In January it was getting harder to keep the porch warm, so we ran a lightweight rope shortways along the ceiling and hung a couple of pieces of row cover fabric from it - folded over the rope and secured with big safety pins, and used vintage glass and ceramic insulators to weigh down the bottom edges. This reduced the space we were heating by 8' x 10', which helped.

By late January we decided the glass jars just weren't able to retain enough heat (in a real greenhouse they might, but through two layers of translucent plastic? Not so much). So the Ashwaganda, Lemon Grass, Ginger, and Turmeric came in, as well as some of the more northerly plants that were looking a little peaked. All of the jars and bottles of water are under the plant tables in the dining room, with some in windows or around the radiator in that room for some extra heat.

The Lavenders, a mint and a savory are still out there. On warmer and/or clear and sunny days I'll uncover them, and at night and on colder days they're covered with a couple of lightweight curtains. I've got them all bundled together in front of the downstairs bathroom window, so any heat that might leak out from there goes to them.

Good enough for about a month...

This week it's gotten very windy, plus we finally have an actual polar vortex. I was working on something in the living room this morning and noticed motion through the porch sliding doors' curtains...oh look, the inner layer of plastic at the far end of the porch has blown down, and the outer layer is ripped to shreds! Happened sometime last night or this morning. The row cover curtains, such as they are, are still in place, and on the inner side of the enclosure the temperature is 20F -- considering it's 0F outside plus whatever the wind chill factor is, that's kind of amazing.

Can't do anything about it today, because it's too dangerous for human beings. Repairs will be.... interesting. The outer layer of plastic had been wrapped around the wood frames and then we installed each frame and secured them to each other. Tomorrow it's supposed to get up to 20F outside and also less windy, so I can lower the inner sheet more and try to tape the outer plastic sheeting together. Then the inner layer goes back up -- probably with some felt weatherstripping run along the top in a solid line, not just dots of it nailed in place (and more tape, of course).

Next month things will warm up some -- enough that we can look at using the porch again.

Been doing some research on glass greenhouses, heating, etc. We're considering splitting one of the greenhouses in half and using it on the south face of the porch. It'll be a big project, what with doing moisture control under the porch, leveling the ground around the porch, digging a cold sink, and more.

Lyle got the rest of the walls up today, just minutes before snowfall!

We still have more to do with securing the wall sections to each other to tighten up how they stand next to each other, block in the bottom of the walls against the wind, and stuff the area between the straight edge of the new walls and the clapboard of the porch. But the hardest and most important part is done. All of the finish work can be done without worrying so much about the weather.

Last week I found three of the containers I'd painted flat black ages ago -- back in our Holyoke days. I'm going to need more than three, but it's a start. We have some other old containers that I can paint, no big deal. Also going to hang black fabric or plastic on the south-facing porch wall, at least a couple pieces, to help with warming during the day.

Once all the plants are out there, I can work on doing a little harvesting and re-potting. Progress!

Sprayed three containers black for passive solar. One is old maple sap gathering can (was used for transporting sap from our buckets up to the farm. Need a new one anyway, with a better cap). Two are buckets that kitty litter came in.

Watched fitzw put up more insulation and another wall panel. Yay!

Shortened a raised bed near the studio so that it's further away from the building. Dug a trench from there past the front of the building, to try to encourage water from rain/snow to go past the building before going downhill. Worked on levelling ground directly in front of studio door so that the pallet can go there -- mostly stable, but will ask fitzw to please look at it and see if he can make it more stable.

Lunch - pepperoni "pizza" Lean Pocket, and Golden Sussex Ginger Ale (from Canada - thanks, prince_hring.

Worked yesterday, no work today or tomorrow. A bit stiff and achey today, so I don't really mind having the days off. Besides, it gives me more time to work on the court doc for Concordia and other stuff.

Hoping to get the last piece of window plastic up today, but we'll see. Once the room is all set up, I'm looking forward to being able to leave open the door to the porch/greenhouse during the day -- the sun is quite strong in there, and can help to heat up the house. And of course we don't want the plants in there to roast :) Not remembering how hot it could get in there, I hadn't realized when I started my project that it might help to cut down on our heating oil usage. Happy thought!

One of my bleeding hearts up by the studio is blooming, along with the rose. The pinks are also in their second bloom. Markers of the unduly warm weather for this time of year. I know a number of people who don't care for snow and cold weather, but the plants need it. Many pests and blights that our weather kept reined in are no longer slowed enough by frost and ice, because it comes later in the year. Hemlocks are taking a lot of damage, many fatally so, from an asian bug, all across the country. There's a beetle that can help with fighting the invader, but Romney won't support the funds for it in Massachusetts. Ash and White Pine and other trees are suffering from other pests: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-10-23-trees_x.htm

Being a Gray, one of my concerns is the Sugar Maples, which don't seem to have quite as immediate a threat to them, but the warmer weather is hard on their general health and longevity (think about what happens to you when you don't get enough sleep on a regular basis), and for the farmers it means a shorter sugaring season. Once tapped, the trees provide sap for the same amount of time until the tap holes heal over, but because of the weather the quality of the sap can change more quickly. Once the trees start to bud the season's over, because the sugar is diverting to growing leaves. Our family has other means of income, but for some folks it can be a major source, and finding something to replace that income could be difficult.

