SkiJourning Mushing with German Shepherds

Cold beer on a warm deck

 

 

Ya, das ess gute

Cooling off after a long pull

 

 

Nice day

 

 

Hana, ZERO focus on the second day, already basking too much in her previous sucess 

 

Jeep is finally clean! 

 

 

 Eh Banchan, I won't run over you (again) just kidding.

 

Boat Resources Links

Ideas

Movable 12V cooler
Pizza Oven
2 compartment sink
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http://www.grillsforboats.com/boat-coolers.html

http://theboatgalley.com/

http://www.boat-project.com/index.html

http://www.marinedeal.com/shoppingcart.asp?Check=True

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Engine bay soundproofing
and more

http://www.sailorssolutions.com/?page=Products&SubCategoryID=121&SubCategory=Soundproofing&Category=Engine%20Room

 

Pesticides and Gardening

Certain pesticides approved for general use can severely damage earthworms.

Carbaryl (Sevin), one of the most commonly used home garden chemical pesticides, is deadly to earthworms even at low levels.

Malathion is moderately toxic to worms.

Diazinon has not been shown to be at all harmful to earthworms when used at normal rates.

Solomon, Steve (2011-03-24). Organic Gardener's Composting (p. 95).  . Kindle Edition.

Sustainable Gardening Ideas

archived here from this great site!

http://preparednessmama.com/permaculture-principles/

 

Principle #1 – Produce No Waste

Actively look for ways to re-use the leftovers from your garden. Here are some ideas

• Compost your kitchen scraps, yard trimmings and animal manure (but not from cats and dogs, please!)
• Begin vermicomposting. Red wigglers are your friend. They convert organic waste and vegetable scraps into amazing soil amendments.
• Make compost and manure tea to give your vegetable garden the nutrients it needs.

Principle #2 – Use the Edges

Make use of all the possible space you have for growing, no area is insignificant.

Photo courtesy of Texas Co-op Power http://www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/nature-outdoors/keyhole-gardening

• Design your herb, vegetable and flower beds in unusual shapes
• Use the spaces closest to your house to grow the most used vegetables. Planting in pots and on decks and patios.
• Make a keyhole bed to conserve water and space. One of the basic ideas is that it provides easy access with minimum path-to-bed ratio – a “least path” design. The horseshoe-shaped beds are sized so you can easily reach the entire area standing in the keyhole. The beds can be situated near the house for quick access, or along your main pathway. Here is a fantastic article about creating a 6 foot keyhole garden from recycled paper and cardboard. It incorporates a compost bin in the middle.
• Grow heat loving vines like beans, grapes, kiwi, melons and squash on the side of a stucco or brick wall to benefit from stored thermal heat.
• Grandma had it right. Her herb garden was always outside the kitchen door!

Principle #3 – Incorporate Perennial Crops in Your Landscape

Perennial crops don’t need to be replanted every year so they conserve energy and the soil is not disturbed as much. That means less work for a busy gardener. Your yields might be slow at first, but these perennial edibles will produce for years in your garden. If you plant and properly manage an asparagus patch, it can produce for 15 to 20 years. That certainly conserves my energy!
Some perennial plants to consider:

• Asparagus
• Chicory
• Dandelion
• Rhubarb
• Sweet potato
• Walking onion
• Sorrel
• Comfrey
• Horseradish
• Jerusalem artichoke (Sunchoke)
• Artichoke
• Purple Tree Collards
• Bamboo
• Fruit trees
• Berries (black, red, blue, straw)
• Nuts

Principle #4 – Harvest Water in the Garden

How much water does your garden need each season? Plants need water for cell division, cell enlargement, and even for holding themselves up. If the cells don’t have enough water in them, the result is a wilted plant. In hot weather your vegetables will need at least 1/2 an inch of water per week.

• Build your soil so it can retain maximum water. If your soil allows water to rush off of your property, then it is likely that it can become more absorbent.
• Consider roof catchment when possible. Even in low rainfall areas, you can lose hundreds of gallons of rainwater. It can be channeled through downspouts and be collected in cisterns or barrels, for use in your garden. I’m going to place a rain barrel on my chicken coop this year.
• Utilize compost and mulch, sheet mulching and cover crops.
• Water only the root zones – have you ever placed a PVC pipe or upside down pop bottle with holes next to your tomato plants roots?

