In order to be able to heat up the cabin quickly, or if I’m too lazy to build a fire I got a Mr Heater Big Buddy and a 20 pound propane tank. Heats quick and shuts off immediately if I need to leave. To help keep the heat in iI put a tarp across the ceiling until I get panels. Made a world of difference.
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But first, today is the fourth anniversary of the previous pack member’s death. Frisbee never got to see the Pithole Homestead. She was a good dog. In her memory.
Now, Introducing a new member to the Pithole Pack.
She is from the Venango County Humane Society. They say she is 1 year old and named Lily. I have considered changing her name but she already knows it. Also when I say Lily real fast a bunch of times, like yodeling, she gets excited. She’s a Labrador Retriever mix, just as Frisbee was.
Here’s a few videos
Silly Lily and the Woods
Silly Lily and the Woods Chapter 2
Silly Lily and the Mirror
Silly Lily and the Mirror Chapter 2
Silly Lily and the Rope
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I mounted my main solar panel on a tree. I think it will get the most sun there.
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The PT Cruiser finally broke down. But now I have 4 wheel drive.
A 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo…
Problem: the sun is too low in the sky to hit my solar panel.
Solution: use a mirror to reflect the sunlight back
https://youtu.be/FHBEAALaOg4…
It’s been a while. It seems a month or so ago I had a small heart attack. But I am back. I will be making a few changes here at the homestead. But first I want to do a little walk through on how things are now.
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My well water tests good but sometimes it is reddish. I have installed a filter and it helps a lot. I installed it upside down so in the winter if I’m not around it will drain so it doesn’t freeze.
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I finally got a small solar panel.
I have just hooked it up temporarily. I will mount everything permanent after I test for a while.
The cord is run through the windows…
To the controller and the battery…
And on to my voltage adapters and equipment.
So far it is working great. It even charges the battery a bit more than the ac charger at the house.…
Here’s how I stay clean at the homestead.
First the shower.
I still use the solar camp shower. Just fill the bag with water, lay it black side up in the sun for a couple hours, hang it up and voila. A hot shower. By the end of the summer I hope to have water run from the well to inside the cabin.
For laundry I just use a wash basin and hang the clothes to dry.
For all washing, shower, clothes and dishes, I use original biodegradable Ivory soap. It’s 99 44/100% pure. What the other 56/100% is I don’t know.…
Although they were framed and didn’t leak they weren’t very pretty. So I made use of the 1 x 4s I had left from when I took the shelving out of the original shed. A little measuring, cutting, routing and painting and this is the result.
Much nicer.…
