This morning I woke up a little earlier than planned, from a sweet dream that I wouldn't have minded staying in for a bit longer...
It was the sound of rattling or possibly open windows, caused by the wind having picked up in the last couple of hours. A storm front and a lot of rain are approaching and in a place like this, in the countryside, we need to prepare for these kind of things.
After getting out of bed and looking out of the bedroom window, I saw that a blue trash bin had made its way into the grass next to my house.
So that was that rolling sound that I had heard.
The vibrating knocking of a woodpecker in a nearby tree and the singing sounds of loads of happy small birds, who were clearly enjoying the 'fresher' and more humid weather, made up my morning concerto.
Who needs music, when we have the sounds of nature to enjoy?
Rain coming up or not, I decided to go for a more humid state and took a morning bath, for a change.
In all honesty, I listened to classical music while in bath, thus switching off the bird sounds for the time being*
The idea was to warm up my bones and body, so I could save on firewood, which is one of the most precious commodities around here in the countryside, this time of year.
I try to only use my salamandra ( wood burner ) a couple of hours per night at times, late afternoon until not too late in the night, as this metal monster devours wood like a humongous beaver and doesn’t give off that much heat in exchange.
I know that those of you with dirty minds are laughing now
For your information: I am living in a stone wall house that hasn’t been insulated and in the Winter months
it’s still Winter here, even though it looks more like Spring
the house hardly gets any sun and it’s often warmer outside, on the veranda, than indoors.
Some people say that houses need to be heated properly, but I prefer to save on firewood and money ( and not burn too many trees ) and use the aforementioned as an excuse to spend even more time outdoors, one of the reasons why I moved out of the city (again), to stay active and fit.
Also, keeping the fire going is such an elaborate process that I can hardly do other things, as it keeps needing my attention ( like a young child or immature adult ).
Yesterday ( and this morning ) I was focused on arranging, organizing, storing and covering firewood.
I first thought I would be able to get some from my neighbor but she discovered most of hers wasn't dry, so I asked the person who always helps me out, my twin sister.
Her boyfriend and her brought me three boxes of it and my sister stacked/ piled it up nicely in my living room, as seen above. They also brought me some pine cones to start the fire with, as well as a different kind of natural fire starter remember that song by The Prodigy?
that I haven't taken a picture of.
After my sister, her boyfriend and I had lunch and tea together and they had left again, I spent another hour or two, collecting more firewood from my garden and putting different stacks, bundles, bags etc. near my wood burner, in my living room and bathroom ( the latter is also used as storage space, as there is no storage outside of the house ) and next to the house, under the roof of the veranda.
I collected a cart full of very humid firewood today and covered it just in time, before the rain started falling, so it wouldn't get soaked even more. The plan is to dry it out, at a later time, once the rainy days are gone.
P.S. If you've read the previous Off-Grid Living- Running on Empty and your mind is sharp, you might have noticed that I have running water again. Yes, I'm happy to say so, the compressor has been re-attached ( a replacement part was needed to attach the machine to the pipe leading inside the house/ bathroom ), the generator was filled with gasoline and the hoses that were going into the water tank were re-arranged a little better and a leak was fixed ( all thanks to the handyman and woman aka my twin sister and her bf, who visited me on Saturday to drop off my niece and nephew for a sleepover ). Once all of this was working, my sister kept an eye on the water tank, her boyfriend on the water pump, near the creek and I on the generator and, later on, I basically ran from side to side, to communicate with the different parties ( I guess we forgot about our mobile phones ), while we filled the water tanks. Once the two of them were gone, when the tanks were still filling, I took care of all three places, while my niece and nephew where doing their thing, being in the now and playing/ fighting with each other. The next day, after the compressor had done its thing, (de)compressing, water slowly started to work more or less normally again, in all 4 places in the house, although I had to call with my sister/ her boyfriend to ask some questions about the pressure. Meanwhile, I learnt some more things about the system. Apparently my sister's bf late father used to be a handy man, who taught him all this stuff. My dad wasn't though and whenever I tried to help him out with things around the house, he acted so stubborn and clumsy that I soon gave up doing chores/ jobs with him. I guess it's never too late to learn though ;<)
Dirty mind? Never! 🤣
I guess your next house should be a bunker. With a proper burner, big enough for the space.
Just try to collect wood on a daily basis, store it inside and it will be dry enough soon.
That explains your quick response.
I wouldn't like to live inside a bunker but a proper heater would be nice, although... it makes you lazy and I like to stay active.
