Off-Grid: When the Power Goes Out

So, what do you do when you arrive at your off-grid property, and you have no water and no power?

1. Panic
2. Drink
3. Book into a hotel

The answer, as one might expect from my family, is none of the above (although #2 seemed rather appealing at the time).  The massive storm systems known as Nor’easters which feature torrential rain coupled with near hurricane strength winds, tore through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick just before Christmas, causing immense damage.  The worst-hit areas were coastal, with New Brunswick bearing the brunt of the flooding.  In our neck of the woods in Cape Breton, the Margaree River burst its banks and there was extensive damage to the bridge and road. 



The Margaree River bridge, from an article in the Cape Breton Post, here: www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/1969-12-31/article-2055369/Itll-be-a-long-time-before-things-are-back-to-normal/1

Here`s a stunning picture of the flooding in St. John, New Brunswick:





A few scenarios ran through my mind during our flight from Toronto to Sydney.  What would we find?

1. A tree through the roof of the house
2. A tree through the power house
3. Massive flooding and water damage
4. The road washed out and impassable

As we turned into our road, we had to push our way through overhanging branches so heavily laden with snow they touched the ground.  There were a couple of small trees down across the road but nothing that our four wheel drive truck couldn’t push past.  As we drew nearer to the beaver dam area, we slowed right down – but to our amazement, the road was high and dry!  Not only that, but the water level each side of the road was so low you could see the bottom.  When we got out to take a closer look, we saw that the beaver dams had been completely washed away.  Water had blown through with such force it had scoured out the river bottom, heaping up gravel as it went, and busting open the beaver dams in the process.  The culverts which Paul had waded up to his chest in water to clear out, were now two-thirds above the water line.  As we peered over into what was left of the waterway, we realized that most of the gravel from our road was now in the river!

Continuing on up the road, I held my breath as we passed the pond and the barn came into view – no damage.  Then around the curve of the driveway to the house and I could finally let out my breath: no tree through the roof.  The location of the house is such that it's protected on three sides by mountains, and we are high and dry (i.e., we are not in a flood plain).  My worst fears had proved unfounded; so far so good.  The moment of truth would come, however, when we got inside and flicked the light switch: no power.  We then tried the taps: no water.

When you’re off grid with a micro hydro system, no water equals no power.  The storms had washed so much gravel down the mountain, it had plugged the intake.  Even though the intake is fitted with a screen to filter out debris, this was simply not up to the job this time.  Now, when the water stops flowing, it freezes – and when there’s not enough flow, it doesn’t generate enough electricity to power the house.  This was our problem in a nutshell, and Paul had to keep hiking up and down the mountain to clear out the line.

Luckily, we have a back-up generator, but it’s noisy and burns through a lot of gasoline.  If storms of this intensity are going to become the norm, then our system is going to need a bit of a re-design in order to cope. 

Now, there’s one thing you really look forward to after a long cold hike up and down a snow-covered mountain, and that’s a hot shower.  Unfortunately with no water coming out of the tap, I assumed we were out of luck.  Not so fast!  Apparently our brilliant little battery-powered Coleman propane camping shower comes with a pump; all I had to do was gather enough water to fill a plastic storage bin. 

Honestly, I never realized how far away our pond was until I was on my sixth trek uphill carrying two containers half-full of water.  When I say “uphill”, it’s really just the gentle slope of our driveway – but it sure feels like a hill when you’re carrying water.  Finally the bin was full, the Coleman hooked up and presto: a hot shower!  Ah, luxury!

If I had one piece of advice to give people looking at off grid properties, it would be this: make sure your heating and cooking devices don’t rely on electricity.  Even with no running water and no power, we were able to cook meals and make hot tea, as our stove runs on propane.  We didn’t even have to worry about the milk turning sour, as we have a propane fridge!  As well, with a choice of an oil or wood burning stove, we are always guaranteed a source of heat – and we can boil a kettle on those too!* 

Being without power for a while gives you pause for thought.  Maybe the way our grandparents lived wasn’t so backward after all?  They didn’t just plug something in every time they wanted, say, a piece of toast, or a cup of tea.  The old kettle on the fire boils water just as well.  An iron skillet on a wood burning range will fry an egg or cook a steak just as well as the top of the line stainless steel electric hob.  Of course I’m not suggesting we go back to the stone age, but I think it does us good to realize that we can get by with less.  And when the power does come back on, we’re even more grateful for the miracle of electricity!

So, let's review.  What to look for in an off grid property?

1. A year-round source of fresh water within walking distance of the house.
2. Plentiful supply of wood and a wood-burning stove or fireplace.
3. A secondary heat and/or cooking source not reliant on electricity, i.e. oil or propane.
4. The house site is sheltered from the prevailing winds, and high and dry.

Our system is not perfect, but the basics are in place and I think with some judicial tweaking and replacement of some older parts, it will end up working well.  After all, this was a record-breaking storm. 

