Frost & Fog

It is a frosty, foggy morning today. We got down to 22 degrees last night, but we're up on top of the ridge. I know that lower-lying areas had colder temps.

This morning when I stepped onto the front porch / entrance to grab an apple for Tom's lunch (freshly picked from my folks' orchard), I came in with my nose wrinkled and exclaimed, "Pee-uuuw! Low pressure today, and I smell the paper mill!" Tom asked, "Are you sure it's not the septic tank again?" No, given the thick fog, I was pretty sure it was the result of the air pressure. But, there was no smell outside when Tom pulled the car out of the garage, so now I'm not so sure. And, BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY (ah-hem!), my second guessing is going to make me unscrew the top of the tank today to take a peek. Keep your fingers crossed!

My broody hen is still sitting, BUT she was off the eggs long enough the other day for them to feel pretty cool to the touch. So, I'm worried that they've gone bad. And, I think it was my fault that she was gone so long: I was holding out for Tom to drive the 3 1/2 hours south to pick up more feed last Friday, and so, aside from scratch, she didn't have anything handy to eat. So, I think she went out foraging. If this is the case, it's my bad and the loss of 11 eggs. :( But, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she knows what she's doing, and that there's at least one viable chick in there that's causing her to keep setting.

Along the same line, I FINALLY found an egg yesterday! Yes, AN (as in, singular) egg. Aside from the eggs in Mrs. Broody's box, the chickens have been going thru the WORST molt I've ever seen them have, and I haven't seen an egg in over 2 weeks, I'll bet. (I wish I'd kept track.) Maybe it's just that they have really good hearing, though, and needed some incentive: it was just yesterday morning when I said to Tom, "If those chickens don't start laying, we're gonna do a massive butchering right after the busyness of the holidays! I ain't feedin' all winter if they're not layin'!" ;)

I need to take pictures of my latest batch of hats. I have the 5 hats for that set of grandchildren 90% done. I finally got all their measurements, so now I can finish the bottoms, make & add tassels / pompoms, and sew up all the loose ends (no pun intended). In between my work on those, Tom asked for a black hat with purple accents, so I whipped that up. As it was progressing, he said that it needed some zip and requested the addition of a bright, spring green. I asked, "Are you SURE?"

I'll have to post a picture of that one. Personally, I don't care for it. I think it looks too immature for a 55 year old man to wear. And, he's only worn it once. And that was here, at home. So, I think he agrees with me. It may just disappear one of these days and reinvent itself as just a black & purple hat!

And, I'm finishing a floppy red-with-red/pink-accents hat right now. It's sitting here on the chair arm right next to me. I really love it, but I don't think they are "my" colors. So, it will go into the Gift or To Sell pile.


I got 19 pints of Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Applesauce processed yesterday, and that felt good to get done. I really enjoy "putting up". There's such a sense of satisfaction that comes from it. ESPECIALLY when the food is free, save your time. I can't imagine NOT doing something with it! Now I'm on to an attempt at hard cider . . . but I don't have a cider press (nor a juicer). I'm going to put it thru a meat grinder in the hopes of squeezing enough liquid out that way. And, if that fails, no worries: more applesauce! :) (I put the applesauce in such small containers because they will be Christmas presents for the babies / parents-of-babies I know. And, the last thing you want is for something to spoil before it gets used up!)

Yet Another Lesson

Today, class, we are going to discuss septic system maintenance. Lest you think that septic systems require no maintenance save the "every 3-5 years" pumping out . . . well, you are just wrong. At least regarding modern, safe, "legal" septic tanks.


Here we are, watching the system here at Swamp River Ridge being installed back in July of '06. That was only 2 months before we moved in, so I guess our theory of it not working because it sat stagnant with very little use for a couple of years is not correct!

We never had any problems with the septic tank at our first little house. Why? Because it had been installed back in the 70s when you could get away with a massive amount of polluting atrocities. Back then, there was no filter at the outlet leading to the drain field. And, there was always a good "draw" in the drain field. Why? Because it emptied right into a small stream that ran under the road and right into Lake Superior! Good for our septic system, BAAAAAAD (and really disgustingly gross) for the crown jewel of northeastern Minnesota!

Now, though, systems are located properly (AWAY from watersheds!), and the bane of the septic system installer is The Filter.


