A good solar January

As the sun set on the last day of January, we have positive news on the solar front.  We almost had the best production for January ever.  There is a bit of snow on the panels that blocked some energy on a very sunny January 31.  If the snow wasn't there today, we could have surpassed the January record.  But we'll take the more than 95 kilowatt/hours for the month, just under 20 more than last January.  We hope to at least match the production of all last year, about as many kilowatt hours as we could possibly hope for!  The system now accounts for just under 80 percent of the house's electricity use since the May 2013 installation.  By the end of September, we should have that number back up above 85 percent.

May both Hardwood Hermitage and you see many sunny days in 2017.

Snowy scenes

A few more inches of snow greeted Hardwood Hermitage this week.  With the really wet flakes, it's sticking to trees again.  Here are a few pics taken this morning.  As usual, the young paper birches are likely soaking up the attention from the camera.

Foggy and soggy

We have been above freezing most of the day, creating fog and lots of dripping.  Most of the solar panels have cleared, but we might see a bit of snow tomorrow.  Cold returns big time after that.

First work of 2017

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Another spring pole was taken down with the handsaw this morning.   Close to the house, this tree will be an easy one to cut and add to the firewood collection.

Our panels are covered by snow now, but we'll warm up the next few days.  We received 31 inches of snow since Oct. 23.  Although not producing today, the panels had a great 2016, turning 6,468 kilowatt/hours of sunlight into electricity, more than 80 percent of our demand.

Red oak spring pole

Because the wood is so heavy compared to many other trees, a bent red oak is a rarity.  How sad, too, because the trees can live much longer than red maple or paper birch, two species more prone to becoming a spring pole.  But this young oak has been bent for years, likely the victim of an ice storm.  Taken down with the handsaw this morning, the tree will get cut up in the spring, then hauled quite a long way to burn in the 2018-19 season.

When the cut was being made on the bent trunk, a "barber chair" was created, which is a split down the length of the tree.

One benefit from a spring pole is kindling.  Or, walking sticks.  These two branches from the red oak served as extra legs on the walk back up the hill.

Starting win-tah with a walk

Happy Winter from the birch groves of Hardwood Hermitage

Little saw blazes trail

A balsam fir fell on the driveway in yesterday's fierce winds.

But never fear! The little saw was ready for action.  Starting readily even on a really cold morning, the saw made a few cuts to get the useless roadblock out of the way.  The smell of balsam was nice for the season as the softwood quickly gave way.

Here is the corpse of the fir, with remnants on either side of the driveway.