 *I can just hear someone saying “Ah, but if you had no running water, how did you make tea?” – well, remember my trek uphill carrying containers of water from the pond?  Fresh spring water it may be, but you can’t just drink it like that – we have a hand-held water purifier which easily and quickly turns fresh untreated water into potable water suitable for human consumption.  A kettle-full is produced in only a few minutes – and it’s simple enough for even me to use!

Winter Scenes

Hope everyone had a break from work and was able to spend some time with family and friends.  Here are some pretty "winter wonderland" pictures I made from photos taken on our property.  All images are © Willow Retreat.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Winter Dreams

Leaves, September-soft
crisping with November frost
– winter dreams in white.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Willow Retreat.   May all your winter dreams come true.  :)


Photograph and haiku © Anne C, Willow Retreat 2010

Under normal circumstances, “my husband” and “explosives” are not words you want to see in the same sentence.  However, with our beaver problem going from bad to worse, plus the onset of some of the wettest weather Nova Scotia has seen in recent years, the pairing of these phrases became not only acceptable, but necessary.

As I had already returned home, I can only give a second-hand and necessarily vague report of the shady goings-on down at Beaver Dam.  The first round was a fairly straightforward win: with the aid of a keen eye and a great deal of patience, the final score was Paul: 2, Beaver: 0.  The evidence was left at the dam as a warning.

This is all well and good, but word on the street estimated the beaver population along this waterway to be forty-plus.  If this was the case, we needed to find a more permanent solution.  The gravel surface was now almost completely washed away, and if the erosion continued, our road would become a river.  We had discussed various options: a bridge, a bigger culvert, raising the level of the road.  All of these are costly endeavours which require a backhoe, not to mention a wealth of time and material.  Simpler, more immediate action was needed.

Trust me, there’s a reason why Paul’s nickname is Pierce Gibson McGyver.  See, you leave him by himself for a couple of days and he gets bored.  When he gets bored, he thinks up mad solutions for tough problems.  Hmm, he thinks to himself, what would happen if I used my knowledge for good instead of evil?  Ah, what indeed? 

Around the supper hour, a large boom was heard in the vicinity of Beaver Dam.  The theme from “The Dambusters” may or may not have been playing.  The initial percussion caused a small shock wave, giving local blue jays and chipmunks time to scatter.  Shortly thereafter there was an ominous burbling sound, and a huge mass of mud, tree branches and debris rocketed out of the culvert like a cork from a bottle.  Water began to gush through the cleared culvert and almost immediately the flooded area began to subside. 

Here are a few before and after pictures:

Before



Remember this?  Knee-deep ... and this is the road!



The extent of the flooding, with our car to show scale.

After

 

That great big lump that looks like a part of the riverbank?  That was tightly packed inside the culvert.





View downstream showing how quickly the water has receded.



The riverbank which was previously completely submerged.



.... and the road is now dry!

The amount of material blocking the culvert was such that we guess it had not been cleared in years.  As well, when we looked at the photos of the waterway when we first saw the property back in February, it’s obviously been quite a few seasons since the water level has been this low.  We’re hoping that now the culvert is clear, as long as we keep it clear, the water will flow under the road the way it was supposed to.  We can’t stop the beaver activity, but as long as we can maintain a dry road, there’s no reason why we can’t co-exist.

In the meantime, if you chance to meet Pierce Gibson McGyver on a dark night, my advice is to be very, very nice to him. 

Mouse Camp

It takes a while for the born-and-bred Townie to get with the program.  I'm talking about the particular things you have to bear in mind when living in the country.  Only being at the house part-time at the moment, it's even more important to take care of certain issues.  In case you haven't guessed, I'm talking about Mouse Dirt Duty.

Every rural home (and many a suburban one too) has mice.  It's simply a fact of life.  Mouse dirt is something you should clean up as soon as you get into the house, because it can carry some highly unpleasant diseases that can make humans sick.  A particularly nasty one that you've probably heard of is Hanta Virus.  You can find out more about that here:  www.cbc.ca/news/background/health/hantavirus.html
although interestingly, CBC states that Nova Scotia is free of infected mice.  Nevertheless, you really don't want mouse dirt around your home for the simple fact that it's nasty and mouse urine is smelly and Ugh.  So, let's get rid of it, as well as the little perishers that caused it!

In the time-honoured tradition of "don't do as I do, do as I say", the first thing you want to do is wear a mask.  One of the cheap disposable ones they gave out during the SARS outbreak in Toronto will do fine.  Sweeping up mouse dirt raises fine dust particles which can lodge in your lungs and give you a nasty cough.  The best way to clean up is with a vacuum, but a regular broom and dustpan will do, just make sure you dispose of the stuff in a sealed bag in the garbage or put it out to be burned.  Don't just sweep it under the floorboards (where the mice live!) or anywhere inside the house because it will just attract more rodents in.

The next thing to do is clean counters and food cupboards with a diluted bleach solution.  We keep a spray bottle handy in the kitchen.  It cleans and sterilizes, and also gets rid of that funky smell.  We have a tall pantry which we call "Mouse Cupboard" (into which no food will ever be put unless it's in a can) and that is definitely one for the vacuum cleaner. 

