Wood-burning stove, check.
Water supply tank, check.
Still working to bring our basic off-grid utilities into service a month after arrival, so here’s an update on how the pieces are coming together.
Blog
Going to town
Many people make trips to ‘town’ to fulfill their basic needs, including entertainment. For us, this trip is not an option. It is a necessity.
The little things
After nearly four full weeks of living off-grid, we’re starting to recognize the daily rhythm and truly appreciate our beautifully rustic surroundings. We’re challenging ourselves to stay home for as many days we can, and so far have made it five before needing to go to town for one reason or another. Going thirty days will be a true feat we’re looking forward to accomplishing!!
Confessions
We’ve done a real good job of highlighting all our successes so far, but I did want to reveal a few of the not-so-joyous frustrations we’ve encountered over the past few weeks to give everyone a true picture of what’s been going on around here.
I confess…
Under cover
Coming into ‘monsoon season‘ here, we wanted to make sure the yurt was trimmed out appropriately with a stylish and functional rain awning. Ben and I examined a few different places to harvest precious rainwater with this tarp and barrel rigging, but we ultimately decided to kill two birds with one stone, as they say, by creating the front door rain cover AND a catchment all in one.
Back to reality?
Monday came and went with little fanfare. Ben and I both woke warmly to sun streaming inside the yurt. The teakettle went on quickly to start us up for our first day of telecommuting. Power was plentiful and we hungrily gobbled bandwidth on our wi-fi while still in our nightclothes. It was definitely refreshing to be in touch with old office mates and inquisitive colleagues while enjoying the New Mexican mountain splendor.
Perfectly posh potty
The moment we’ve all been waiting for… A REAL place to poop!! It may not look like much, but this custom-built unit provides a comfortable and sanitary perch to take care of daily business without the use of a shovel! 😉
Power on!!
Against our bodies’ protests, we are still pressing forward with our aggressive start-up schedule… Yesterday, we successfully brought the PV system on-line and fired up the Internet in the yurt! HOORAY!! This was a critical element in putting together our master plan, and everything worked like a charm.
Super Ger!!
We were under the gun on Friday to position and assemble the platform in time for the yurt arrival on Saturday morning. It sounded a lot simpler than it really was.
Breaking ground
Armed with pick axe, shovel, rake, and line levels, we go to prep the chosen yurt site and come to discover there is no way we could possibly move the baked-clay soil from the high point of the slope to the lowest with only hand tools.