Winter has arrived

We've had a few small dumps of snow over the past couple of weeks, but this weekend marked a shift toward full-blown winter weather. We have 8"-10" of snow on the ground now, and temps dipped to -20*C on Friday night. 

The house looks pretty with its backdrop of fir trees and a blanket of snow below. I've had to put the ladder up outside so I could clear the snow off the solar modules. We found a sort of backwards snow shovel on an 18ft. extendable pole that allows us to clear the lower 4 modules from the deck. I have to be on the ladder to get the upper ones cleaned off.  For the most part, they do stay fairly clear of snow due to the steep 45* angle of the roof. 

We did discover a problem with our new generator. While it does an awesome job charging our enormous battery bank, its automotive-style alternator has failed and is not charging the on-board battery used to start the generator. We have taken to removing the battery after starting the generator and then moving it indoors to a small trickle charger to keep it ready for the next time. 

I managed to run the tractor out of fuel on Friday night, leaving it stranded on the driveway. Of course, after filling it with fresh diesel it needs to have the air bled out of the system, meaning that it will have to wait until the weather warms a few degrees. 

This is Ben's first winter and at first he didn't know what to make of the snow. He didn't want to actually touch it! However, all the good smells are buried under the fluffy white surface and it didn't take him long to get into it, bounding around like a jack rabbit, sticking his nose in the snow every three or four bounces. Now, as soon as we let him out he's off exploring this new, white universe, oblivious to our calls for him to come inside. Well, at least until one or more of his feet get just too cold and he hobbles in and lays close to the fire to warm up. Joey fares better with her thick undercoat and stays out for what seems like a long time - sometimes an hour or more, checking out all the new deer and coyote tracks that criss-cross our property. We sure must have a lot of wildlife because there are tracks everywhere!

We finally got started on the kitchen, installing the framing for the small bulkhead above the stove where all the plumbing from the upstairs bathroom travels down to the basement. We even  managed to get a few sheets of drywall up before running out of light and energy yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. I need to get a few strips of corner bead, more drywall mesh tape, and a proper drywall knife. We are hoping to have the rest of the kitchen drywall up tonight and we can then tape and mud it. Hopefully, within a few days, we can start installing the cabinets!