Old Otter Holler Farm

Gas Over $4.00 per Gallon!

Yesterday I helped my daughter move her household belongings to her new home near the Virginia/West Virginia state line.  This was the first time I had ventured very far from the farm in nearly a week and had not seen the price of gas per gallon since it was $3.90.  Gee was I in for a surprise!  Most gas stations I passed along the way were charging between $4.00 and $4.10 per gallon for regular unleaded...that is until I crossed the  Virginia state line and the price dropped to $3.79.  Despite the cheaper price in Virginia, that is still no consolation for many folks in our rural communities who are juggling their finances to make up the difference for the higher gas prices.   I know some people who are spending a day's wages to get to and from work each week and others who are not paying essential bills like electric so they can pay for gas to get to work.  Speaking of electric, I just read in the West Virginia State Journal that the price of electricity in the Mountain State will be rising sharply in the near future, particularly if the power company has their way.  Knowing what I know, all I can say is something will have to give or there will be a drastic drop in economic activity or worse out here in the heart of Appalachia very soon.  In fact, I think it is already happening.  The worst part is that as people cut back on spending, the few local businesses that we do have will be hard hit and most likely go out of business making it even farther to drive to obtain essential products and services.  What a vicious cycle!

Why are we in this predicament?  I have my own opinion.  First and foremost, our government is and has been so beholden to the energy industry that they have lost sight of the greater good for the citizens of this country.  If our leaders would have had the country's best interest in mind rather than power and greed, they would have embarked on an energy policy after the energy crisis in the 70s that focused on moving the country away from fossil fuels and the use of the automobiles and toward public transportation.  So many opportunities have been squandered, and as the consequences of peak oil take hold, it will be extremely difficult and economically painful if not impossible to transition to a place that we should have already been.  There is absolutely no reason why this country should not be connected by passenger rail, buses, streetcars, and bike trails...even the rural areas.  In fact, if you've ever been to a country in the European Union, which granted is smaller in land area than the U.S.A., but has over twice the population, you would see that you don't need a car to survive.  I lived in Germany for about eight years and saw most of the then free Europe by rail, bus, boat, bike, and walking...and most of the areas were as rural as southern West Virginia!  In fact, I did not own a car there for many years...and this was almost thirty years ago!  No, I guess that was too much to expect from our leaders.  Instead, if you bring up government subsidized and supported public transportation (subsidized like the energy industry), you are dismissed and labeled a socialist.  Well, I got news for you, this country is already socialist and has been for a long time.  Trouble, is, it is big business and government and not the citizens that enjoy those benefits.  

New Greenhouse Performs Beyond Expectations

The good news is that the new passive solar greenhouse is performing beyond our expectations, especially since the water heat sink is not installed on the inside yet.  Monday evening just before dusk we buttoned up the greenhouse and checked the inside temperature, which was hovering around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  At 7:00 AM Tuesday  morning, I checked the outside temperature and it read about 28 degrees Fahrenheit and frosty.  When I entered the greenhouse, it was a balmy 52 degrees Fahrenheit with NO supplemental heat.  Now that's what I'm talking about!  Using the old greenhouse, we would have burned fossil fuels most of the night to protect the seedlings from the cold.  In fact, with the old greenhouse, we used to spend about $500.00 in propane/electric per spring heating it to protect the plants until we could sell them...and that was just the spring!  Not anymore!  I can't imagine how much heat the new greenhouse will retain once the water heat sink is in place.  Right  now, the only heat sink is the gravel floor, which appears to be doing a fine job.  Adding several thousand gallons of water on the inside to soak up the heat during the day and release it at night would undoubtedly raise the temperature another 10 degrees!  We plan to have the water heat sink in place by the fall of 2012 if all goes well.

Who Needs a Clothes Dryer?

For over ten years now we have used many methods to dry clothes here at OOHF to include hanging them in the basement in winter to dry by the woodstove, hanging them on an old-fashioned double clothesline in the back yard, and of course using the handy but power-hungry clothes dryer.  We've even tried hanging them in the greenhouse with success.  Clothes dryers are no doubt handy and the  majority of people could not imagine modern life without one.

We were certainly in the camp that could not imagine life without the ubiquitous clothes dryer, that is until we started examining our electric usage looking for ways to reduce the electric bill and take advantage of the many renewable resources nature has to offer.  Of all the appliances and conveniences of the modern world, the clothes dryer was one of the first that we examined and determined that it was unnecessary the majority of the time.  Consequently, I installed several clotheslines in the basement and a sturdy double-line in the backyard.  Each location has its plusses and minuses.  The basement works well from late fall through early spring while the woodstove is burning since the wet clothes add much needed moisture to the air.  However, drying clothes in the basement is not possible without burning the woodstove.  Likewise, the clothesline in the backyard is wonderful during summer when rain patterns are more predictable, but  not during spring and sometimes fall with frequent rains and overcast days.

