Brrrrrrr!

We survived the record-breaking winter storm and the associated -50C (-58F) wind chill. I took a few shots as the weather front arrived but, even in the early stages, it was too cold to try and do anything half-way decent. Here are a few notes from the experience.

This house went through a lot of firewood. I mean a lot. I also found all of the previously hidden sources of draft – at least on the north and north-west sides of the structure. 🙂

It’s nice in a cottage to have all these windows. Operating under the assumption that climate change means future record-breaking polar vortices I will be purchasing more survival blankets to cover them up for the next major weather events. There was a lot of cold air transmitted through double layers of glass.

As bad as the cold was, the interior of the house was at least comfortable – not tropical, but certainly civilized. The worst effects were felt (on my little family) by the wind. The animals stopped eating, I had to put Fish in his Thunder Coat, and I was ready to scream a few times that the wind “could just stop howling now Thank You!”. 36 hours of a freight train is more than enough.

When I first arrived I debated whether or not to get a Heat Pump rather than a wood-burning stove. I didn’t know anything about them and still really don’t know much. However, I read in a couple of places that you shouldn’t use them in very cold places like the northern US, so chose the stove instead. This turned out to be a wise decision.

Many of the pumps on the Island just stopped working (the main unit is installed outside of the house and at really low temperatures may just say screw it). There were also warnings leading up to the storm that people with heat pumps (which the Government really wants people to install) should be concerned about frozen pipes (huh?).

Well my pipes aren’t frozen but a lot of pipes on the Island were and many burst. There were (of course) power outages so it was inevitable. One friend has been helping his niece sort out her frozen water works and discovered that cowboy carpentry isn’t the only hobby practiced around here. Her pipes are a combination of garden hoses, old copper, and glue – Eric at the Hardware Store in Lubec is going to be very busy.

Experience is a great teacher. I will be applying the Japanese Management Philosophy of Kaizen to this household – continuous improvement. Well, that and an increasingly large inventory of survival blankets. 🙂