The view from the outhouse
Sunday April 24
Good morning all from Silty Slough. I woke up at 4:45. My phone weather app says the Skwentna temperature is 27 degrees. The thermometer here says 32. It is supposed to warm up to the 50s this afternoon as it has for several weeks. Sunrise is at 6:08 and sunset is forecast for 9:58. If my common core math is correct that’s 15:50 of daylight. It has been clear, sunny, slightly below freezing in the mornings, and in the high 50s sometimes 60s in the afternoon for days. It is pleasant to sit out on the deck in the sun and have a break or eat a meal. Not a lot is going on right now, just waiting for the snow to melt and the river to break up and flush out. I’ll try to account for our activities from the last view.
Saturday April 17
This is my first full day back. It is nice to take a break and depressurize from the trip to town.
Sunday April 18
Kari and I shoveled the snow off the outside steps and recovered the extension ladder I left laying on the steps last fall. We hauled the ladder up on the deck so I could repair the motion detector dusk to dawn LED light. Since it is lighter than dusk just about all night I really don’t know why I need to repair it. It won’t come on anyway. It is a longtime thorn on the to do list and not too difficult. A couple years is long enough to put it off. The ladder is too tall, I had to leave the bottom far from the wall. Kari is going to stand on the base so it doesn’t slide. “If you get a text, if your mother calls, don’t leave to answer it.” I don’t want to ride the ladder down the wall. I figured I would find a loose wire and that would be it. No loose wire, I have another light to replace it. Didn’t take too long. I think I’ll take the old one apart and see what makes it tick. Motion sensor good, LEDs good, the power supply is bad. A new one on Amazon is $39 a whole new light is about $50. I’ll save the parts in case I need them or until Roger helps me clean this shop. I’ll leave the ladder up so I can check the aim when it gets darker this evening.
Monday April 19
I spent most of the day on hold taking care of business with the insurance companies, social security, and checking the balances on the stack of gift cards that crowd my wallet. Tonight’s menu is steak, salad, and homemade bread. I think there is banana pudding for dessert.
Tuesday April 20
It is warm in the afternoon so I decided to fix the big gap under the entry door downstairs. It has been there most of the winter and the entry has been colder than I remember from past winters. I should have fixed it a lot sooner and saved some propane but it was cold. I guess someone should have given me a round tuit sooner because it was a fairly easy fix in the warm sunshine. I can tell the difference in the morning with my bare feet on the tile floor.
Wednesday April 21
The snow has melted off the Kubota enough so that I can get on the seat and give it a try. I left the battery in it all winter and was surprised when it fired right up. I pushed some snow straight ahead and made a spot where I could move fore and aft. I need a couple more days of sunshine to really be able to get around.
Tonight is beer battered halibut chunks on the deck.
Thursday April 22
Today is a good day to change the oil, oil filter, and air filter for the diesel generator. It hasn’t been running with all the sunshine, only when we needed the electric clothes dryer a few days ago. The solar system is making all the electricity we normally need. Sometimes 8kwh a day. It would be more if we could use it. After the batteries are charged to 100% in the afternoon it knows not to make any more electricity. I have charged every spare battery that I have and don’t have anywhere else to store the excess electricity. The toaster and microwave use the most electricity so we have been having a lot of toast for breakfast. Then the light came on. I’m going to use the excess electricity in the afternoon to make a lot of toast and freeze it to have on the days when it is cloudy and we are short on electricity. Maybe AOC can use this in her big green book of energy conservation tips. She wouldn’t get it though. Tonight is lemon chicken and it was very lemony. That’s good though lemon juice helps prevent gout.
Friday April 23
25 degrees this morning warmed up to 60. Our menu choices are gradually changing to what do we need to eat before it goes bad. Tonight is hot ham and cheese because it is time to finish up the ham I brought from home.
Saturday April 24
Today I added fuel to the Kubota and plowed a bit around the yard. I’m doing better than last year. I think I waited for more snow to melt so I haven’t been stuck yet. I’ll let old Sol do some more work before I make a real sloppy mess. Tonight is lemon chicken soup. The rice and carrots mellowed out the leftover lemon chicken so it was actually pretty good. One more meal of it left. Time to move on to the next items in the coolerator.
Sunday April 25
The trails are getting thin. I think today is the day to take the snow machines to Al’s shed. I kind of want to keep one handy here but where can we go anyway. The river is soft but not soft enough for the boat. Silty Slough is filling up with water so you can’t cross it. Looks like we are stuck on this little chunk of paradise for the time being. I’ll take the batteries down and reinstall them in the 4 wheelers and give it another day or so until we make the final transition from skis to wheels. I’ll let you know how that goes in the next view.
From the asylum high on the bluff above Silty Slough, take care my friends and stay safe and healthy.
Thank you Lord for watching over us.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
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The View from the Outhouse 