Why I Prefer Minus Twenty Over Minus Three

Has living off-grid in the bush already driven me crazy?

For those who knew me from  Southern Ontario, no the cold has not frozen my brain. And for those who didn’t know me back then, the cold was something I simply dreaded. Now, I really do prefer the colder temps over the almost freezing ones. I’ll try to explain how this happened.

Earlier this week we knew we were getting to the point of needing to have the inside wood rack filled and as luck would have it, the outside, already split, rack was empty. That meant we had to do the full wood dance. That's our term for getting the wood that we purchased and stacked behind the trailer, moving it, splitting it, moving it again, filling the outdoor rack and finally filling the indoor rack.



Starting on the second rack meant this path had to be made

Since we have emptied the first wood storage rack, there would be shovelling to do to get to the next wood storage rack.  We had three racks when the season started and are now just beginning to work on splitting the second one. The day we thought we would do the job, started out snowing and it just kept at it, while the temperature climbed.  Since we had other chores for the morning, it was almost lunch by the time we were ready to start. The snow was still coming down, the temperature had climbed to -3 Celsius and we were expecting company that afternoon. In the interest of not rushing and knowing we still had wood inside, we postponed the wood dance.

Fast forward to the next day.  It’s sunny, which is always a good thing when you’re off grid using solar power for electricity. But, as usual, in the winter, when it’s sunny it’s cold. It was -35 with the wind-chill when we woke and over breakfast the temp went up to a slightly more reasonable -22 and the wind died down.

This path to the splitting spot had to be shovelled too

Ed headed out to start the shovelling while I finished up the inside work. By the time I was done he was finished shovelling. As I began to tell him what an amazing job he had done clearing all that snow (by hand I may add, no snow blower or plow was used) he told me there was some swearing involved. I can only hope, you can tell from the pictures, the amount of snow he had cleared.

 

Inside he went to take a break, and to have a bite to eat, as I started on my portion of the wood dance. I take the logs we have in the storage rack and bring them to the spot where Ed splits them. Up until this time I would just grab a couple of logs and walk them over. Doing that multiple times as the first rack was only about 10 feet from the splitting spot and I like to add the walking part to my workout. This time I began that way, but the walk on the newly shovelled portion of the path was more like being in sand and much further. Because of that, I thought that pulling the wood over via the sled would help pack the snow down. After a number of trips, I felt I had enough wood to fill the front rack and returned inside to check when Ed would be ready to start the splitting. I was not going to rush him as I knew that the shovelling had taken a toll.



Some of the wood ready to be split. I had to shovel the path on the
left to get at the tamarack which still has the snow piled on it.

When I came in, I saw his shirt and coat hanging by the fire to dry. He worked so hard, he had soaked his clothing even in the -20 temperature. Ed put on some lighter clothing and I removed my scarf as even I was over heating and we began the next step.



The front rack is empty

Ed splits the wood and I pull it around the front via the sled and stack it. While I’m gone with the sled he continues splitting and once I have finished stacking in the front, I return and fill the sled again and continue the dance. It usually takes about 10 trips around the trailer to fill the front rack. Each time I am bending to fill the sled, bending and twisting to empty the sled and stack the split wood. You get the idea, this is a workout. 

Now it's full again

Once done stacking, we had to fill the inside rack. Usually I am inside but this time I told Ed to go in and I would toss the wood in the door. He fired up the woodstove to high before the door was opened . A necessary step when outdoor air will be rushing in the whole time. Stacking the indoor rack takes at least 10 minutes. By the time we scrape the ice off the door, sweep up the mess that creates, toss the wood in, stack it, clean up that mess and close the door.Thankfully everything is positioned perfectly with both the front wood rack and the indoor wood rack close to the door.



We also have to keep a path to the shed and outhouse

Once done, I actually stayed out and played with Tono since it really is a great feeling to breathe in that cool fresh air while you’re bundled up in your snow gear. You see, this whole time, I have on boots that are rated to -100, waterproof, well insulated, gloves, a hat, snow pants and long underwear but I found a scarf was just too much while working. You have to dress that way here to stay dry while you work and enjoy the winter.

