Snow Falling on April 19, 2020
While it wasn't a big snow storm, there was definitely some white falling from the sky I was camping up along the East Branch on Saturday morning. They got even more snow down in the Catskills.
Notes
Self-Isolating done right! at the Cabin!
Welcome back to the cabin. Pull a seat, forget your troubles, and enjoy the sound of a crackling outdoor fire and the sound of a steak sizzling on the grill. This is the way to self isolate! and let's have a friendly chat around the fire. Ahhh, this is the way life should be.
Technology Connections – Chest Freezers; What they tell us about designing for X
This video is super cool. We're talking about refrigeration, and how the design of a refrigerator affects its energy consumption. Freezers are the perfect place to see this in action, so let's take a look!
Chest freezers are remarkably clever for a variety of reasons -- and quite energy efficient for what they do. Yet, they're not as popular as you might think, especially for primary storage of food, probably because it's a lot more rummaging through to find things. There really good to have if you have and harvest animals for meat.
First day of Spring at the Cabin!
It's the first day of spring at the cabin and what a beautiful day it is. There's no better place to be right now! Going to hang out and do some easy chores. Enjoying life in the slow lane. ;) Spend 20 minutes with me and take your mind off of everything that's currently going on in this crazy world.
End of February at the Cabin – and memories of Japan.
It's the end of February and winter's not quite done with use yet. Had some fresh snowfall so I fired up the Kioti tractor to clear out the yard. It was great to get some fresh air after being sick with the stomach flu. After the the work was done, I put on a pot of pork udon noodle soup and reminisced about some memories of Japan.
Apparently smoking is a big thing in Japan, or at least cigarette vending machines. I remember as a kid when they used to have them in the vending machine at Friendly's when I would go there as a kid. As always, NB88's videos are worth watching.
Two Years Alone in the Wilderness | Escape the City to Build Off Grid Log Cabin
One man leaves the city life behind to build a cheap off grid log cabin and homestead in the Canadian wilderness, including a log home, an outdoor kitchen, an outhouse, a woodshed and a sauna bathhouse. Building mostly with hand tools, Shawn James harvests building materials from the forests north of Toronto, Canada and crafts them into functional tools and shelters using traditional woodworking tools and methods. He practices bushcraft and survival skills every day, including fire starting, tree identification and harvesting, wild edible foraging, fishing, hunting, camping in the summer and winter, travelling by canoe and snowshoe, navigation and water collection and purification. Continue watching in 2019 as Shawn finishes the sauna, plants a forest garden for fruit and vegetables, builds an underground root cellar, ice house and cheese cave, a timber frame workshop and a remote hunt camp closer to fish and game.
The wood work and brushcraft that Shawn James does is nothing short of amazing. He also is a really good videographer, and this hour and half video is inspiring.
SOLAR LANTERNS, LED HEADLAMPS, and other cool gadgets | Alaska In Winter (off grid living)
Living off the grid we use solar lanterns, LED headlamps and flashlights for everything. Especially here in Alaska in the winter!!! We wake up hours before the sunrise and then halfway through the day wonder what to vlog about.... So we made this poorly lit video to show you all what goes on around the lodge while it's still dark. The sun is in the sky for less than 4 hours so we have plenty of darkness to test out the good, the bad, and the handiest lighting gadgets.
I don't know, with 20 odd hours of darkness, I think I would want a bigger battery bank, more solar and a generator. Headlamps and solar lights are fine, but I can't imagine spending so much of my day in the darkness, without a little more light, especially a golden warm white light. 💡Maybe you get a bit of it from sitting next to wood stove. Regardless, it has to be a heck of a life living off-grid in Alaska.