And while I was squirrelling away food...

Nova Scotia Power does not service Pictou Island, nor is there a gas station to procure fuel. So while I took the lead on stockpiling copious amounts of food this fall, Rob was largely responsible for acquiring our fuel-gas, propane, and hardwood, in addition to all the materials for his winter work no less.

Solar panels secured to the roof (after Dorian toppled them from their first home!)

The cottage is powered by twelve 305W solar panels. We have eight large batteries for storage. This system provides ample power to run our household until November, when we began relying on the generator to charge our batteries as the days are shorter and greyer. Sunny days take on a whole new meaning when you rely on solar power! We have a remote in the house to monitor our system, which helps us decide not only when we need to run the generator, but when we should do a load of laundry. In the summer I do laundry early on sunny days when we are taking in more power than we can store, while this time of year I do it in the evenings when the generator is running.

Inverter and controller to run our power

Batteries to store all that sun

As a child, my father insisted our family cottage was a camp to keep us dry from the rain. We had lights that we only used to find our pajamas at night and mostly went to bed when the sun went down. We only had an outhouse until I finished high school and we didn't have running water until after my father died. Of course, back then, my parents paid $1000 for a 90W solar panel. Meanwhile, last year, our 305W panels were just over $3000 for all twelve (not including the large cost of the inverter of course). We can run most of the luxuries of home, including wifi, a TV in the living room and bedroom, and a microwave. It would likely take some close inspection for a mainlander to even determine we were living off grid. In addition to the generator, we needed to secure enough fuel to operate our vehicles for five months. Now Pictou Island is only about nine and a half kilometers long and and two and a half kilometers wide and has three public roads, but it does add up. We purchased six barrels and filled them with supreme, along with all of our jerry cans. Fortunately, we have a boat so we don't generally rely on the fuel run, but once a month during the ferry season, you can order regular fuel or propane. Of course, then you need somewhere to store this fuel. A wood shed is in our winter plans, but for this year, we have the fuel at my mother's cottage. We are burning the last of our fuel from the jerry cans tonight, so tomorrow we will be going to Kay's and cracking in to our first of our six barrels. There is ample softwood on the island, but hardwood is more difficult to come by. We were busy late summer and fall constructing the addition, so we ended up deciding to purchase wood on the mainland. We were able to find hardwood pre-loaded on pallets and purchased thirteen pallets, which we also brought over on our boat. Each pallet is equivalent to one third of a true cord. The wood stove is our only source of heat in the cottage. Fortunately, it is well insulted and Rob rushed to add skirting before the cold weather sets in. Meanwhile, this week his project was building a dog house for the generator. I no longer call it a to do list, but rather a chapter book.

One of two boatloads of wood making its way to the island. Note Rob at the stern, which means Captain Jenn is behind the wheel

Our kitchen stove and hot water are fueled by propane. We filled eight propane 100 pound propane tanks, which also had to be lugged to the island. Mom bought us a hot water on demand for Christmas, which should cut down on our propane usage and help us conserve this valuable resource.

Earlier today I was asked how we determined how much we needed of each of item, as if I was in possession of some secret formula. I wish I could tell you that I knew the answer and we have the right amount of everything. If we had known earlier (than October 30th!) that we would be spending the winter here, one would have kept track of how long each item we use lasted us. Of course, as you now know, some of it depends of the amount of sun or cold we have (or for laundry detergent, how quickly we get the new puppy potty trained). We had some basic ideas of how often we fill the truck with fuel or change the propane tank of the kitchen stove. We also asked the seasoned veterans for their input, but ultimately every home is different, each with a different system, as well as habits. Unlike most homes, we are both working full-time, for example. More often our decisions were based on financial or logistical constraints, such as how much fuel can I justify buying, how many barrels can I find to fill, or how many pallets of wood will fit on the boat. Ultimately, we tried to prepare as well as we could based on our limited experience, but at the end of the day, we have no idea if we have enough. In two months, I may be cooking on the woodstove to conserve propane; these essentials won't be coming on the plane!

In the meantime, I hear the generator purring so it is time to put that load of laundry on!