About a month ago our clothes dryer finally died.  After 25 years of service, I'd say we got our money's worth out of it.  I suppose we could probably fix it, but there is no hurry, and besides, if we did purchase another I'm sure there are more energy efficient models out now than when I bought it.  Purchasing a new one or fixing the old one is not in the stars at this time.  What is though is a new clothesline stretching 20 feet under our new house porch that we affectionately call the West Wing.  The open-sided shelter attached to the house was originally constructed to shelter our firewood close to the house so we could easily drop it down the wood chute (also under the shelter) into the basement where the woodstove is located.  Since we only need half of the space offered by the shelter to store our firewood ( eight feet deep by 25 feet long), the other half of the shelter became a nice patio where we can enjoy the sights and sounds on that side of the house.  One thing we noticed immediately after building the shelter is that it was perfectly oriented to catch early season breezes coming from the northwest, and summer breezes coming from the south, a plus for seasoning firewood and drying clothes.

As a result, the next mini-project on my list is to install a new clothesline under the shelter to provide a place to quickly dry clothes in a protected location from the sun and rain.  This addition should fill in the seasonal gaps in our clothes drying where we relied on a clothes dryer.  We're excited about this savings and will continue to examine other ways to save energy.  I have a feeling like the hot-water heater will be the next project on my list.    Time to start researching solar hot-water options!   

Home Weatherization Makes Huge Difference

 

Despite this winter (2010/2011) being the coldest on record since the early 1980s, we have burned significantly less firewood to heat our home at OOHF than in past years.  This energy savings can be attributed to recent weatherization improvements to the home. First, we completed the sunroom and it has performed as expected.  During the day, the air inside the room heats up and circulates through the house via natural convection.  At night, when we usually build a fire, the circulation is reversed and the sunroom is heated by the house.  Second, we replaced all five single-pane basement windows (ground-level) with energy efficient windows, which has made a huge difference.  Before the windows were replaced, you could feel the cold air six feet away from the windows as the cold air seeped in around the flimsy metal frames and through the single layer of glass.  Now you feel no cold air.  Lastly, we added another 10 inches of insulation in the attic on top of what was already there.

The combination of improved insulation from the outside cold air and increased heat retention of the house has allowed us to change our fire-building routine that we have followed for many years.  In the past, we built a fire around 4:00 PM daily in the winter and let it burn out in the early morning hours.  That provided enough heat for the house during the day to be comfortable, but required that we build another fire the next afternoon since it would eventually get too cold in the house.  In short, we had to have a fire every day throughout the winter.  Things have changed now.  Our new routine is to build a fire in the early morning when I get up, then let it burn out before noon.  This, combined with the heat contribution of the sunroom, has proved to be enough heat to keep the house very cozy during the day and cooler at night for sleeping.  We've even been skipping days between fires to see how cool it would get in the house and were surprised that it still remained relatively warm (about 60 degrees), although you could no longer lounge around in shorts and a t-shirt.  Consequently, we have burned about 1/3 less firewood this year than the previous winter and are very pleased with our recent improvements.

Carpooling: A Small Step with Big Payoffs

Over the years I've experimented with carpooling to the day job with limited success.  In hindsight, the problem that ultimately stopped most of my carpooling ventures boiled down to who you carpooled with, specifically their work hour flexibility.  Here's the problem.  If you share a ride with someone you work with or near who does not have a set time they have to be at work, carpooling usually fizzles out since there always seems to be a reason why a passenger or person driving that day has to go in late to work, or maybe has to leave early for an appointment or to run errands.  This inevitably weakens the carpooling bond and it gradually ceases.  Since knowing the problem is half the solution, I have decided to carpool again, but this time with people who have to be at work at a specific time and for a specific duration, namely a time and timeframe that will work for me as well.  I have finally found such a person.  We have been carpooling for several weeks now and I have already felt the economic benefit of not filling up my gas tank every week to drive to and from work.  I hope our arrangement continues as is until spring when I plan to start riding a motorcycle to work on my driving week, which my carpooling buddy has already agreed to.  This move will save yet more money, fuel, emissions, etc. and be an enjoyable ride to work through some of the most beautiful country in the world.  Carpooling is a small step many people can make to reduce their energy usage.  All you have to do is find the right partners and commit.