EM Journal Entry: Oct 9

ruffed grouse (can you see her? she blends in so well!)

It’s possible that today, October 9, will be our last warm weather day anywhere in Montana until the spring. This past week has been glorious. Low 70’s, warm, sunny, and lovely weather to be outside. Today is expected to be the same as it’s been all week. But tomorrow is a different story.

Tomorrow’s high is 48-degrees. On Sunday there is a chance of snow, with a high of 35. Through the whole of next week the high isn’t slated to reach above 50. Write now as I type this post it’s 29-degrees F (-1C). 

I’ve said it before and I will keep saying it, here in Montana, every season has its own unique beauty. There are things about each season that I love, like, and also find unpleasant at times. But I am someone who appreciates and enjoys that we live in a place with four distinctly different times of the year where things change weather & temperature wise. I’m very glad to live in a place that experiences all four seasons. I’m also someone who fairs a lot better in the cold than in the sweltering sun.

Mike is back full time working here on site at EM after spending the past two months roofing off site with his brother Monday through Friday. Our pressing project is to get our two newer-ish water cubes insulated ahead of the winter. He’s been building a box to put around them and then adding insulation to the inside. We’re hoping there will be enough heat transfer through the wall the cubes sit next to to keep the water from freezing this winter.

Increasing our rain catchment capacity this past year has been a great upgrade to our water system. Based on my calculations, if we start drawing on the water stored in the cubes in mid-late November, we should have enough water to last us through until the end of February to meet all of our needs for cooking, drinking, washing hands & dishes and showering once a week (which is typical for us). This will be our first winter with these water cubes so we’ll see how it goes!