After the long and challenging struggle to get the deal closed, the place was finally ours. Of course, that's the time when you look around and realize how much work there is to do.
When you're off grid, a simple everyday thing like a clean and plentiful water supply transforms from just another bill you have to pay every month into a major priority that has to be cared for and maintained by yourself. Luckily for us, mother nature does most of the work for us - but she still needs help now and then, especially after the spring melt. When we walked up to the power house (a little hut halfway up the mountain that generates our electricity) we noticed that there had been a heck of a lot of windfall over the winter. Downed trees and debris block off the brook that is the source of our hydro power (and, of course, our water). The brook flows down the mountain, through the power house and on down to the level land where the house is located. Now I don't pretend to know a single thing about hydro-electric power generation - in point of fact, I know nothing. Good job my husband does! So armed with a rake (plus a bug shirt and a camera for me) we ventured into the woods. Paul cleared a lot of debris from the two brooks that run through the property, and when necessary dug out or dammed up sections to get the water flowing in the right direction.
There are a lot of downed trees, either deadfall or windfall, some of them snapped off in the middle like toothpicks. In some sections it looked like a tornado had torn through - and it's quite possible that it had, because winds in the Highlands can get up to 150 kms/hr.
Needless to say, there's a lot of work to be done in the woods that simply can't be done by hand. That's going to have to wait until we can get our ATV up there with its handy winch, and hopefully a few strong volunteers to help out!
In the meantime, the water is flowing well again and I can turn lights on and off. :)
There are two brooks like this that run down the mountain.
Paul clearing out leaf muck.
Getting the water flowing again.
There are a few nice clearings around the property.
Paul doing what he loves to do. :)
The woods are full of funky tree stumps like this one.
I love the waterfalls as they cascade over moss-green rocks.
Surveying the debris.
Yes, I take pictures of moss. I'm weird like that.
Lots of wind-damaged trees like this one, snapped like a twig.
Windfall & deadfall blocking the water flow.
That's a big tree!
Trees get ripped up, roots and all.
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