Stormy Weather

Over the past few months, in the current situation,
we have gotten away from talking about reducing our carbon footprint.


The good thing is... each and every one of us has done just that...
by staying home!


And the earth breathes a sigh of relief!


I wanted to share a little something with you that we do to help
reduce our energy consumption.
It's something that we have started doing in the past few years...
something, in my younger days, I never even considered.


Every year, we disconnect our dryer from the wall vent
and thoroughly clean out the wall vent... from the wall
to the outside where it leaves the house.
(And maybe everyone already does this, and I am just a little late to the party!)

We use this tool, which attaches to our drill, and acts like a Roto-rooter
for your dryer vent.


Each time we do it, I am amazed at the accumulation of lint inside 
the vent.  And that lint makes our dryer much less efficient,
making clothes-drying take more time.

Yesterday, after we were finished re-hooking the dryer back up to the 
wall vent, we realized that the special metallic duct tape that helped
to seal off the connection was in need of replacement.
So, we hopped on our bikes and headed to our local
grocery/hardware country store.


Thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon,
but the radar showed them hitting us later...
giving us enough time to ride to the store and home again.


Happily, we made it in time.


It's been a week of beautiful days peppered with
thunderstorms and showers.
I'm not complaining, because this has taken "watering" off of 
my chore list for the entire week.
The extra time that I gained from not watering
I have spent weeding instead.
Again - not complaining, because it is all worth it!
Home grown veggies are the absolute best.

Both Hubbs and I have been caught this week in downpours...
me, wading through an 8 inch deep puddle in the grocery store
parking lot to get to my car...
him, several miles from home on his bike.
Me... wet feet.
Him... soaked to the bone from head to toe.

Yesterday afternoon, I was out cutting some flowers 
for Maven Haven, and I heard some not-too-distant
rumbling of thunder.


Checking to see where all of my critters might be,
I found the sheep safely tucked into their houses.


They must have checked the weather report.

I called the pigs in from the front pasture,
and they came running...


assuming I was calling them in for treats.
Naturally I obliged.


With everyone safely tucked away,
I headed to my shed to do a little reading...
thunder still rumbling.


Before long, Hubbs texted:
"Big storm coming, come home."
So, I battened down the hatches on my shed and headed for home.
Sure enough, the rest of the afternoon and evening were stormy...
with a couple torrential downpours.
One of those downpours happened at close-up time... so Hubbs headed out
prepared to get soaked to the bone, once again.
And he did, once again.
(and let me stay home... and dry!)


We love sitting on the front porch while it storms, and the dogs are happy
to join us.


It looks like our weekend should be a mostly sunny one,
with a break, maybe, from storms.
Hopefully things will dry out a bit.
It will be a weekend similar to all of our weekends
these last few months.
We'll be here... with all of our critters... enjoying
life on the farm.
Simply.
Happily.
Here's hoping your simple weekend is happy as well!
See you Monday.

Comments

daisy g said…
Life on the porch sounds dreamy. I'm so grateful for all the rain we've gotten so that I needn't be concerned about the garden.
Enjoy your weekend!
Marcia LaRue said…
How nice it must be to hop on a bike and just pedal away ... I sure did it as a kid and in my younger years with my 2 boys but now ... alas ... no bike to my name and not sure I could even do it now! My replaced knees would probably hate it! LOL
Hmmmm ... that one "dog" on the porch looks mighty feline-ish!
I know you & Hubbs will have a good weekend ... look where you are! How can you miss?
This N That said…
I walked Mollie in the rain yesterday on purpose..I was a soft gentle rain..Neither of us care about getting wet..I have always cleaned out my dryer vents..They do it here for us..or, they used to...That lint can be a source of fire..Be careful in those storms if there is lightening..There was a lot with those storms..I used to love sitting on my porch watching the storms go by..Calming and peaceful...Enjoy your weekend...hugs
Cleaning out that dryer lint reduces a fire hazard too.
littlemancat said…
I love the photo of the sheepie safe in her own little she shed. And oh the beauty of your Haven. Wonderful.
Mary
Anonymous said…
When you go on your bike rides how do you convince the dogs to stay home?