Tales of a Winterman – December 22, 2020

Tuesday, Dec. 22nd

I woke up to -39 c and a clear sky. I was cheered up to see the sun rise and went outside in the crispy air to clean the snow off the solar panels. I get great satisfaction producing my own power and today produced 1.5 kwh.

With a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, I see that there are rabbits out and about. They are very hard to spot, white on white, and they are motionless if they sense danger. I have already walked within a few feet before spotting them.

This past weekend I have finally designed a bird feeder to keep the martens from stealing the birdie’s food. Now I get to watch the martens trying in frustration to climb the structure, which is quite entertaining. Photos show my pvc pipe and upside down garbage can contraption. I did have to stabilize it after the persistent marten managed to wiggle some crumbs off. Now the birds are happy.