And of course the beauty of the fall foliage would be missed by everyone in the valley -- over time, if our weather becomes too mild, the Maples will die out, along with other northern plants. Weather changes are happening faster than the environment can keep up with.

So, what can one or two people do, especially without a lot of money?" Well, we won't be going off-grid anytime soon, but we're doing our best to winterize and use fuel with even greater economy than before. The greenhouse will be providing more heat, as well as some fresh veggies and clean air. I'll be getting some English Ivy for the greenhouse, to replace the air filter in the bedroom (saving electricity and new filter materials). Fossil fuel is a precious and finite commodity -- using it more wisely means it will last a bit longer, and the environment will have more of a chance to deal with the pollutants from it.

NB: English Ivy isn't good for kitties (if you have the type that eat houseplants), so if you get this plant, hang it or put it on a shelf the cats can't reach. It's esp. helpful in an office, around electronics.

For people who want to lower their thermostats and save energy, two things. One: don't change the temp. range more than 5 degrees, as it wastes fuel. Two: keep your feet warm -- cold floors = cold feet = turning the thermostat up.

The new studio has a bamboo floor, and we used only a tiny bit of treated pressurized wood for the deck supports under the building. The roof edge is extended further than usual on the long side, to move rain/snow fall further from the building, but also to provide extra shade in the summer, and windows at either end are for pass-through ventilation. Windows are double-paned, argon-filled. Building will be fully insulated by snowfall. Some of the leaves in the backyard are getting bagged in plastic bags (yes, plastic - but reusable for next year) and put around the studio foundation to keep wind and cold out from under the floor. This last thing is a useful thing to do around house foundations, especially if we end up with an open winter.

NB: An open winter is when it gets cold but there's no snow on the ground. Snow insulates plants -- no snow means the wind blows over the ground, pulling moisture out of the soil and dehydrating plants. Larger plants like bushes and trees will have dead or brown patches the following spring/summer, and many plants overall will die. If you're concerned about saving particular plants in your garden, you may wish to mulch around them this year.

Windows: look for leaks, drafts, and caulk them. If your storm windows aren't great, plastic them. This helps to stop drafts/leaks you missed, and creates another barrier (air) between you and the cold outdoors. Don't forget to check the doors too - felt stripping can be used to overlap the door edge to stop/slow down drafts. Bottom of door drafts are trickier -- if you have this and aren't sure of the best way to deal with it, feel free to contact me about it.

Back to the environment -- we stopped using body care products that have parabens in them. You can find shampoos and such that don't have them that are affordable. Parabens mess with the endocrine system, affecting hormones, in people and I would expect in animals too (gets into the water). It's hard to get it out of the ecosystem, but we don't want to add more to it. And I'd rather not have anything that might be causing weight gain or might cause cancer in the house. We're using Jason Organic shampoo and conditioner - nice stuff! Some Dove products also seem to be acceptable. More research needed on this stuff...

Easy way to cut down on sunblock and save money -- wear a hat, wear longer sleeved clothing, wear gloves while driving (yes, the sun _can_ burn you through a car window, oy!). Hats can be fun and fashionable. More people should wear them!

We're trying to eat at home more, save money spent on service and gas. Better for us anyway.

Hmm, looks like a couple of people can do quite a lot! And if more people did this, and spread it to other people, then we can affect some change whether the government helps or not.

Well, there's a few thoughts for the morning...

Most of the things that belong in the studio are now there. We need some hooks, shelving, and blinds, but it's getting there. Have to sand and re-polyurethane the threshhold between the two halves -- wind blew fuzzy bits all over it, and then I stepped on it and left two very clear shoe prints on it. Looking good!

fitzw also used renoferret's table saw to cut our tent poles down to 2"x2" nominal from the 2"x3" nominal they were. Fits better in the overhead storage space. Also, we might be able to use the left over bits for making freestanding walls (privacy/dividing, not for sound).

prince_hring showed up before I got home from work, so we went out to dinner as soon as I was ready. Very tasty grilled lemon pepper trout! He and fitzw are now trying to get their laptops to talk to each other and other technical stuff... I believe some of it has to do with getting us set up for uploading pics to the Artisans Showcase. That would be sweet, since I have photos from last EK 12th Night that I'd _really_ like to get put up. Bit by bit...

Did most of the foil insulation after lunch today, and found another leak in one of the window frames, too narrow for stuffing a plastic bag into, so I used duct tape. Finished that part of insulating after dinner and phone call to Una. Moved more storage bins back in. Will wait on installing plastic sheeting until tomorrow (If I'm lucky).

Think I'll go make some tea...