Driving Big Stuff, Part 2

I mentioned in yesterday’s installment of this blog that Desiree suggested she was ready to start driving a propane truck.  Today I am posting a photo of her preferred truck driving outfit, which makes it abundantly clear she may drive the truck but she has no intention to deliver product.

Desiree’s Propane Truck Driving Outfit

—Mitchell Hegman

Driving Big Stuff

Now that our roads have once again cleared of snow and ice, Desiree has been practicing her driving.  Yesterday, she drove partway into town and partway back home again on a trip to scoop up a few groceries.

Desiree had no experience in driving before arriving in Montana.  She has struggled some with judging how to remain in her lane when navigating corners but did a great job with all of them on the way home.   As we dropped down the final hill leading us to our house, I complimented her: “You did a good job driving today.  I think you’re ready to drive a jeepney.”

Without hesitation, she responded, “I can drive a propane truck!”

A Jeepney in the Philippines

A Propane Truck in Montana

—Mitchell Hegman

Things I Have Learned by Standing in My Sunroom

• Orion stands guard above us throughout February.
• There will be fresh tomatoes and chives.
• On the outside, curved glass collects 800% more grit and grim than vertical panes.
• Naked is not always your best option.
• You can watch birds flyyyyyyyyyyy all the way by!
• It is possible to feel the weight of sunlight on you.
• Sunrooms are where dreams of gardens are born.

—Mitchell Hegman

Following the Sun

The production of electricity from a solar photovoltaic (PV) array is, obviously enough, dependent on access to sunlight.   Direct, unobstructed sunlight is optimum.  If the array is of fixed design (not tracking the sun), the production of energy on a clear day, if expressed in a graph, will form of a curve that mirrors the very arc of the sun as it climbs and crosses the sky from sunrise to sunset. 

Most PV arrays, including mine, monitor and report data relative to equipment function and energy production.  Among other things, my system can provide a graph featuring power production for the entire day.  The graph is comprised of bars representing fifteen-minute increments.

To illustrate the direct relationship between the sun’s track across the sky and energy production, I am posting a track of the sun plotted through the sky followed by a graph featuring a full day of energy production from my PV array. 

For the sake of making this more interesting, the power production graph I chose represents August 21, 2017.  On that day, a solar eclipse temporarily threw shade across Montana and eroded production on an otherwise sunny day.

Sun Track

PV System Output (With an Eclipse)

—Mitchell Hegman

Sunrise to Sunset: (https://sunrise-sunset.org)

Our Flag

I woke from a brief but particularly vivid dream late last night.  In the dream, I found myself sitting in a balcony seat high within a crowded theater.  On the stage floor below, a man dressed in a dark suit stood before a screen, speaking.  He would name a country and then say: “And this is their flag.”

Each time he did this, a flag comprised of simple blocks or stripes of color appeared on the screen.

“These are boring flags,” the speaker concluded after showing several flags.  “All of them.”

Here is our flag!” he bellowed.  With this said, the stars and stripes exploded into view on the screen.  “Our flag is joyous.  Our flag is a celebration.”

I suddenly fluttered awake.  Though now faced with darkness, the image of the U.S. flag remained imprinted within me.

—Mitchell Hegman

Dieting Made Easy

Successful dieting involves eating less as much as changing the type of foods consumed.  Staying on track when dieting is not easy.   While chatting with a buddy about dieting, he mentioned that vegetarian stuffed bell peppers provided him with a particular favorite meal.

“That would totally work as a diet meal for me,” I suggested., “because I would skip dinner if that was my only option.”

I would just as soon stomp a bell pepper to pieces as eat one.

—Mitchell Hegman

Only a Rookie Would Say That

Following a fortnight of moderating weather, winter is once more crowding my back door.  An Arctic impulse came kicking at us with bitterly cold north winds, dropping the temperature by dozens of degrees in only a few hours.  Rain turned to snow.   Snowmelt puddles all around us froze solid.

As I write this, the temperature outside stands at -2 Fahrenheit.

Only a week ago, I suggested to Desiree that we were about to stride from winter to spring.

A stupid, rookie thing to say in Montana, that.

In reality, only one statement regarding weather in Montana is accurate, and remains accurate at all times.

And here it is: “Around these parts, winter is just around the next corner.”

—Mitchell Hegman