Off Grid

Carbon Footprint

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Laura

I took a test this morning to see what the carbon footprint for Tiny House Ontario is.

Here are the results

House 0.03 metric tons of CO2
Flights 0.00 metric tons of CO2
Car 0.00 metric tons of CO2
Motorbike 1.22 metric tons of CO2
Bus & Rail 0.00 metric tons of CO2
Secondary 1.76 metric tons of CO2

Total = 3.01 metric tons of CO2

It went on to say:

  • Your footprint is 3.01 metric tons per year
  • The average footprint for people in Canada is 20.00 metric tons
  • The average for the industrial nations is about 11 metric tons
  • The average worldwide carbon footprint is about 4 metric tons
  • The worldwide target to combat climate change is 2 metric tons

It is a pretty good result, but I have to say that I am very surprised to learn that I am over consuming in the secondary section.  Here are the answers that I gave:

Carbon Footprint Screen Shot 2013-01-18 at 2.44.03 PM

I guess this means that next year I have to hope for a better growing year so that I can reap as much as I sow. I am not sure how else I can reduce really as my bike is essential for me to get around and I really don’t buy much besides food and things to complete THO.  This gives me a lot to think about!

What are your results?  Do you see any way that you can reduce this number?

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Update: I just found that an acre of 15 year old forest will carry 1-2 cubic metres of carbon per acre.  THO forest is at least 9.5 acres of forest which means that it likely carries at least 19 cubic meters… not sure still what the different measurements are, but this does make me feel a little better.

Categories: Off Grid, Open your eyes, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario, View | Tags: , , , | 11 Comments

Qanik

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Laura

Snowflake

There are a lot of people who believe that our Canadian Inuit have a huge number of words to describe snow.  This of course is just a fanciful urban legend.  In English we have a similar variety of words to Inuit language that describes snow and snow conditions, such as: snow, sleet, slush, ice rain, blizzard, blustery and snowing…

Even so, last night as the snow fell I wished that there was a lovely succinct Inuit or English word that I could ascribe to the sort of snow that fell here in Hamilton.  The conditions were absolutely ideal; just cold enough, no wind at all and a very light number of flakes forming.  This made the flakes huge all about a half centimetre across and perfect large crystal formation like a billion glass renditions of paper snowflakes falling.  They fell like feathers, magically, resisting landing, dancing slowly to the earth.

The Inuit word for falling snow is qanik but this does not describe the perfect snowfall.  Indeed, it was just the sort of snowfall that made me wish I was at THO, in the night forest, with a flashlight, to catch the fleeting, breathtaking art show that Mother Nature prepared.

My home community tell me that there has been a powerful lot of snow at THO.  They had a blast and there is around two feet that have fallen.  My cousin Kenny has ploughed me out so I can drive right in, when I go up next week for a few days.  I have a new propane heater called a Propane Buddy with an adapter that allows it to be connected to a large propane cylinder.  It is designed to heat 200 square feet and cost me $129 Canadian.  I can’t wait to give it a whirl!  I am hoping it is very effective.  While I don’t intend to use propane as a permanent solution, I am hoping that it is an adequate temporary fix until I move forward with wood.   I mean, look at all those dead sticks that I can burn off and thus keep the land looking tidy!

Tiny House in Snow

Categories: Forest, Nature, Off Grid, Ontario, Open your eyes, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario, View | 2 Comments

Newfoundland Knife Box

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Laura

Because he is an incredibly talented and thoughtful man, my cousin Vernie made me a Newfoundland knife box.  It was crafted, he explained, from left over butternut that he built the THO table from.  I myself had never heard of one of these and I have since googled it and was not able to find such a thing on the internet.  This is either owing to my terrible googling skills or that they are something that long ago went out of fashion.  Vernie makes all sorts of really cool reproduction stuff like this: games, grind stones, tools and loads of beautiful objects.  I expect that he read about these knife boxes in a history book at one time, and just decided to give it a whirl.

I have not tried using it yet, but I will tell you what is is for and how it works.

Newfoundland Knife Box

This is specifically designed to be brought out on a fishing boat and it is used to sharpen knifes.  On the back there is a hole that slides over a nail head and then drops down about an inch over the head.  This allows the heavy box to stay level even when the boat is not level.  The box itself is kept heavy because it is filled with sand.  When one wants to use it you lay it down and the sand falls down on the long board.

Ready to use

The long hardwood board with the sand on it becomes the surface in which the knife is sharpened.   Apparently you just whet the knife in the sand the same way as you would a whet stone.

Anyone ever seen one of these?

Vernie always make the coolest, most beautiful and interesting stuff!  He is going to brand it for me next time I am home.  😀

UPDATE: Look what I found tonight!  Only $450 for an old one.  I wonder what a new one is worth?

Welsh knife box

Since I am writing on a nautical theme, I will share that I was at the waterfront today in Hamilton, Ontario.  Something HUGE there!  At 220 metres long and 23 metres wide it is hard to miss! I snuck up the the ladder to the top and stood on the deck of the big ship Algoma Quebecois. I wonder how many Tiny Houses would fit on this?  It is over 73 times longer than THO.

Laura and the not so tiny boat

Categories: Off Grid, Ontario, Open your eyes, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario, View | Tags: , , , | 7 Comments

Wichtelhütte

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Laura

Wichtelhütten Ontario

A message came through via email yesterday.  Richard, a friend from Germany, was hoping to get a photo from Canada.  The photo is for some sort of a competition.  Although it is not clear exactly what it is about he needed an image from as far away geographically from Germany as possible and the photo has to have the word Wichtelhütte in it.

Wichtelhütte means gnome house or little people house.  The irony that I live (~half the year) in a Tiny House with a bunch of Gnomes placed in the surrounding forest was not lost on me.  How could I resist?

I enjoyed a wonderful Solstice at my Wichtelhütte, a Norse Yule with friends in Kingston, Christmas with my sister and her family in the countryside, and today a smooth trip back to Hamilton to have a further holiday celebration with family here.

My days are currently filled with fun stuff to do with people who hold great meaning to me, and lots of wonderful things to eat too.  Life is great!

No matter how you choose to spend the last days of December 2012 I hope that you have enjoyed days as wonderful as those I have shared with my loved ones.

Wichtelhütten

Categories: Off Grid, Ontario, Open your eyes, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario, View | Tags: , | 12 Comments

Winter Blankets

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Laura

I arrived at THO yesterday at about 3:00 pm it was below freezing in the house but with no thermometer I can only guess that the temperature inside the house was exactly the same as the car told me -3 degrees.

I turned on the propane camp heater and also lit a gel fireplace can that I placed on a sheet of salvaged marble.  These are about $5. (Canadian funds) and work very well to heat a space fast… as long as you are very careful with the 6 inch high flames.  In an all wooden house I keep mine a couple of feet away  from the wall unless I am right beside it.

Canned heat

After everything was turned on, I left the house to let it heat while I went to the city to pick up a few items and join my friend G for dinner.

When we left I found that it had been snowing so the drive home on the rural roads was treacherous.  When I arrived the canned heat was empty and the propane cylinder had run out but the place was significantly warmer… see this on the new thermometer.

51 degrees! Woot!

When I woke the propane was still working and the temperature was exactly the same.  Outside there was a clear change from the night of snow.  See?

Snow at Tiny House Ontario

Categories: Forest, Nature, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario | 3 Comments