The topiary tree (just a lightning-struck white pine)
M is off school again today and is driving us a bit crazy. We’re still stuck at home, though I did venture out yesterday for life’s necessities (milk and printer ink: such is the modern world). It is VERY cold. Too cold to go out and play, certainly.
The sheep are even hampered. I am half tempted to shovel some trails for them: they have “taken to their beds” in their shed and venture out only a few feet to their water. And our chickens have accepted that their coop is the new paradigm. I think they’re probably light-deprived. It’s quite toasty in the coop, though. I have simply made sure they get LOTS more house goodies, like fresh greens and kefir and grapes.
We’re also dealing with some frozen pipes. When we bought the house, I thought, hmm, pipes running up the outside wall of the house: maybe that’s not a problem in Michigan, but we wouldn’t do that in Minnesota. Well, it IS a problem if Michigan has Minnesota weather, it seems. It’s the cold water that services both bathrooms. So we’re making do with the bucket brigade to the toilets and very, very warm baths. The kitchen and the washer are not affected. It all feels very Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Glad you came to visit!
Got something to say? Email me at fastweedpuller at gmail dot com.
fast grow the weeds 
My stupid chickens stand outside and look at each other while the heat lamp and water heater labor away in the coop. Although they probably wouldn’t do that if there was three feet of snow. How many more weeks til Spring?
Ah, Meredith, my poor birds would be doing (and did) the same thing before the snow got too deep (read: up to where their feathers poof out). Have you put your lights on a timer? It has been so damned cold here I turned the timer off and just “let it burn.” So very anti-peak-oil of me, I know, but the poor chookies. They’re so sad!
Pipes on the outside! that is odd to see. In my native south Texas, none of the pipes were insulated and they typically entered the house above grade. So on the colder nights (below freezing – egad!) people leave a faucet running at the other end of the house to keep the water moving so the pipes won’t freeze & burst.
Okay, technically the pipes are not on the outside wall of the house; they’re within a furred-out plumbing chase that’s attached to an outside wall. And I guess it’s not TOO outside because it’s sheltered by an unheated porch. Whatever: it’s still a poor practice. But then again, the bathrooms were an afterthought to this house. They went in in the 1920s sometime (the house was built in 1918). It ticks me off, as there’s nothing I can do about it except complain!! We’re about 18* below average for low temps, so I guess it’s never been a problem before. Though we may need to start keeping the water running…
I didn’t put it on a timer. I’ve just been letting it burn all day since it hasn’t been getting above the low teens. I did turn it off this morning as it will be a balmy 20 something, but it will probably go back on overnight if it is in the single digits again. Plus the water heater doesn’t work below 10 degrees, so gotta keep that from freezing up. They tried to take a dust bath on Sunday and the soil was frozen solid, I felt so bad for them.
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• The base is filled with water to the depth dictated by the bong. Water quality can include use of tap water, which may promote mineral buildup, or distilled water, which deposits less residue on the smoking equipment and is easier on lungs. Sometimes other liquids are used, e.g., lime water, giving the smoke a different taste. More rarely, liquids like Coca-Cola and herbal teas are used. However, such liquids can make cleaning difficult and time-consuming.
• The substance to be smoked is packed into the bowl and ignited. Cigarette lighters and matches are commonly used for ignition. Packing the bowl is a balance between filling it with enough substance to create a useful amount of smoke and leaving enough room for air to be sucked through the substance.
When inhaling, the volume of the lungs increases, causing the air in the lungs to decrease in pressure. The air in the lungs is then at a lower pressure than the air in the atmosphere. The pressure difference causes a flow of air from outside of the bong through the bowl picking up smoke from the burning substance. The smoke then bubbles through water and on into the chamber where it is temporarily held. Once the chamber is full to the smokers desired capacity, the hole above the water level is uncovered, either the bowl is pulled out of the stem, or, in bongs with an attached bowl a “carb” or “Shotgun” (a small hole that is covered by the thumb) is uncovered and the smoke is inhaled into the lungs. Once in the lungs, the active chemicals in the smoke are absorbed into the blood stream.
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