The Dawg Patch

[GoDawgs]

Thanks, @JayneR13. It's hopefully been one of those lifetime experiences. You know, you can prepare a lot for events like this but in the end there's also tweaking to do and notes to be made of what could have been done better.

Cell signal came back up Wednesday night. Still no mail delivery "until further notice". From the post office site it looks like that's for most of Georgia except for Atlanta.

This morning was Redneck Laundry day dedicated to socks and unders, following one of my favorite phrases... "You make it up as you go along". Out under the pole shed we set up a washing station. Pickles washed and I rinsed, wrung out and hung on a drying rack. It was clear that the socks dirtied up the wash water pretty fast. What we decided to do was dump the wash water into the toilet tanks, transfer the still pretty clean rinse water to the wash tub and add fresh water from the barrel to the rinse tub. When the toilet tanks were full the dirty water went into a bucket and spare gallon jugs for flush water later. Waste not, want not! It took time but worked pretty well.



Here's one of the two 55 gallon water barrels with pump. The other barrel is next to it, covered with a black trash bag. Both are on rollers in case they need to be moved. Generator in front.



Laundry took a while partly due to water change outs but it's done. Hopefully by the time we both get low on clean shirts and shorts there will be a laundromat open somewhere. It will be mobbed, I'm sure. Even in the city of Augusta they have some power but their municipal water pumping isn't full pressure yet so they're asking residents not to do laundry or water lawns or plants.

Speaking of watering plants,the decision has been made to let go of most plants out on the pallets next to the house. The four peppers will go since there are still lots down in the garden. All the micro tomatoes were mostly finished anyway as were half of the big tomatoes so they'll go. We're keeping the eggplants and four tomatoes that are all still producing. Gotta save water.

Pickles is making quesadillas for lunch, filling them with cheese and sauteed veggies. They'll be good. She usually makes them in the oven but will be using a skillet today since the oven's down.

And that's the report for today. Not sure of afternoon activity yet.

[JayneR13]

Fascinating! How you're moving the water through the system from potable to toilet flushing is definitely noteworthy. We're so used to having all we need at the turn of a handle that we never think of what happens when there's none. Is your water service running at all? And yeah, when Gramma did the laundry in the old roller machine it took her all day! I remember hauling buckets of water for it. This is why they didn't change their clothes every day!

Yeah, the lack of a hot shower would be rough for me. I like to run my lower back under the hot water after work. It's great arthritis relief! In your situation, can you make hot pads? Perhaps by boiling water, then dipping a cloth into it when the water cools down enough so it doesn't burn the skin?

[MissS]

I have been 'camping' like this a few times in my life. It sure makes you appreciate all the comforts of home that we've got. It's hard work to go without power, gas and water. I pray that it does not last long for all of you.

[worth1]

I spent part of my life without electricity or running water.
Kerosene and Coleman lamps and a hand pump well.
We would draw water and let it set in the wash tub to get warm to take a bath.
The refrigerator ran off propane and we had a gas stove.

Later in life we had a cast iron wood stove to warm the house in our permanent place.

It was my job every day after school to split and stack enough wood and bring it in for 24 hours.
Plus feed the cows.
I didn't come in until after dark in the winter.
Homework wasn't an option and it wasn't expected of me by my teachers because they knew what I was going through.
But I kept my grades up.
Yes being without all the modern conveniences is harder but not undoable.

Best wishes @GoDawgs

[GoDawgs]

Monday morning I got turnip, daikon radish and some carrot seed planted. They were going to be staggered plantings but I've decided it's getting too late for that so I'll finish the seeding today. Hopefully we'll get some light rain tomorrow to water in the seeds. Then I decided to plant a double row of mustard down the middle of the carrot bed, trying to chase away nematodes. Once soil temp gets down to below 65 they will become inactive until spring.

Picked the first collards yesterday. This morning I picked enough green beans for supper tomorrow and maybe a yellow squash will be ready.

At least the storm didn't mess up the asters. They're starting to bloom.

24.10.06 Asters starting to bloom in last 3 days.JPG

Life has gotten into a routine of various cleanups, making easy meals, generator and water maintenance, etc. And mail delivery resumed Monday!

Yesterday afternoon we took a pile of accumulated t-shirts and shorts to the laundromat in town. Hadn't been in one for years. $4 a load for the double load machines. Whoa! Really? Enough of those loads plus expensive detergent and some people could buy a washing machine. Had to put everything on hangers on racks since a big tree took down the clothesline.