I hope I have explained how I can enjoy the cold. Now you can see that when the temperature is -3 it’s just too warm to work. Plus if you’re not just a little chilly when you come in, there is no need for Carolans in the coffee to warm you up. 

We are happy to report Tono is finally using his doghouse

Wood - The only fuel that heats you twice.

Heating with wood is great! The warmth radiating from a woodstove can’t be beat. Heating with wood has more steps to it than other fuels. Waiting for the truck to pull up with your choice of fuel, or if you are connected to a grid paying that monthly bill for the natural gas that flows in, is easy. We get personal with our wood at least 6 times before it’s burned.

Picked up 10 face cords from a local supplier. Loaded it on a trailer there, unloaded it to our racks here. About once a week we haul it from the racks to the splitting area. Thoreau said that wood heats you twice. Once when you split it and again when you burn it. This is so true! Once split it’s hauled to a holding rack by the door for easy access.

We built a nifty wood rack by the woodstove so when it needs filling we chuck wood from the outside rack into the trailer then stack it in the inside rack. It thaws and dries nicely in that rack and we are set until the next time. Burning wood is as close to carbon neutral as you will get compared to other fuels. The carbon released when wood is burned was taken from the air by the tree while it was growing. Sure, the logging process and chainsaws are a bad source of carbon emissions but the fuel itself is clean.

Once our home is built and our solar system is in full production we can do better. Local trees felled with a battery powered chainsaw (I understand they are good now) then bucked with an electric chainsaw and split by hand or with our electric log splitter will be as close to neutral as I can get. Now if I just had a team of horses to haul the trees back to the house…

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Winter comes to North-Eastern Ontario

 We have been on the land for 6 months now. We are where we want to be but not where we thought we would be. Expected to  be working in our home over the winter. We are where we want to be, in the bush on our land, living life the way we choose.

For Remembrance Day we had snow. A decent amount of snow. Then we had a warm spell and a lot more wet than desired. Adjusting to the different climate from 800 km south has been interesting. Tricia had not seen snow on the ground before her birthday, November 19^th, in Southern Ontario. Rarely some blowing around in the air but never an accumulation. I was born and raised in Ottawa so am more used to winter weather but moved to Southern Ontario when I was 18 so can’t recall when it set in there.

Once we knew we were not going to have the shell of our home built this year and we turned our attention to preparing our shelter for the winter it was non-stop working. Procuring 10+ cords of cut wood and getting it here and stacked was a big job. Getting the woodstove refinished and hooked up in the trailer was a big job. Having an entry built over the stairs into the trailer was another big job. Thankfully a well-timed visit from our good friends from Muskoka, Dave our builder friend and his wife, Janine (a long-time friend of Tricia’s) made the stove and entry projects a breeze. As always we are thankful. Trying to get all the other projects done before the snowfall was daunting. We kept our heads down and chipped away at them. The skirting around the trailer was finished after the snow started. There just never seems to be time to get everything done and as the months roll on and we approach the shortest days of the year the loss of daylight is a big factor.

But it is all worth it to be here, 5 km to our closest resident neighbours. I stand on the roof of the trailer brushing the snow from our solar panel. It lives on the roof mounted to a neat tracker that I rigged up and connects directly to our GoalZero Yeti 400 power pack inside. From up there I get a different perspective, of our clearing, the forest around us, and of life itself. I hated my job and life in Southern Ontario. I was passionate in my disgust, despair and self-loathing. 6 months in and I can’t even really remember how bad it was. I listen to the Chickadees all around while I shovel some snow. Follow rabbit, fox, lynx and moose tracks through the snow… then shovel some more. I stand on the road at the end of our driveway on a moon-lit night, brighter than any night in Hamilton under streetlights. It’s in the -20’s and my breath billows up slowly above me the air still for once. I listen to the loud cracks and pops around me, the trees protesting the cold. The glowing moon so beautiful. So many stars.