Boa idea but not during a rain storm ;<)
It's good you have running water again in your house. You also had an ample supply of firewood, especially the one your sister and her partner helped you with. The troubles one who lives off the grid goes through to make sure his needs are provided may be difficult but it's part of what makes that sort of life exciting. I do hope the week is going well for you. Thanks for sharing this experience with us. God bless and hive on.
In winter, burning is more important, and similarly, on Sundays, when there is more sleep, the eyes open early.
#hive #posh
I am burning a little more wood, today and yesterday, as it's humid and raining a lot and I have to stay warm.
This is spent in winter by burning wood
Is that shot from part of your trip to or from the abode? It's gorgeous!!!
It was taken, yesterday morning, on the dirt road that runs above my quinta, to the village.
I was walking there, on my way to get a coffee and some groceries.
Wow
How does living in a stoned wall house like?
Is it fun and safe?
Definitely safe. Why would you think it wouldn't be?
Fun, yes, if you like a challenge ( like me ).
More on that in my reply to @precab , scroll up a little to read that. She asked me a similar question :<)
!PGM
Hehe, Dino friend/ Disco monster.... it's me again.(hoping you haven't forgotten me)😄
Glad you're learning to be a handy man...of all sorts.
And it's nice reading and catching up on what you've been up to. The good and the naughty. Lol
Oh wow Vincent, you seem to be busy with a lot of practical things (I also read your previous post). But I'm glad to hear that you seem to be enjoying this somehow 🙂 It's not a setup I would like as I like to feel comfortable, haha (I have a deep desire for luxury). And I really dislike feeling cold so your strategy to save money and not heat up the house is not something I could stand. But we are all different 🙂
The process of gathering and drying firewood is an art that I'm quite familiar with. It can be a very deep process. The word for firewood in Swedish is 'ved' and I can really feel it in my soul. Many people (more so older people) in the Nordic countries have a strong connection to firewood as it's part of our survival (not so much nowadays). But in earlier times you had to have enough firewood throughout the Winter, otherwise you would literally die. I'm not sure your firewood will dry indoors, especially if the house is cold. It needs sunshine and wind to dry. The best is to have some kind of shelter outdoors that you can open up when the sun shines and close when it rains. But storing it under the roof of the veranda might do the trick 🙂 Anyway, good luck 🤗
I seem to have missed some comments here, due to excitement and distraction.
I remember you talking about enjoying heat ( inside a house/ apartment ), in that case it's better not to visit me ;<)
Yes, we are all different.
Nice to hear you talk about the art of gathering and drying firewood. It is important out here too. Honestly, many people struggle to find enough dry wood, out here, or forget about it, until it is too late ( already cold and humid ). We don't die from that though. It doesn't get that cold and we help each other out, if necessary.
I have plenty of dry firewood, since Wednesday. Drying it in my house ( before) worked a bit, if I put it around - or even on - the wood burner while the fire was on. ;<)
Sending a 'warm' hug from a room that is warm enough for me ( not for you haha)!
No worries, I just thought to mention it, in case you had missed it.
Yes, I like it warm inside, 23 degrees Celsius, minimum, 25 is ideal for me 🙂
We would help each other out in Sweden too, if necessary 🙂
Great that you have plenty of dry firewood now. I guess I was thinking on a larger scale, then it would have been rather cumbersome to dry the wood in the way you described it...
Ah are you back in Portugal? That’s good, I bet you’re enjoying the refreshing nature of it compared to the bustle of the Netherlands, granted it depends where you were living there as well.
I know it’s a lot of work - but I think I would enjoy this type of thing my my wife won’t hahaha so we compromise and hopefully will get a house where I can have something like this in the yard.
I imagine it does take a bit of effort to heat the stone house but it will also pay off in the reverse - should keep the place cooler in the summer!
Missed this comment.
Yeah, it's good to be back. from city life to countryside. It was cold and I was sick, while in Holland so it was a little bit of a struggle to enjoy the trip. People were happy to see me and that I made the effort though ;<)
Hope you can compromise with your wife on something similar, in the future.
It sure takes an effort to warm this house, in fact it's almost impossible but luckily the Winter isn't too cold, merely humid. I got plenty of dry firewood since last Wednesday, blankets, warm water bottles, plenty of warm clothes and a bath, so I will surely survive ( just don't call me Shirley) ;<)
This type of stone is called 'xisto' ( chisto ), typical for Portuguese houses in this region ( the material comes straight from the rocks here ). It basically keeps the heat out.
A little humid and fresh, this time of year, but the nice thing is that it 'breathes' and does not get moldy, unlike other types of apartments and houses.
It is work but it is fun ( so also play ), as it's very rewarding and quite cosy and meditative.