At the point where the liquid leaves the holding tank and empties into the drainfield (leaving the sludge in the tank to be pumped out at intervals), there is now a (mandatory) filter. (See above photo, taken back on Valentine's Day [nice] of '07 when the system froze due to lack of insulation, i.e. snow. Inside that vertical PVC tube is the filter.)

The reason for the filter is to ensure that no solids get into the drainfield - both for sanitary reasons & to prevent potential blockage. It's a good idea, but the technology has yet to catch up to the theory. See, these filters have two nasty drawbacks. #1, they have a tendency to refuse to lock in place, thereby popping up and causing a jam at the outflow point (which, in turns, backs up your system). #2, they clog up with solids really easily (which also backs up your system).

The latter is what we believe happened to us this time. Some people, up here in the Land of Septic Systems (vs. city sewer), don't even put toilet paper down their toilets! They've had too much experience with the paper not breaking down properly and thereby plugging the tank. One of my dear friends has a covered pail sitting next to both toilets in their 4-person house. And, each day, the contents are incinerated. Voila! No septic issues.

Besides the tales of blocked filters, we've also heard of another - perhaps the bigger - injustice done to septic systems these days. Are you ready? Dum, dum, dummmmm . . . (drumroll, please) . . . SOFT, THICK TOILET PAPER!

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that thicker TP degrades and breaks down MUCH more slowly than a thin, preferably recycled TP would.

And, if you stop and take time to think about it, toilet paper has been getting thicker and softer and "more quilted" through the years. The last batch we purchased was more like FABRIC than paper! And, while this may make sensitive-bummed folks happy, it AIN'T good for your septic system. Besides, I learned a while ago that the really thick, luxurious stuff uses a long-strand wood fiber than can be found only in OLD-GROWTH trees! So, you're doin' bad by the environment by using that stuff, too.

So, where does this leave us?

Well, about a month ago, when I started smelling sewer gas coming up the drain each time the washing machine emptied, it should have set off an alarm. When I started smelling sewer gas when I was walking near the tank a week or so ago, it should have set off an alarm. And, it did, but I passed it off with, "Oh, I must be paranoid. We just had the tank pumped last year - it CAN'T be that again!"

If I had mentioned these things to Tom, he would have told me that he smelled it just yesterday when he was outside but thought he was imagining things, too. We would have put two and two together and . . . popped the tops on the tank to see what was going on. But, we didn't.

So, our lesson learned is this: we're going to use only thinner, more biodegradable TP from now on, and we're going to make cleaning out the septic tank filter a regular, extremely unpleasant habit. (Oh, yes - you have to reach your arm DOWN INTO that PVC pipe to extract the filter!!) Hopefully, by adhering to these new Septic System Rules, we can eliminate (ha! pun not intended!) future problems. Keep your legs crossed* for us.

* Pun fully intended. ;)

Ya Know . . . .

On occasion, my dear husband has been a bit . . . well, let's just say 'bellicose' . . . about the seemingly never ending parade of small disasters that seem to befall a small homestead like ours. And, those things never bothered me like they did him. After all, that's just part of living this sort of lifestyle, right?

Yeah, well . . . .

Tonight while Tom and I were upstairs relaxing after a junky pizza dinner and watching Marilyn Monroe in 'Some Like It Hot', the septic tank was backing up into the house.

Literally bubbling and burbling up the drain in the bathroom like a happy little brook.

It was running under the bathroom wall and flooding the kitchen pantry floor . . . which was stacked with absorbent cardboard container upon container of empty bottles I was saving to make homemade pop with.

It was seeping underneath the wall between the pantry and downstairs bath into the dining room.

That septic tank has not worked properly since we moved in. This I know. At first, we thought it was because it had sat basically empty for a year or two before use.

Then we thought we were introducing too much water which was diluting the "good" bacteria. So, I stopped taking in our massage therapist's washing.

Since I, in particular, use the potty a LOT, I began subscribing to the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" theory. (Yuck.)

But, obviously, none of our above-listed possible errors were the problem.

Our system was put in by a dear friend. Someone whom I would trust with my LIFE. We would hire no one else to do our excavating, our heavy machinery contracting. Our septic system.

So, where have things gone wrong?

Suddenly, I am exhausted. I'm going to bed.

I love this life, but, ya know . . . there are times!