someday soon?

My friend Brandon came out just before the cold snap and got another flight in.  This was his 4th flight at TFL and his 30th flight since training.  I better get up in the air soon if I ever hope to catch up.  45,55,36,0,B

more free energy

Thoughts of free refrigeration and the vacancy inside the hut with the fridge on the porch for the winter got me to thinking about the heating season.  The idea of a wood stove really never caught my attention due to the fact that there aren't any trees on my property.  I happened to notice recently that my scrap wood and pallet pile has grown over the years.  The past two winters I have kept track of my propane usage for my Mr. Heater Big Buddy.  In 2012-13 I used 8 tanks @ $18/tank...2013-14 I used 6 tanks.  I thought about building a wood stove but did some digging online and found a reasonable altenative to a DIY model.  For less than what I usually pay for propane for one heating season I ordered this little stove to try out.  I reckon I have enough fuel on hand to last at least 3 winters and there are plenty of free pallets at McCoy's.  I just hope that keeping a wood fire burning won't loose its' charm.  35,43,31,0,W

Desert Refrigeration

FYI for those new to off grid living in SW Texas.  Refrigeration is accomplished energy free for about the next 4 months.  Overnight temperatures will keep your food cold in an insulated box.  Just moved my chest freezer (used only as a refrigerator) out to my front porch today.  37,48,35,0,W

Evacuation

Now that it is finally getting cold...I am more inclined to experiment with things that involve heat.  Since I have been back on the solar oven project, I have been doing new research on solar ovens.  I came across this one 2 weeks ago.  They had a kickstarter campaign back in 2013 that ended up raising far beyond their initial goal.  I really like the simplicity and size of their little oven so I found and ordered the main ingredient pretty cheap on Ebay for a little DIY.  45,63,50,0,B

Western Perspective

http://rocketsciencevideo.com/the-western-perspective-series/

54,74,51,0,B

Road Rage

One of the main reasons I moved out here was to reduce stress in my life.  Overcoming obstacles daily on my own terms builds upon that goal.  Each new thing I figure out or prepare for is one less thing to worry about.  I rarely beat myself up over an unforeseen circumstance because it is a rarity.  All of that is precisely why the road issue tends to catch me off guard.  Someone rutting up my road after a storm produces more frustration and sadness than anger...but it is that smidgen of anger that really gets my attention.  It is very easy to just go with the anger.  Watching someone do something that adversely effects others seemingly without regard for anyone other than themselves drives me crazy.  It really makes that "love thy neighbor" rule hard to swallow.

Today I took a step back to look at the big picture - because anger is only fun for a little while.  There are over 7 billion people on earth right now.  Every second of every day - somewhere someone is doing something that is pissing someone else off.  The problem with the world today is that the emphasis of every "consequence of action" is more about the deed done and less about the reaction to it.  The Bible teaches that love conquers all - but it can't unless we give it a shot at every opportunity.

Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with the might by his Spirit in the inner man;  17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints that is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.  

Fog bow

A Fog bow is a similar phenomenon to a rainbow; however, as its name suggests, it appears as a bow in fog rather than rain. Because of the very small size of water droplets that cause fog—smaller than 0.05 millimeters (0.0020 in)—the fog bow has only very weak colors, with a red outer edge and bluish inner edge.  54,67,59,0,W