ahhh....no more wind

Errands and visits took up half the day in Alpine. Must say I had a very refreshing visit to the big city. Made it back to the homestead by 2:30. Unpacked and then did the rounds collecting all the bits'n'pieces that got relocated by the high winds. It was rather exquisite to just sit in the sun for awhile with barely a breeze in the air. Had a very pleasant late afternoon entertaining some longhorns including Angelina with her few days old calf, Nubbin. Last year about this time she showed up with a calf that I named Buck. Good to know she is on schedule. Weezer and two other cows came in as well....one of which is not a longhorn - wonder how that happened. Expecting Benita back in the next day or two. She took off just before the wind storm. 50,76,26,0

The Power of Ice

Only made it down to a balmy 13 degrees this morning. Funny how one low temperature doesn't seem quite so bad when it has been even lower. My ice block from yesterday didn't even have a chance to fully melt.

I did learn the new extreme for my solar hot water thermosyphon manifold today. I filled the system back up yesterday thinking it would survive the overnight low. It has made it to 18 degrees several times but apparently 13 is a bit beyond tolerance levels. After the sun was up for about and hour, I heard water running. The big freeze popped the top right elbow on the rig. Caught it in plenty of time to shut off the hoses and only lost about a gallon of water. Pretty sure I have the parts to repair and get it back in service tomorrow morning in time for a warm shower by the end of the day.

Cut and welded together some flanges to add up top - giving a little more meat for the purlin attachments to the trusses. Seems like a good idea and it just felt like the right thing to do....that coming from someone who has no engineering training but plenty of practical building experience. I'll keep adding steel till I'm certain the roof won't blow away. 39,65,13,0