Bogieblog

Redwing Blackbirds Spring 2023

I thought these pictures were taken last week, but looking at the time stamp it was actually a week ago Friday (3/17/23). Although the large gatherings of redwing blackbirds has been here for about 2 weeks, I was unable to see most of them and this was the first time I was able to take pictures. I counted just over 61 birds in the area at that time. The first two pics are trees in the back yard, the third is from the large tree on the north side.

Nor'Easter March 2023

The northeast got slammed by a nor'easter that started late afternoon of 3/13 and ended early morning of 3/15. The power went out at 11:30 am on Tuesday and was out until at 11:15 am on Thursday (just shy of 48 hours). Then it went out again at 12:30 am Friday morning, and was restored 9:30 am the same day. So a total of 57 hours without power.

Not only was power out, but my cell phone had no phone calls or texts from 5:30 pm  Tuesday until about 4:30 pm on 3/17. That is not entirely accurate as there was one point on Wednesday that I could text my sister and let her know I was alive on Thursday (but some texts didn't send so it was a very short window). Interestingly, I still had FB and other apps, although they did run fairly slowly. However, all I really wanted to do was keep up on the town FB page in case I could offer help to others - plus keep the 71-73 people that were on my particular outage area apprised of how it was going.

The outage started at the pole in my yard, so I always knew when the line workers were there. Pic from the second outage where they had to replace the transformer (first outage had 4 trucks there - 2 big and 2 small. 2nd outage there were 8 trucks). The power company claimed that both outages were caused by tree limbs, but as you can see, there are no trees even close (they had come out 2 months ago and cut down any trees that were there). Nor were there any limbs when I went out to look prior to the workers getting there. My bet is the transformer had just reached its lifespan.

I endured the outage pretty well with a Ryobi power station that I bought last fall. It ran the P43 for about 4 cycles before batteries gave out. The house bound elderly neighbor across the street, who I help with snow clearing, groceries and picking up meds, had power throughout the ordeal (yay), so I was able to recharge the batteries when needed and keep the main floor warm. I was feeling genius for getting the power station since the 800w gas generator that I bought way back in 2014 (and never been used) would not start. I had been planning on using the gas generator for the downstairs stove and/or hot water, but that obviously didn't happen. I will say now, that I sorely missed the old water heater since it didn't need electricity to run. At the same time, even a replacement water heater (instead of combi-boiler) would have required electricity per the new codes, so it is what it is.

I ended up with 30" of snow. A person I know in the next town over (and higher in elevation) received 35" of snow and I've heard reports from others that received 40-44" of the white stuff. Before (3/12) and after (3/15) of the north side. That bank is about 4' tall in the first pic

The west side

The south and east sides

Ski areas and snowmobilers are happy anyway. Yesterday got into the 50's and somewhat windy, so there was some meltage, but today is supposed to stay near freezing. Then a gradual warm up thru the week. I'll take it since that will keep the melting slow so keep flooding down or non-existent.

Iditarod Update 3/12/2023

The biggest news is last years winner of the Iditarod (and 3rd place finisher of the 2021 race), Brent Sass of Wild and Free Mushing, has scratched from the race at the Eagle Island checkpoint. He has developed a health issue, while not debilitating specifically to him, he has deemed as affecting him enough that he would not be able to care for his team in the way that he wants them to be cared for. I follow him on FB, and that seems to be in character for him. And get this, he scratched as he was LEADING the race. Kudos to him for taking his team into consideration when it would have been so easy to continue and try for the win.

Another scratch from the race is Gregg Vitello (one of the duo from NH). He scratched at the Iditarod checkpoint for the welfare of his team. Bailey Vitello is currently 26th.

See up to date standings at the Official Iditarod site. The following snip of the current to 10 (taken 5:45 am EDT 3/12/23) is from that site.

 

A New Rise and Shine

When I moved to this house in 2013, one of the first things I bought was a coffee maker. I think I got it on sale for something like $12 and it has done a marvelous job for my needs.

I don't drink a lot of coffee but I make a pot of coffee every 4-5 days and then store the excess in the fridge. Each day I microwave the 12 ounces I drink in the  morning After pulling a not so brilliant stunt while trying to brew a pot Friday, I decided to replace it. Oh, I know I can fix the old one, I just don't want to hassle with it on an emergency basis (I want to do it on my time).

