. As you can see, our dogs love the coolness in the summer. The only issue is the blowing hair when we turn on the

fans - no carpet to grab it as it goes by.

Here is a short video of the above areas - hope you enjoy.




sharonbetts
tile
passivesolar

Lights, Gardens and Dogs

Memorial Day weekend 2008 - the weather is great and we are spending some time outside before starting up the grill. The boys are coming later in the week for a couple of days, but the weekend is just us (and the dogs). As you can see, we got some bales of hay, manure and also loam to help boost our gardening. Dave is busy putting it all together.

Inside we now have the tile all finished in the living/dining area and the lights and fan are installed. So, it can get dark and warm - ha.
There are more shots of Hubbardton Forge lights in the Gallery.

The dogs are also enjoying this great weather - except for the black flies which are battling even the strong breeze today. It is hard to believe they are 9 and 3 already.

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend - and during this time of war, remembers its real meanings.


sharonbetts
passivesolar
maine
leonbergers
HubbardtonForge

Passive Solar Works - Build a Fire!

Its a rainy Spring day in Maine! The temperature is 30 degrees higher than the sunny day I blogged about no heat last January. What little sun we have today only comes into the house about a foot inside the southern windows. Due to the height of the sun, the berming and the depth of the overhang, it all works to keep summer heat out. Last winter, we had rays bouncing off the back living room wall (18 feet into the room). Being a fringe season (Spring, Fall and Mud), we are cool and actually started a fire in the Tulikivi. Not a problem, as we didn't use as much wood as we had estimated and there is still some stacked in the attached garage. Rather burn it than have to carry it back outside. That will keep the house around 70 - very comfy.

Another success is the tile flooring. It is nearing completion, too. Not only do they serve as heat storage during the winter and remain cool to the touch throughout the summer, during these rainy days it is easy to mop the puddles left by 245 pounds of wet double coated dogs! Doesn't do much for the perfume of wet fur - but is certainly easy to sop up.
I highly recommend it to anyone with 4 legged pets.

sharonbetts
passive+solar
tulikivi