The City Mouse in the Country

 Sometimes I think I'm more in love with the idea than the actual practice. I'm basically a lazy man, more in love with the concepts of homesteading and building an edible lawn/food forest than actually putting in the hard work to make it happen.   Sometimes however, things happen that present you with unexpected opportunities....if your smart enough to take advantage of them.   Recently we had a series of wind storms move through the area, the winds toppled trees, caused several electrical outages and even managed to damage roofs and homes in the area.  Luckily no one to my knowledge was hurt and the damage was minimal.  We did lose power for a few hours but never once considered running the generator as we were tucked in all cozy and warm. A decent sized maple tree did came crashing down in my yard on Saturday night and proved the old adage that if no one is there to see it, it does not make a sound.  Neither Sue or myself was aware of the problem till Sunday morning.  It was

**Several months ago I had a bit of an argument with someone on Facebook.  That promoted this article.   I've decided to republish it due to the city of New York recently purchasing over 1000 all electric Police cars and replacing most, if not all, of its gasoline fleet.  You can read about that here .**   One of the reasons I write this blog, is because I believe that knowledge is useless unless it is shared.  Someone that reads this may disagree with me or my conclusions and that's fine.   However they can't say that they didn't learn something. Facts and Reality are not something we get to choose.  Nor can we ignore a fact that does not fit our world view.   Example of an EV Fire Truck Even though I do try to keep politics out of the blog, this post and the last were inspired by a political debate about disaster relief in the future.  Or the mistaken belief that somehow hybrid vehicles or electric vehicles (EV) will never replace gas powered emergency vehicles. Or th

 Recently we lost power when the transformer blew across the street.  We were without power for about five hours.  Another day we went without power for about two hours due to a fierce thunderstorm.  As luck would have it both these instances occurred when I was off of work (I work from home on a semi-permanent basis) and during the day.             As such, they proved to be not much of an issue, however it did give me time to test the generator, which has been setting out on our covered back porch awaiting this very opportunity.              Only it would turn over, but not start.  That could be due to a variety of reasons but old gas in the carburetor would seem the most likely culprit however.  It would also be the easiest fix to the problem.            I would simply have to open up the carburetor drain screw , let the old gas drain then make sure to tighten the carb drain screw then let the new gas flow in and try it.   It should start right up.                     Only we h

   You, lucky reader, are in for a treat today.    The post was actually written before the Easter Holiday and varied in length, detail and focus.   While not a Christian, I felt that going into the pagan origins of tthe Holiday would upset some people for example.   However at the end of day you have to post something, even if your nat happy with it.  This post deals mainly with my disappointment in not getting to power the house with my generator even once so far since buying the damn thing.   That post is below. Although we did starts remodeling the bathroom over the Easter weekend by ripping out the ugly blue carpet that was in it.    We discovered mostly neutral linoleum under that which, surprise, is in good shape. It’s still ugly and will still get replaced, but it will work for now.    Happy belated Easter, and you can read a bit more about my holiday here .     "Oh Bother" said Sue, looking outside.  "I'm afraid my Easter decorations will blow al

      A few months ago I found myself in a precarious position.  The lights had gone off for a tad more than 24 hours and I panicked.  You see, I work from home and hope to continue to work from home into the foreseeable future and to do that, I need a reliable source of power.  I am planning on NOT ever going to the Cleveland if I can help it.        My job is technically in downtown Cleveland, and we moved to Western PA to be closer to family and friends.  My mother , for example, passed shortly after we moved.  I     So I spent a few days looking for a generator that could not only keep my up and running, but could also help keep the house warm by running our pellet stove and lights.   If you want, you can read more about how I ended up with the generator I did, here .  However long story short, it was important to me that I could keep my work PC on, a few lights, the pellet stove burning and maybe a TV and phone chargers      I had also set a budget to get everything, including th

      We moved into this house back in September 2020, although I don't remember the exact date.  We had been thinking about moving back home for some time and were seriously considering/pursuing  the dream of either owning or running a bed and breakfast.  Susan has the hospitality background and book keeping experience and I've the experience in management, marketing, finance and taxes to make a go at it..         It didn't work out that way due to several reasons, mostly because of Covid 19 but also because the place we found; which was an old 100+ farmhouse with a built on great room addition and an in ground swimming pool, would have required way to much work.  Plus the Small Business Administration didn't like a few things in our business plan - mostly the area where we where, which they didn't believe would generate enough tourist dollars to make the Inn profitable.       Part of our plan included  having gardens or chickens.  Partially to appeal to the crowd

  Hey everyone!  Did you know that this page now has a companion Facebook page?    It will have articles, memes and such that interes t me that relate to this page but don't really apply.  Be sure to check it o ut!      I find myself in a holding pattern.       The generator has been ordered and is making it's way slowly to me, it will take approximately two weeks to find it's way to my door.   In the mean time I have the estimate from one  electrician and I'm waiting on the estimates of two more.   I am a bit fearful that I will have no choice than to go above my self imposed $1500 budget.        I'm also fearful that after having all this work done, that the generator will sit unused in my shed.  Although if I am serious about becoming more self sufficient, then I'm sure that it will come in use, somehow and someway.       It has occurred to me that I could put up the two ceiling fans we have in the meantime, or even start the painting in a few of our rooms.

      Imagine the scene, a family fights for survival in a cold and dark world, where the winds blow ceaselessly and the wolves are always at the door.   A ragged man, tired of the weight of the world, exits the home and fights his way through the snow to a lone generator...with a single mighty pull the dark dissipates as the lights come on.  His family inside cheers for now they have heat and don't have to worry about eating cold beans out of a can!        Dramatic music swells.....       Okay, maybe it's not that dramatic.  Maybe the wolves at the door was a bit over the top, but the point is that ever since we lost power for just a tad over 24 hours recently; the idea of a generator has never been that far from my mind.     Plus, I work from home and I depend on power to not only allow me to access my computer and phone lines...but to also keep the pellet stove running.        When it comes to generators however, I quickly learned that I know less than diddly squat about t