24.10.08 Laundry day, 25 t-shirts.JPG

Last night I made sausage patties from some ground pork I had defrosted and forgot that without power the range hood doesn't work. And, of course, it seemed that the sausage patties make extra smoke for whatever reason and all three fire alarms in the house went off! All doors and windows were open and a floor fan was set blowing smoke out the living room door to pull in fresh air coming in the back door. Well, at least we know the fire alarms are working.

[friedgreen51]

Any estimates when you might get power back?

[GoDawgs]

Today is Day 14. Our neighbor came by around lunchtime today and said she heard in town today that Jefferson Elec. Co-op says they hope to have everybody back up by the 18th. Now, where and from whom she heard that, I have no clue but gee golly willikers, I hope it's sooner than that.

Then I think about the folks up in western NC and remember how good we have it. It will happen when it happens.

[AKgardener]

Installing a wood stove was the best thing I ever did including setting up a generator..

[friedgreen51]

Today is Day 14. Our neighbor came by around lunchtime today and said she heard in town today that Jefferson Elec. Co-op says they hope to have everybody back up by the 18th. Now, where and from whom she heard that, I have no clue but gee golly willikers, I hope it's sooner than that.

Then I think about the folks up in western NC and remember how good we have it. It will happen when it happens.

Yes. It is really sad in Western North Carolina. They just updated the death toll a few hours ago and it has sadly reached 91 people confirmed dead.

[JayneR13]

Our grandparents lived in this way and they got by. Really, we’re rather spoiled in this country: power and water at the touch of a button is luxury! And I’m amazed at the stories of resilience I’m reading daily. Of course I’m also considering a generator of my own. Something quiet and unobtrusive, so my grifter neighbors don’t know about it.

[GoDawgs]

Day 16 without power. The outage map shows 751 houses still to go in this county. That means that yesterday 273 were restored. The latest estimate from the power company says they hope to have everybody back up "by the 18th". I have my doubts. Few convoys have been going past the house for the last several days as some out-of-state crews have probably been shifted to Florida. So we wait.

I am so hoping we can get the well back up soon. I'm right on the edge of just letting the garden go because I can't waste that much water on it. Yesterday I dribbled some water on the recently sown carrot, turnip and mustard seed rows, hoping to get them to come up and then have the ability to water them. But then last night the weatherman said that there will be no rain in at least the next seven days. On top of it all there's a possible frost on Wednesday morning. The established brassicas will be fine if I can get them a little water by filling my garden jugs at the neighbor's place. I'm going to let the peppers, eggplants and last tomatoes go. It's time.

[JayneR13]

Your house is on well water, then? No city grid? Oy. I can totally understand your decisions, especially with the frost coming. As difficult as it can be to let go, sometimes we simply have to. I've been contemplating the same thing as I've watched my freelance business of 24 years melt away. Accept reality and move on, right?

[GoDawgs]

Your house is on well water, then? No city grid? Oy. I can totally understand your decisions, especially with the frost coming. As difficult as it can be to let go, sometimes we simply have to. I've been contemplating the same thing as I've watched my freelance business of 24 years melt away. Accept reality and move on, right?

Yep, GOOD well water! I can't drink city water any more as it's so loaded with nasty tasting stuff.

[JayneR13]

No kidding. I have a solid carbon block water filter attached to my sink so I don't have to drink that nasty water either. And a filter attached to my garden hose at the house main. I cringe when I receive the annual water quality report because of what's considered safe drinking water these days! Oy.

[pepperhead212]

Maybe that's why I drink nothing but iced tea - because a lot of that stuff "boils off"! I have two filters on the line going to my fridge - one in the basement, and the one in the fridge! I still can't taste anything in the water or the ice from the fridge after 2 years, after I alternate changing both filters every other year. My town isn't one of the worst around, but I can still taste it a little, if drinking tap water, like to take pills, or something, though I rarely have no iced tea nearby. Some areas, the water's like swimming pool water.

Glad you got your power back!

[GoDawgs]

Yesterday my neighbor and some members of his veteran's motorcycle club came to start clearing away what the power company tree crew didn't as far as the big pecan is concerned. The power company cut off enough to clear the lines and set the branches aside. The bike group came at 9am and worked until about 1:00 and then had to go help someone else after lunch. They'll be back tomorrow but a LOT got done. More than several bites of the elephant consumed!

