Sagebrush & Solar

This isn’t much of an update, especially if you’re familiar with the recent weather in the Treasure Valley.

If you’re not familiar, it’s been a record breaking wet winter. We generally have mild winters, with a few harsh days and some snow days sprinkled in. However, this year has been markedly damp, with back-to-back days of rain and snow.

The precipitation – mixed with below freezing temperatures – make stacking block really difficult. Imagine putting water in your Legos, placing them in the freezer, and then attempting to building something — it doesn’t work well, and more time is spent digging out ice and snow than actual stacking.

Wind has also been a factor. A beautiful, clear day can feel like 20 degrees when the wind is blasting at 15mph. This week, we had some freak microbursts of 40mph winds, which sent a small Rubbermaid shed and a barbecue tumbling.

We have a new goal pour date: by the second week in April. General Contractor Dad leaves for 6-8 weeks for his actual paying job out of state, so we have every pair of fingers (and toes) crossed that we can pour before he leaves.

We’re about five months behind at this point, and have simply resigned ourselves to the fact/idea that we likely won’t be move-in ready until August or September. I told Keith I’d just reeeally like to be moved in before winter hits.

The weather gave us enough of a break this weekend to allow Keith and Dad to put up scaffolding, an important bit in order to lay the top layers of block. They also adjusted rebar. I brought Luke out to see the progress (and to snap some photos “for the followers”).

Keith has a very busy schedule with work and work trainings this month, so we’re hoping the weather works in our favor on his few days off. Ultimately, we can’t influence the weather — so we’re just along for the ride.