Solar Panel Update

As promised, here are the photos of the solar panels installed.  What you see at the bottom (although not the greatest picture) is a trailer axle.  Our original plans, to allow us to move the panels east to west throughout the day, may not come to fruition.  The panels when installed together are extremely heavy.  But we are learning as we go. So at this point, they are tied down in a fixed position.  Eventually we’ll be able to put a jack underneath the axle and lift the panels into a more flat position when the sun shifts its location more northward during the summer months. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were also able to repurpose more of those free pallets to use as a structure to support the panels.  Those pallets have sure come in handy!  Some of them are even 16’ long.  They contain 16’ 2x4’s, which we can easily take apart.  I’m not even sure I’d call it a drawback; we have to remove the nails on occasion.

The panels also made more energy than we could store again.  Even with a refrigerator, freezer, and multiple tools in operation.  It’s a such fun!

Weekend Happenings Part 2 (1/17/15)

We’ve acquired another couple of acres right next to ours so we now have a spread of about 5 total acres.  It has a small pond, which we are considering adding some of our Tilapia.  We are also working on a small building.  Some of the materials were purchased, but we have been able to use some the free windows and doors that The Moose has been acquiring.  I’d guess the cost so far is roughly $800.00.  It will have a wrap around deck and an observation set up on the roof, along with the containers of water for the shower.  

  

 

 

 

 

The guys also continued to build shelving in the container.   Again, all materials, except for the nails are from the free pallets.  

I was able to get the chickens, turkeys and rabbits taken care of.  All are doing very well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The blueberries are starting to blossom, so I gave them a light dusting of fertilizer.  I’m hoping we’ll get a nice yield of berries, but since they were just planted a few months ago, this may be a slower year.

 

R&B, part of The Compound group are raising our goats in their back yard, since they need care a couple times a day.  We’ve been blessed with the birth of 4 new baby goats in the last month or so.  They are cute little devils!  They don’t run, they hop all four feet the same time, bounce off of the trees or the backs of their Moms and can stop on a dime!  We’ll eventually be milking them, but for now they’re just getting spoiled.

Weekend Happenings Part 1 (1/17/15)

Things are really starting to come together at The Compound.  We have quite a few projects in the works, and all are progressing at a great pace.  The solar panels are up and running, and actually producing more power than we can store at this time!  We went without generator power all weekend, which not only saves us the cost of gas, but you could hear yourself think!  The guys used all their power tools, and on occasion it would pop a circuit when too many tools were being used.  Over time we’ll all know what the system can and cannot handle at one time.  But the work does get done and the smiles on their faces, is priceless.

These still need to be installed in framing.

 

We used solar to build the new nesting boxes for the turkeys.  They can start laying as early as February and I wanted them in place so they got used to them being in their living space and the hens could start “playing house”.  I put a golf ball in each one to help give them the idea.  Whether this actually works or not, who knows..

  

Three are 18”wide, 18” deep, 18”high at the front and 30” high at the back and the fourth box which is considered communal is 30”wide. It has a big slope so they don’t decide to take up residence on top and create something else for me to clean up.  They are bottomless.  I can lift them up to rake out the old straw bedding and replace with new.  This will be there set up until after they are done sitting on eggs.  We have plans to build them their own coop, but as with everything, we have to do 10 other things first.

The cost for the boxes, other than some nails and screws, very little.  The wood came from the free pallets we keep getting, and we did pick up some wood stain so they’ll last longer.  It cost us $20 for the stain, and we only used about 1/3 of the container so about $7.00.  My kind of repurpose project.

We’re really enjoying the turkeys.  They are great fun to watch and getting easier and easier to round up.  They actually enjoy going home, and I think they really like stealing chicken feed and scratch from the chicken feeders on the way.