As for getting rid of the little blighters, we've had moderate success with cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil (which they apparently dislike) and lately, steel wool instead of the cotton balls (thanks to some advice from a Scottish mouse expert, you know who you are, and thanks!) as it's about the only substance they can't gnaw through.  The little blue blocks of mouse bait are good too.  We're convinced that a couple of these have been carried off entire to the nest and presented to the family as a treat!  We don't know where they got the tiny little dolly to transport them ...

Anyway the good news is that, thanks to judicious hole-filling through the miracle of expanding foam, there are no more nocturnal disturbances. 

The bad news is that the culprit who left all the wood shavings and poop at the back door is not a mouse at all; it's a chipmunk.  How do we know this? Because the little rascal decided to investigate our bags ... right inside the house!  When spotted, he bolted up to the ceiling and froze.  After a while he came to his senses and started making warning chirps.  Next up, expanding foam!!

Rodents are not the only visitors we get at Avalon Woods.  While out walking, we came across this guy:



Just your common garter snake minding his own business - until I almost stepped on him!  Here's a better view:



This time up we were also treated to a spectacular sunset.  The hills are placed just so we can't actually see the sun setting, but we certainly get some gorgeous skies. 




In other news, it will probably come as no surprise to learn that the beavers are back.  Here is the state of the road when we drove up:



There's really nothing much to be done except call the guys at the DNR - so that's what we did.  Six traps were laid, and we'll see how it is when we get back. 

That's it for now.  Looking forward to the day when we can call Cape Breton home all year round!

A Gift of Pine and Apples

It was with more than a little anxiety that we drove up to the house this time.  Hurricane Earl had torn through a couple of weeks ago, followed closely by Hurricane Igor, which did immense damage in Newfoundland.  Would we find a tree through the roof?  Would the barn still be standing?  And what about the water supply?  As the place came into view, we breathed a sigh of relief to see both barn and house intact.  One big pine tree had been snapped off and was resting in the arms of its neighbouring birch, so that would have to be dealt with – but that was the only one close enough to the house to make any kind of impact.

There is a type of tree which we call “the Standing Dead”.  This is quite literally as it sounds: trees that have died and yet remain standing.  The woods at the back of the house have quite a few of these, and they are the ones that are most likely to come down in a wind storm.  When we hiked up to the power house to check on the water line, we were shocked to see how many trees had been blown down.  Criss-crossing the trail, leaning precariously above us, or caught on other trees, they were everywhere.  A fair few days work for a clean-up crew!  But for now they will have to wait. 

After checking the water line and making sure the power house was intact, we hiked further up to the intake and Paul checked that it was clear of leaves and debris and flowing well.  It’s quite an interesting process and I can’t claim to understand any of it, but Paul does and I’m hoping I can persuade him to write a “Water” blog entry just like he did for the micro-hydro system. 

Dealing with the fallen tree took up a good part of the day.  Here’s a picture diary of the event:

Successfully cut down & dragged out ...



The Suburban did a first-rate job at pulling the tree out from the bush.



Putting the chainsaw to good use.



The end result: a nice stack of firewood.


The other thing I was worried about was how much fruit was going to be wasted due to windfall and animal damage.  I needn't have worried as all our fruit trees were intact and the apples were only just ripening. 



One of our many apple trees, loaded with goodies.



A good haul.



An offering of thanks.



I think this log at the base of the apple tree will become my offering spot.  Just right for a fairy table! :)



Lovely ripe rosehips! 



We took a nice full box of apples to our friends down the road.  Hopefully they'll put them to good use!

Okay, that's it for this post.  Next: mice, sunsets, and snakes! :D

Weather or Not

Not being at the house on a regular basis is thrown into sharp relief when bad weather arrives.  Today, Hurricane Earl hits the Maritimes.  Although its status had been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, it's still packing 70 mph winds and has the potential to do severe damage.  The current projected path of the storm shows it slicing across mainland Nova Scotia, crossing the entire breadth of Prince Edward Island, then clipping the northwest coast of Newfoundland.  According to the projections, it may miss Cape Breton altogether.  Here's a news report with a pop-out map that shows its course as of now:

cbs4.com/local/Tropical.storm.earl.2.1878260.html

and here is another interactive map from the U.S. National Hurricane Center:

www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at2.shtml

The weather forecast for Baddeck shows heavy rain, and a wind warning has been issued for Victoria County:

www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/CANS0008

The main concern at the property is downed trees.  Of course the woods are going to be full of windfall, that's only to be expected, but hopefully the trees close to the house will withstand the onslaught.  The highlands are notoriously windy.  The bright side is that we have no power lines to come down! 

A local acquaintance told us not to worry too much.  Three years ago Baddeck suffered widespread flooding due to heavy rain, and yet when our friend called the house, the owner had no idea what she was talking about; not a drop of rain had fallen in the highlands!  So I remain optimistic; after all, the place has stood there for decades through many hurricane seasons, and is still standing. 

Still, next time we visit, I'm pretty sure there's going to be a few bushels of fallen apples to clean up ...  :)