 When I go inside it’s so warm and dry, the fire crackling away. And there is my partner in crime, my soul-mate, my lover, my friend. “How about making a coffee with Carolans Irish Cream” she says…

Life is GOOD!

                                                                                                                                                                   EH

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

Two 50+ year olds pulling up stakes and moving 800+ kilometers north to the bush. No home to live in once there, only a rundown hunt cabin needing much TLC. A BIG deal. The move was June 1st but the roller coaster ride started before then and lasted for weeks, before and after.

The plan was to get here, get building and have an enclosed structure before snowfall so we could camp in the structure over winter and work on the inside. External forces kicked in. Road restrictions due to deep frost coming out of the road. No heavy equipment until July. Got the land cleared once the restrictions were lifted and then the rains came. And they never seemed to leave. Got the logs for the roof beams and found we would have to peel them ourselves. Our home builder friend in Muskoka couldn’t believe we couldn’t get peeled logs up here in the world of trees and wood. No road mix or aggregates here have enough clay in them for bag work (our walls will be made from earthbags) so we need to screen clay (either a sticky muck from rain or concrete hard if dried) to mix with sharp sand. And the rain… did I mention the rain?

So things have not gone according to plan and the timelines have shifted. We hope to get the foundation work done and cover that for winter. We are getting an insulated trailer to set up home in until the structure is completed. We will, as our motto says, do ‘whatever it takes’ to see this through.

 

As they say in ‘Game of Thrones’, “Winter is coming”. Focus has shifted to the preparations for the long winter ahead of us. It will be quite a change for us former Southern Ontario folk but we look forward to it. So I guess a lot of what has passed was ‘worst of times’ but it wasn’t bad, it just ‘was’. We rolled with it all.

Then there are the best of times…

I haven’t worked a J.O.B. since late May. That is WONDERFUL!! I hated my job and it was sucking the life out of me. We are living in the bush. Trees, bugs and critters everywhere. And we love it! Wild strawberries, raspberries and Saskatoon/June/Serviceberries growing on our property and along our road. Many different plants and birds to identify and learn about. And our dog, our big lug of a dog. He’s gorgeous and loveable and quite a character.

And the people. What an unexpected bonus. In 2 ½ months we have met more people and made more friends than we EVER had living in Hamilton for 30+ years. People helping, people sharing, people lending, and people just being friendly and neighbourly. Small town Northern Ontario is awesome! We have also met numerous people doing the same as us. Moving to the country and trying to live as sustainably as they can. Whether from Southern Ontario (many) or other provinces, people are wanting to get back to basics and have lost faith in the ‘system’ being able to keep the status quo. Our hats off to you all.

We work together to overcome the obstacles that erupt before us like the frost boils in the dirt road in mid-June. We only get stronger and that strengthens our resolve… Whatever it takes…

EH

How quickly time flies

Keeping lists to keep track

It is hard to believe we have been here for a week. It has gone so quickly yet so very much has happened. We were reminded early by a dear friend at Sunflower Farms, thank you Michelle, to keep a list of done. This will be of help when there is so much in front of you. Simply take the time to look over all that has been accomplished to keep your head in a good space. 

We have followed her wise advice. It has kept a smile on our face while we overcome obstacles. From no cell or internet access on our property, to the ongoing rain the first couple of days, to a dead battery on the uhaul truck when it came time to return it to a delivery truck in the ditch, through sleepless nights of bugs. We have certainly had some interesting days. And through it all we have taken the time to look at where we are and what an incredible adventure we have ahead. 

We have not had the weather to allow the build to commence but we have been very busy trying to sort out a household of belongings  into "The Shed'. We have had a fun time searching for items dispite our best attempts to label our boxes. Setting up a house and workshop in our only building while working on making that building more livable has been an ongoing set of checks off the to do list with a few still left to do. Establishing routine means we are learning where to keep items as we continue to prepare ourselves, our building and the land for our new lifestyle. 

Today we put in a new window and Tono, our new dog, was delivered. It was a long day and as I write Tono is in the backseat of the truck snoozing. He is as exhausted as we are. 

