Friday, April 17, 2009

stuff and press

I have to say one of the major perks of this lifestyle is getting at least 9 hours of sleep per night. Even with all the hard work involved out here, I can't say I'm not well rested. First order of business was snacking some longhorns (as usual) then ordering two new sets of wind turbine blades. Had to take down turbine #2 for some routine maintenance. Took a supply inventory and decided to make an Alpine run for goodies. Will have another McCoys delivery next Tuesday. Spent a good hour at Bennett's to discuss some solar stuff for my friend Crusty Ken. I am in charge of weening him from his generator. Bennett recently installed the latest feature of his brilliant alternative energy grid connected home in Alpine - the mini solarium.

Stocked up on enough to keep me back living and building at the Field Lab for another week. Didn't get home till 6PM. Had a brief sunset ceremony to retire my year old cowboy hat and the 5 1/2" saw blade that has cut just about every piece of wood out here since I started in December 2007. Sergio came in alone just as the sun was fading so I gave him a treat. I am happy to oblige him to get on his good side but ain't now way I'm ever gonna try to hand feed him.

Press whore that I am....I responded to 2 emails this evening about more interviews coming up. One for NewsWest 9 KWES-TV and one for Texas Monthly. If I ever end up on Oprah....please just shoot me!

7 comments:

Barney, The Old Fat Man said...

Just let the bull come to your hand. Then since it was his idea things will go well.

Bob O said...

Mini Solarium, I've got one and it's brilliant! There's a bunch of tomatoes, beans, and morning glories starting in it right now, in amongst the tropical plants that will make it out onto the deck one we get past any threat of frost. Our solarium faces due East, and so it picks up the morning sun. This works great in the winter, because it heats up the kitchen/family room early in the morning. The thick slate floor soaks up some heat, as do all of the plants in large pots, and it keeps the house warm (ish) throughout the day, because we have a system of doors to funnel the heat to different areas of the house. In the summer we have to shade it, and open the bottom vents while opening high vents on the opposite side of the house to get a flow-through effect. The deciduous trees that surround our house help ameliorate the effect of the sun in the summer. We're East Coast temperate--I'm sure you'd have to adjust direction and placement for your climate and location. Good on ya!

Anonymous said...

The solarium likes like a greenhouse from Harbor Freight.

Allen Hare said...

Cool stuff, John. That is one awesome bull! I,too, would be a bit wary of getting too close to him. Lookin' forward to seeing how the greenhouse shapes up.

Ben in Texas said...

love the Solarium, I looked into doing one some years ago and gave it up..
Now,I can understand getting rid of the saw blade, but the HAT? it is just now getting some character.. keep it!!!

The post about letting the bull come to you is a good one,,let him approach you. and one other tip,, their noses are real tender if you ever need to punch him,,that is the place.

John Wells said...

hey Ben...not getting rid of the hat - just retiring it from daily wear. Sergio is more scared of me at this point, but if push comes to shove - I reckon I'll just kick him in the balls (as big as they are, that's really gotta hurt)

Bob O said...

If they're as big as grapefruit, they'll be hard to miss! Just get ready to run....