Here's what it looked like before any saws got going:

24.09.28 Post-Helene, close call for the well.JPG

This is what's left this afternoon after the biker crew's work yesterday and today's clean up. Pickles and I helped yesterday morning and all day today cutting up branches that had been removed by both groups, piling it all up and setting aside firewood size.

24.10.15 Down to the big stuff..JPG

Piles of stuff everywhere!

24.10.15 Piles everywhere.JPG

They were talking about taking down the old black walnut too (on the left) which is fine with us as it is declining and needs to go. It would save big bucks but I don't know if they've decided they want to do it or not. The wood inside probably isn''t worth the effort.

24.10.15 Walnut on left might come down too.JPG

I finally took time yesterday to cut the section of hose that's pinned down under the tree truck, reconnected it to the rest of the hose and I got the garden watered for the first time since the hurricane. Plants are looking a lot better. Those squash in the third bed back won't be there much longer. There are some Blue Ribbon beans in that bed too that I need to save for seed. Those will get picked tomorrow and dried on a screen in the shed.

24.10.06 Garden cleaned up after Helene.JPG

Garlic gets planted Oct 17-19 and I need to get those three rows tilled and prepped in between working on branch piles tomorrow. The neighbor has been moving the piles in a dumpster trailer to a spot on his land where they will be chipped up as soon as he gets the chipper going again. Wouldn't you know that when they fired it up here yesterday morning, the PTO shaft broke so toting the mess off to deal with later is Plan B.

[Whwoz]

Good to hear that you had some help clearing up the trees. One suggestion that you may want to look into is if you have any wood working/turning groups in the area. Those down here tend to be on the lookout for wood and I imagine ones over there would be the same

[GoDawgs]

Good to hear that you had some help clearing up the trees. One suggestion that you may want to look into is if you have any wood working/turning groups in the area. Those down here tend to be on the lookout for wood and I imagine ones over there would be the same

That's a great idea! However, right now such groups have their pick of any kind of wood they want with so very many trees down. I really pity anyone trying to sell firewood this year. There's a guy a few miles down our road and he's been splitting and stacking firewood all summer. He sells it by the cord or smaller amount, even little bundles for anyone wanting just a fire when guests are over. I don't know how much he'll sell this fall with all the free wood out there.

The saving grace is that his wood is aged. The wood from all these blown down trees is green so that may help. But aged wood next year should be really cheap!

[rdback]

Good to hear that you had some help clearing up the trees. One suggestion that you may want to look into is if you have any wood working/turning groups in the area. Those down here tend to be on the lookout for wood and I imagine ones over there would be the same

To continue that thought...I don't know if you have any sawyers/sawmills nearby, but there could be some value in that pecan tree. Pecan is a very strong hardwood. Your tree trunk looks to be of a good diameter/length. Like you say, with all the downed trees around you, there may be no interest, but pecan typically sells for $5-$6 a board foot. Woodturners would be interested in the smaller diameter limbs, to make tool handles and such. You could have several hundred dollars of wood laying there. The small stuff can be chunked and used for smoking meats. Pecan smoke imparts a subtle, good flavored, smooth taste to most anything. Just a thought.

[GoDawgs]

It got down to 36 this morning and we had our first light frost. I covered the beans with sheets but left the squash and peppers uncovered. The peppers surprised me and looked just fine but the squash got a touch of frost crunchies on the outer leaves.

24.10.17 Slight frost burn on yellow squash.JPG

It's supposed to drop to 38 tonight so we'll see what actually happens. Then we get into a warmup, 70's Fri-Mon and low 80's next week. This is exactly why cauliflower doesn't want to do well here as it needs steady cool temps.

I broadforked the two garlic rows for planting tomorrow. Might do a third row but I'd have to pull the peppers first. They'll get a reprieve through the week of 80's and then out they come and in goes more garlic.

The butterflies were on the asters and zinnias this afternoon. A pretty Monarch...

24.10.17 Monarch.JPG

... and one new to me, a Pipeline Swallowtail. It's a southeastern butterfly that appears mostly in the fall. When the sun hits it's back a certain way it glows with blue iridescence.

24.10.17 Pipeline Swallowtail, Battus philenor, dorsal 1.JPG

But it's the side coloring that's more pretty.

24.10.17 Pipeline Swallowtail, side view.JPG

Tomorrow two micro tomatoes get started just for fun and there's a pepper in a cottage cheese cup that needs bigger shoes. It's one called 'Frank's Sweet' and will supposedly get 2' tall. We'll see. The indoor gardening season begins.