The ideas in this post come from the book: The Vegetable Gardener’s Guide to Permaculture: Creating an Edible Ecosystem by Christopher Shein. There are so many wonderful Permaculture design ideas, tips and tricks in here! I’ve added it to my gardening resource library to use as I continue to study Permaculture. Christopher’s website is a great place to stop if you are looking for more information and don’t miss the resources page.
Other books that will give you information about the principles of Permaculture:
Getting Started in Permaculture by Ross and Jenny Mars
Perennial Vegetables –A Gardeners Guide to Over 100 Delicious, Easy-to-Grow Edibles by Eric Toensmeier
This is one of my favorite books. It encourages me to be self-reliant. I love the way she brings it all together – I find it magical and I read it every year. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. Also visit her website for more information.
Composting is where its at! Organic Gardener’s Composting by Steve Solomon is free on Amazon as I write this, but well worth it even if you have to pay. I refer to it frequently. Another stand by in my gardening library is Let it Rot!: The Gardener’s Guide to Composting by Stu Campbell.
Websites to check out:
www.greywateraction.org
www.urbanpermacultureguild.org
www.harvestingrainwater.com

Summer fun / Summerfest

Summerfest---Bruno Mars, Gaga, Dave Matthews, and others still to be announced and 900 other performances (mostly free with general admission)

http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/festivals/summerfest2014/bruno-mars-to-headline-summerfest-in-milwaukee-june-25-b99184534z1-240182521.html

The Port of Port Washington

http://www.port-washingtonmarina.com/

Designing PV for snowy climate

Trending Now

Are Solar Panels Usable in Snowy Climates?

By Erin Cassidy, Accuweather.com Staff Writer

January 11, 2014; 10:00 AM

With a new year beginning, installing solar panels is a great way to fulfill environmentally-friendly resolutions.
However, for those living in wintry climates, snow accumulation may pose a problem.
Joshua Pearce, associate professor at Michigan Tech University (MTU), said, "If snow is completely covering the panel, you are obviously only going to get the amount of energy out of the panel from the amount of light that is able to pass through the snow."
"Even having a relatively small amount of snow on top of a given panel can radically reduce the amount of energy output for your entire system," he said.
Due to these issues, research is currently being conducted whether solar technology is useful in wintry climates.
Solar panels at the top of a mountain. (Credit: Flickr/SteFou!)
The projected losses could affect energy costs for all homeowners using solar power, but only significantly for ones that rely entirely on solar power and are not connected to the traditional electrical grid.
For the vast majority of homes and businesses that still remain "on-the-grid," the financial impacts are minimal but the energy losses still pose questions to enhance optimal usage.
Research being conducted in Michigan, Colorado and Washington by MTU and the engineering firm DNV GL is designed to test the energy output for solar panels with varying levels of snow coverage and other factors such as "racking" (the accumulation of snow at the bottom of a panel if the snow can't slide off naturally) and the angle the panels are tilted.
When the study is completed, Pearce is confident that, "Everyone, both [solar panel] designers, people that are funding systems and everyday homeowners [should] have the ability to look at your weather data for your area and predict, with very good assurance, what your snow losses or snow gains would be."
RELATED LINKS:
Solar Panels Present New Dangers to Firefighters
AccuWeather Winter Weather Center
Skiing, Snowboarding: How Weather Affects Safety on the Slopes
The research is also examining the positive effects of a snowy climate on solar panels.
"When snow is on the ground and the panels are clean, the snowy surface basically acts as a mirror and you can get higher output," Pearce said. "In many cases, you end up with a small boost because of the reflection off the snow."
Pearce describes several methods they have used to increase the efficiency of panels with snow accumulations.
Solar panels are a cost-efficient form of alternative energy, with an overwhelming percentage of new systems being installed in tangent with the traditional electrical grid.
As long as a structure is connected to the power grid, electricity will not be interrupted when snow accumulation makes solar energy unattainable.
With continued research and installations, solar power remains a viable option for Americans hoping to utilize reusable energy.

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Tips for Solar Power Users in Snowy Climates

Bounce a tennis ball off snow-covered panels.

Homeowners who have rooftop solar panels installed can surprisingly increase the energy output by bouncing a tennis ball off the snow-covered panels. The small divots created by the tennis ball help begin the snow shed process and allow sunlight to reach the modules and begin converting energy.

Install solar panels at the largest angle possible.

A higher angle lessens the accumulation of snow on top of the panel. "Everyone that is in a very snowy place, like in northern Michigan, should be aggressive in your tilting angle. So if you have a decision to make between something like 30 degrees or 40 degrees, it's better to go 40 degrees," Pearce said.

Don't set up panels in a way that allows snow to gather at the bottom.

Installing panels in a way that allows the snow to fall freely from the array greatly reduces the impact of snow. When snow slides off the panel at an angle and gathers at the bottom of the module, the losses can significant. "In those cases, when you have a very low tilt angle and a dam [of snow], you can lose all of the solar energy associated with the winter," Pearce said.

Water Testing Supplies

http://www.midlandsci.com/default.aspx?Page=Home

HACH 145201 HA-71A Hardness Test Kit (1-20 ppm, 1-20

1

$61.3080/EA