Son, Zach, coming home for Christmas!

We just learned Zach got his plane ticket and is good to fly home on December 21st. Yippee! It was last March when I dropped him off at JFK for his flight to Korea. That is a day a father doesn't forget. I remember him standing there with what had to be more than 100 lbs. of duffel bag and luggage, while a security guard told me I couldn't park briefly at the terminal entrance even though I was the only vehicle in sight. Sheesh! I just needed 3 minutes to help get his luggage inside. I bet if Zach were wearing his uniform we might have gotten a little respect. Solders, however do not make international flights in uniform due to terrorism.

Zach, enjoying a ride in a Black Hawk helicopter. Recently, on Zach's Facebook page, we see more and more images of him flying in Chinooks or Black Hawks. When he first got to Korea he was put in a tool room job he didn't enjoy too much. It disappointed me as well as I thought after completing AIT school at the top of his class he would immediately be involved with hands on helicopter maintenance. I guess the Army takes their time when in comes to letting a fresh out of school, 18 year old work on multi-million dollar aircraft.



Older photo of Zach and his buddies cooling off in the hot and humid Korean climate.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

As the summer days started to grow shorter I began think about our imminent departure and how we will deal with the critters we've collected on our tiny farm. Just maybe, it might be a good idea to test the waters and see if there will be any marketable interest in the agricultural accoutrements we have collected over the past few years. I took a few photos and placed some ads on Craig's List only be blown away by the response. My ad for the chicken coop drew a huge response with people as far away as Albany ready to drop everything and come for the hens and their little shack.

Sky is Falling, Miss Broody and Freckles (Roadrunner astray as usual)


Home Sweet Home




Good bye Sky is Falling, Miss Broody, Freckles and Roadrunner. We will miss your delicious eggs.



We could have sold these ladies in a flash but decided we had parted with too much already. There is always a market for handsome livestock such as these girls, so we will wait until spring. (No, goats don't eat gourds or tin cans either. They do eat poison ivy, briar bushes, brambles, hostas, fruit trees and almost anything except grass)



This year was a poor season for honey bees but I was able to sell four hives rather quickly; and just four to go. Again the interest in anything agricultural amazes me. (try to sell some antique furniture; that is an uphill battle if there ever was one)

KEETF Green Tour

On Sunday I took a tour of four alternative energy installations in Kent, CT. The tour included an institutional geothermal system, a grid tied photovoltaic system, a grid tied wind turbine system and an off grid photovoltaic, battery bank system. Despite the foul weather (constant rain mixed with snow) the tour was well attended and I was able to take some quick photos:

The geothermal system turned out to be at the South Kent School. Pictured above are the twelve "loops" that lead out underground to the geothermal wells. Aside from this the interior components don't look much different from standard HVAC ducts etc.


The first residence I visited had a grid tied 3.8 KW photovoltaic system that provided 85% of the electrical load for this house. Not too shabby for cloudy Connecticut.


The next grid tied system I viewed was a vertical axis 1 kw wind turbine. This was installed less than a week ago so no performance record was available.


The grid tied systems always include an interior CL&P meter.


North east corner of the off-grid home. Note how the north wall is largely below grade. This house is .6 miles away from the grid; the PV system really paid off here.




The 240 volt inverter, charge controller, battery bank, etc. Note the "on demand" water heater as well. This system provides about 60 amps of power and is backed up by a propane generator if needed.

Apple and Pumpkin Picking

Last week end we went to Ellsworth farm in Sharon with the Romanos to pick apples and pumpkins. The weather was perfect and the farm was packed with eager customers searching for the perfect pumpkin. We all had a good time tasting the different varieties of apples and picking the pumpkins right off the vine. There was plenty for everybody despite the crowd. You can see Ellsworth's website here: Link


Andrew can't decide which apples to pick there are so many.


John finds a pumpkin with personality.


It was a joy to spend the afternoon with these young lads.