“Weather can kill you so fast. The first priority of survival is getting protection from the extreme weather.”
Bear Grylls
Woke at 3 A.M. I felt really rough, pain, dizziness, balance problems.
After an hour or so the symptoms seemed to calm down, but there was no going back to sleep. The polar vortex is about to hit this area. It starts with a big snow storm then biting cold. I need to get out and cut wood as soon as it is daylight. I need to service my chain saw, clean the air filter, put on a new chain, and I just remembered I need bar oil. I will have to drive in to the village and get some. I need better gloves for the cold. I forgot to get those too. I don’t think I will be able to source those in the village. We had a workwear store there for a while. But the owner got herself involved in something not quite right and had to shut down. I don’t go into the local hardware store anymore. So either I live with the cold and take more breaks or I risk frostbite.
I miss the days when wood was done in the summer, stacked and ready for winter. Those days are gone.
It comes down to what it always does, doing the best I can with what I have. I am about to take my vitamins, which I believe don’t work. Like I said before its about the belief. I will finish the bottles I have. I read about getting Vitamin D from natural sources, I find out it means more fish. Good thing I love fish. No chance getting Vitamin D from the sun this far north. Especially in the winter. Especially over the next few days. My solar batteries will last me a day, but it will be too cold to use my generator to charge them up. There maybe an interruption in my posts for a few days.
It is so dark out that my solar panels are not charging at all. It is rare that happens. It is warm enough to run the generator for a while. I just got back from the village, I was able to buy bar oil for my saw and buy some shorty gloves. I don’t think they will be warm enough, but better than I had. I will need to cover the exposed skin around my wrists when I am out there.
Well I need to get my saw ready and then get myself ready for the day. I need to cut two big loads of wood and chop them My body is barely able to do one. But I need enough to get through the snowstorm. It needs doing.
Went to service the saw and change to the new chain.
The new chain was too long. The one I took in to compare with was for a 20-inch bar. I had an 18. So I put on the old chain gassed up the saw put bar oil in, and went out to cut logs. I cut about 60 blocks.(what you get from cutting logs into chunks, to be chopped) Now a lot of that was small stuff by design. Those wouldn’t have to be chopped and could be brought straight in.
That is precisely what I did.
I am in taking a break, after some grub then I will go out later. It didn’t matter if the snow starts now. I had all the blocks rough stacked so, no problem.
Pictures to follow. The weatherman says it is -11. My frozen face says NFW. With the wind I would guesstimate it is really -20 out. The polar vortex, what a sci-fi term, had arrived early.
Just got back from second chop. Its windier, it’s colder, its snowier. And my back is a lot more sore than it was during my earlier visit to the wood pile.
I remember a wise woman’s words about overdoing it. Ya way past that. And the stupidity that drives me say, you can do one more load.
Kidding I collapsed on the couch, not sure I will ever be able to get up again. I need to go gas up and start the generator. This will the last time I can run it for a few days. Battery banks both at 12 .0. still not enough light to do the smallest amount of charging. Well made off the couch , did some litter boxes, went out feed the chickadee’s. The snowstorm is here. The generator is gassed up and started. Repaired a broken power input. Now I am sitting watching Supernatural.
Snow has already covered the solar panels, I imagine we will get a lot of snow and the predictions will be on the low side. We will see in the morning.
Be safe stay warm
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