So I went online to look for an exact replacement. I did find one, with updated controls that was in stock at Targe. Although I could get it cheaper elsewhere, I had a $25 gift certificate to Target (from my boss a couple of Christmases), that would cut my cost down to $5. I put the item in my cart, then decided to let it sit there overnight to determine if I really wanted to buy a new one or would get the motivation to fix the existing machine.

So, although that strategy works well most times (I still have stuff in my amazon cart that I put there months ago - LOL), this time it backfired a bit. Because, when I woke up yesterday morning, I got to wondering if there was a machine (in stock) that I could also make a cup of tea in. A couple of times a week I make tea in the afternoon and that involves nuking some water - and microwaves use a fair amount of electricity for that small amount.

So it was back to researching and I ended up ordering a machine that was just at $100 ($75 after the gift certificate). I was smart enough to measure to make sure it would still fit between the orange bowl I use for compostables and my phone charge station. So here it is, my new coffee maker that can do a pot, or a pd, or a cup of grounds (which will work for tea also).

 

Iditarod 2023 - NH Team Competes

A New Hampshire team is in this year's Iditarod. Team Bailey (Iditarod link to bio)is from Milan NH, and is a father/son team (not counting the dogs of course) (link to local TV station article and video)

Sunny News for February 2023

Note - wrote this on Friday but apparently never published it :D

 

Got my electric bill for February 2023. Considering the last 7 days of the billing cycle my panels were snow covered, I came out pretty good. First off, my production report for the exact time frame that my electric bill is for. The solar company and electric company are off just a little from each other. But let's just assume that the 330 shown in the circle below was my total consumption.

Power company says I pulled 244 kwh while solar company says I pulled 248 kwh. Electric company says I pushed 180 kwh while solar company says I pushed 176 kwh. All in all, close enough for me.

The power company shows my net usage as 64 kwh and total charges were $35.65

So in February, a low production month (but with the sun angle better than Dec. & Jan.), nearly 64% of the bill ($22.71) was the basic costumer charge and other charges that were not the actual cost of energy consumed.

Solar company shows, total usage was 330 kwh (just so you don't have to go back to look). Last Sept, prior to the array install, I used 338 kwh and my bill was $119.62.

I didn't pay the electric company $80 in a low production month (the math comes out to $84, but I subtracted some for the 8 kwh difference). Can't complain about that.

It has snowed every day this week and have a big storm coming in tonight, so won't have any production at all for March until some time next week. Actually, not technically true; had minimal production yesterday afternoon when some panels mostly cleared and should get some today. But with the sun angle getting better every day, production should be stellar when the snow finally stops and the array clears.

Local Agway Changings Coming

Achilles Agway, is being sold to Minnesota based Runnings. Agway is a farm and garden franchise and a local family owns 6 of them (Keene, Milford, Peterborough, Hillsboro, Walpole and Brattleboro, VT). This is not to be confused with Agway franchise holdings by other entities (such as Osborne's Agway in Concord). The Hillsboro Agway has been a go-to place for my gardening, wild bird feeding and select pet needs since moving to this area way back in the late 90's.

This could be a good thing if Runnings puts some money into it and expands the offerings. But, it could also be disappointing if they don't do anything and just get rid of the local staff. Guess we'll find out.

New Temporary Flooring in Heater Room

I buckled down on Sunday to get the linoleum installed where the boiler and water heater used to reside. One would think it is an easy process, just cut to shape and lay it down. I'm sure it is easy for those used to working with it, but for me, not so much. 

See, linoleum need to be cut smaller than the area being covered, but not too much smaller. It needs room to expand and shrink (depending on temperature), but also should be covered by trim piece  at the wall edges. Add to that the lack of anyplace to work with the sheet besides the room it was being laid in, and it was a series of folding the linoleum to create room for making the cut, cutting, then seeing how close it is.

Deciding that I would lay the linoleum so it was more pleasing to the eye than if I just scabbed in a piece, I removed the trim piece at the wall, cut down the old linoleum piece, then cut and installed the "new" linoleum. I also had to cut a new trim piece at the wall by the safe (first pic).

Never thought to get a picture of the covered floor before moving the shelves over to their new resting home, but here is the final result. Note that I did place a transition piece over the edges of the two separate sections.

