When you live off grid,  system problems, successes and upgrades are frequently the topic.. Hard to get away from system talk as there is never a moment in our off grid lives when all of the systems are working as they should or as we hope they will one day.. It is what makes life interesting to us… The constant problems. You cannot live off grid if you don’t enjoy the challenges of every day activities without common modern conveniences.. ie…. showering with limited water…… maintaining a truck without a mechanic, getting propane to your house down a narrow pathway on a cliff… The challenges are constant… If you have a question or can’t solve a problem, there is usually someone on the island who can help.

One of our neighbours helped with the pond question. (pink pond) .. She  is in the biz so to speak and sent this explanation to AW.  

I took a guess that it was probably a bacterial bloom, and from what I can read it probably is. Purple sulphur bacteria bloom in ponds where there is a build up of plant matter – and the pond becomes anoxic and filled with hydrogen sulphide. The bacteria use the sulphur instead of oxygen to create the energy needed to fix carbon in what is known as “chemosyntheisis”….a really ancient lineage of bacteria. They are not a problem….just part of the process in some lakes and ponds.

We have found  that the problems and questions are constant living here.There is never a moment when all of our boats, trucks, houses and bodies are functioning as they are supposed to function. Our challenges are compounded as we are involved in two houses. If we are healthy and everything is working as it should at our place… that is when a tree lands on the family truck    

or an otter attacks one of the dogs…

We had to either accept it, embrace it or simply go mad. It is the price of living here. Yesterday all of the trucks, boats and houses were working… but my laptop inexplicably froze. E wasn’t here to wave his magic hands over it… I stopped short of throwing it off the cliff and set aside the newsletter writing.. Went back to the garden… Way less stress.

Moved the tomatoes into pots just a little bigger.. They were looking kind of leggy.. The squash never did come up so I will start again. I also made a huge mistake of watering the seed starter compound… It probably rotted the squash seeds.. I am still trying to dry the bin of soil out in front of the fire.. I guess it is all peat and just soaked the water in like a sponge.. who knew??  I have learned so much this spring.. Hopefully some of the seedlings will survive my mistakes.                       

Final bill to fix the car was $150.00. Our neighbours recommended an awesome new mechanic in the local village. His hourly rate is 60% less that what we paid in the city at Christmas time. He works out of his house. Is a very nice young man with a great set up.. Finding him was a positive result of the vandalism… We had him put a metal sleeve around the gas line to prevent further cuts.. Fingers crossed as we can’t afford these problems which we can’t repair ourselves.

The hummingbirds have come back in crowds.. We have three feeders. We are going through two cups of sugar, six cups of syrup a day…. It is an expense that I                 

don’t mind paying