Wow, weather.

Unfortunately, many of the weather photos from the farm have been deleted, but this has been quite the winter!

Remember when we were excited about 4-6 inches of snow? You know, in November and early December?

Then came the week before Christmas and a HUGE dump of snow, like the ones you remember from childhood. There were almost 2 feet of snow...fluffy, deep snow.

There was more snow, a few small storms of you know, 4-6 inches...but the next remarkable weather was a sudden deluge of rain on January 25th. The rate of rainfall was a remarkable 2 inches per hour, which resulted in rivers flooding into roadways, the mountain road got completely washed-out, and water collected in unexpected locations. (Photos courtesy of Dad's cellphone)














Then, just when we thought it was all over, there was a measly 8" snowfall...followed by nearly another 2 feet and blizzarding conditions on February 5-7th! The drifts on the road were taller than Dad, and swamped the tractor.

The snow is starting to melt now...which means that the road is a morass of mud and well-intentioned gravel. The snowdrops are blooming and spring birds are starting to show up...

But I won't believe that Spring is on its way until I hear the peepers.

Solar Panels Installed!!!

Well, it's installed! Our solar panel project started with significant thinning of the trees around the house this autumn. This has increased airflow around the house (which will be great for the garden this summer, but has been pretty interesting with the winter weather!), and has opened up our southern exposure to a lot of sunlight. This will not only be good for the garden, but has allowed us to explore solar power.

We got an estimate from Altenergy in time for the end of the fiscal year (Huzzah tax incentives), and over the last few weeks, the guys have been installing the panels. The final adjustments have been made, all we're waiting on now is inspection and trial!

Based on the estimate and projections from last year, we should cover around 70% of our electricity use. If we generate more than we use, we even get to sell back to Allegheny Power!