I should really go thru those shelves and get rid of stuff I don't use anymore. Take that big box on the bottom - that is filled with bottles and screw tops that I used when I made real vanilla and sent it as Christmas gifts. And the next shelf up has the stereo I bought and installed in the 2004 Explorer (I de-installed it before trading in on the 2014 Explorer).  There are several bird feeders that I should find new homes for also.

I hate that the town swap shop closed at the beginning of Covid, and has not reopened. All the stuff on there is still good stuff (and the bottles are unused) but I don't really want to deal with putting them on CL, FBM or even on my town's FB page. Maybe I'll find someone holding a garage sale in a couple of months and just give them the stuff. They could make a few bucks and I could gain some room.

Basement Floor Patching

When we last left the comb-boiler install, and resulting de-installation of the old boiler and water heater, I mentioned that I needed to patch in to match the raised flooring that went around the old appliances. At hte bottom of the picture, you can see the square concrete where the water heater was. Not as easily seen is the 2x4 section where the old boiler was under the buckets and stuff in the lower left hand corner (in front of the chimney).

I still have a bunch of the material that raises the flooring off the cement (to keep any moisture off the plywood, so patched that in. I also had a piece of plywood that was suitable for where the water heater was. But I did not have plywood pieces that were large enough for where the boiler was. So I made a trip to HD, where they sell 2x4 plywood (I didn't need a full sheet). Yesterday I cut that piece in.

Didn't want to patch in the "temporary" linoleum, especially since it was curling at the edges anyway. (temporary meaning I put a cheap scrap of linoleum down to protect both the wood and feet from splinters until I put down a more permanent solution)

As luck would have it, years ago I had bought a remnant of linoleum off of FB, thinking it would be big enough for the bathroom. You can see it rolled up next to the chimney in that top picture (wrapped with green painter's tape). Unfortunately, it was not quite large enough, so I rolled it up and it has patiently waited for me to find a use for it. So, I unrolled it and let it "rest" all day yesterday and overnight. Even the area that was cut by the previous owners is nearly perfect to fit in the gap between the chimney and the safe.

So hopefully today I will get to cutting both the old and new linoleum. But I'm undecided whether to lay it in that orientation or turn it so it goes all the way to the wall next to the safe. But then I would have to remove the baseboard over there, and I'm not keen on doing more work than strictly necessary for a temporary fix. I just want the flooring covered so I can move the shelves over there. I really don't care how it looks since it would still have some of the dark linoleum showing over by the pellet stove. BUT, if I did so, then I could install a floor transition piece over the two edges to keep them from curling, and make it look a bit neater.

Decisions, decisions, decision.

Always Look Up the Warranty

Prior to having the combi boiler installed, I got a couple of quotes. One was for a highly pricesd, well thought out brand (I never heard of it until I started looking it up). Then there was the HTP that I accepted, which was more mid priced and reviews were more moderate (not bad, just moderate - but better than other brands that one would usually think of as high quality, much less those found at DIY stores. Anyway, what I was really interested in was the warranty. If the difference was enough, then I may have gone with the higher priced option. Note, that price was not my my concern, it was a combination of lifespan, reliability, parts availability (a German brand parts may not be available right off the bat) and experience of installation company.

One of the companies that gave me a quote did not at first give me a model number to look up (just the brand), so I requested and received that info (I'll call this Model 1). The company that I went with, as a matter of course, gave me the model number (Model 2).

So I looked it up and Model 1, on the general info page, states a limited lifetime warranty. But when I looked up the spec sheet - that warranty was on the pressure tank for 10 years, then a reducing amount up to 15 years. For the rest of it, it was a 5 year warranty. So, "lifetime" means what they consider the lifetime of the system, not the the whole time it is in the residence. Oh, and you must register it, hook it up to wifi and activate thier app within 60 days of installation to get that.

For Model #2, the general info page states a 15 year limited warranty. But you have to register for the free extended coverage, within 6 months of installation (otherwise it is 5 years). Once registered, then the warranty is pretty much the same as the "lifetime" warranty as Model 1.

So Sunday I got online and registered the unit (oh by the way, it has to be installed by a company, not self-installed), and Monday morning I had confirmation that they had accepted my warranty extension.

So always check into the warranty and understand what "lifetime" means to a company. In just looking at phrasing, it would look like Model 1 has a way better warranty than Unit 2, but that is not the case. Also look for any other requirements like registration timeframe, where model 1 was more restrictive than model 2.