Thank you to all you who have and all you who continue to encourage us as we embark on this adventure. It is your questions and comments that remind us that we have a people looking out for us while living off on our own not so little piece of heaven. 

Quantifying Hydro Use

The benefits of a Kill A Watt meter

This is our last blog post from Southern Ontario. Saturday we begin our trek North. :)

This is a hectic time for the Northern Dirtbags. Packing up our apartment, making arrangements for the moving truck, making final purchases, arranging for deliveries and the list goes on. But keeping the end in mind has kept us going.

Throughout this time we have been making note of our hydro use. We were especially concerned with how much hydro would be used in charging our various technological items - phone, tablets, gps, walkie talkies etc. This concern stems from the ability of a Goal Zero system, we recently purchased, to charge them. We purchased the system to allow for some hydro availabilty during the build. (We do have a gas powered generator to power tools that are required for the build) We found that we can use one of the 6 panels from the final house solar system to charge the Goal Zero battery. That is welcome as it means we do not need to purchase a small wattage, high cost panel for just the build.

When we checked the wattage of different appliances used quite regularly we learned, that beyond our tablets and phone, some appliances can be used throughout the build and others will only be used once the build is complete and the sun is shining. In case you are not aware anything that either heats or cools requires a lot of hydro/energy. Our Goal Zero Yeti has specs that say it can handle 300W continuous with peaks up to 600W. It has a 400 Watt hour capacity. We used a Kill A Watt meter, which you plug into the wall and then plug the appliance into the meter, to measure each time we used a different appliance. We now have a list with the wattage of many of our appliances.

Now we know that we can continue to use the bread maker to make bread dough, for the whole wheat rolls we love, and bake them in the small propane oven while we build. Although mixing bread is not extremely difficult anything that can give us more build time will definitely be utilized. We learned that our computer has a 24W draw. Not a system like those used by PC gamers, which will have a power supply of 450W or greater, but it does all we need our computer to do. Our 32" flat screen TV has a 95W draw which means that we could watch a movie in the evening so long as the sun will be shining the next day to recharge the Yeti. But really we are going to be too exhausted to watch anything longer than 10 minutes before we will nod off. ;) 

Even if you are not off grid you can benefit greatly from the use of a Kill A Watt meter. Being aware of the draw of hydro used by an appliance will give additional knowledge when making future purchases. Keeping your hydro use minimized will keep that bill down as the rates continue to increase for those powered by the grid. And for those considering going off grid you will have a good idea on the size of the solar system you will need.

To be continued from Cochrane. :-D

Alternative Building, Alternative Health

It's not a stretch...

As our journey unfolds and as you continue to read our blog you will see a common thread develop. We believe in alternatives. We are not so much in tune with mainstream. Whether it is our thoughts on building or on energy or on food production or on food purchasing or on health. We have alternative views in all of these areas.

There are so many conscious choices we have made and continue to make. We chose a dirtbag building with passive solar heating, wood stove cooking and solar power for our new home. We choose to support local farmers whenever possible and eat seasonally. We choose to buy locally in general with great thought given to the local economy. All are choices we make for the well-being of ourselves and our planet.

Many of our readers feel much the same and we hope that our journey may inspire you to keep on this path or, if you are not quite there yet, at least give you food for thought.

It is not a stretch to alternative health when you have this frame of mind. We choose to be proactive with our health. Eating good quality toxin free food, choosing safe non-toxic personal care products, choosing the highest quality essential oils for our wellness and supporting the general health of our bodies with alternative healthcare modalities such as chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, yoga and reiki. We will, in future posts, delve into these ideas in more detail but we want you to keep these in mind as you go along on your own journey.

If you have questions or ideas regarding alternative living we always encourage discussion. Tricia is a consultant for two companies that provide excellent products if you have interest in dumping the toxins in the lives of your family and yourself. Want more information? Send a message to NorthernDirtbags at gmail dot com or leave a comment that includes your email address so that we may respond.

Enjoy your journey, wherever you are along the way.