Fall Reprieve

One of the things that I am always aware of is resources: 

• How much I have? 

• How much I’m using?

• How long they will last.

Just for clarification, when I say “Resources” I mean: 

1. Water

2. Propane

3. Electricity

4. Gasoline

5. (Black and Grey) Storage Tank Capacity

I don’t list food, because, as yet, food is always available at a store and I always have a ready supply of it. Going hungry is not a worry for me, at least not yet. Running out of propane in the middle of the night is.

For that matter, running out of electricity so much so that the furnace won’t work, or any number of other things to come up short when I really need them. This is why I keep a wary eye on my resources.

When you live in a fixed address, you just don’t think about your resources. You want water? You turn a tap and as much water as you want comes out. 

You want electricity? That magic plug in the wall will give you all of the electricity you could ever want, as long as you make regular sacrifices (of cash) to the god of utilities.

Heat? In winter? Just turn up the thermostat (or if you’re the one paying the heating bill) put on a sweater. Freezing at night is not a worry.

This is just the way that things are and I guess, how things should be, or not, that’s debatable. After all, I am inadvertently, probably the “Greenest” person that I know, as my “Carbon Footprint” is probably pretty low.

Yet you don’t drive across the city hoping to find one water faucet that you have (legal and ethical) access to so you can fill your water tank is still turned on.

Doing so, being able to fill your water tank will mean that you can shower and wash your hands in your sink using the luxury of your taps. 

Otherwise it is pouring water from a jug over each hand to get them wet, then lather up with soap and finally rising again with the same jug. 

If I am in Spring/Fall mode, then the water goes down the sink drain. If I am in Winter Mode, then this ritual is done over a plastic tub, after which the water is poured out over a nearby shrub or bush.

So, for me, when I drove up this last Sunday to that one RV dump station that is open in the North East of the city I was happy to find that the water tap was turned on. 

Sure, the sewer access dump was padlocked, that I could deal with. I have a place that I can dump year-round, in my Eastern Home. They haven’t had water going on two years now, with no plans to change that any time soon.

Since I was able to fill my water tank, I can still enjoy Summer Mode, which means everything is active. This is a treat that I enjoy during winter like the warm weather and the light breeze blowing through Wanda.

I still pump my drinking/cooking water out of that blue jug and I still have a reserve five gallons of water standing by. This is to conserve water and stretch out my water so as to be able to have four maybe five showers per tank fill. 

The one thing you never want to run fully out of is water . . . or propane . . . or electricity . . . and gasoline for the generator as well . . . in winter, those storage tanks are dry though.

So, while it is still the middle of August, I still drive up to that RV Dump station with trepidation, wondering if this will be the week that they have finally turned that tap off. 

Doing so will force me into Spring/Fall mode, meaning no water in my pipes, yet I can still use my Grey/Black water tanks. 

This means, sure I can still use my toilet but it means showering with a jug of warm water while standing in the shower. Then there is the washing of hands and dishes using nothing but water heated in the kettle. 

This is a small price to pay for being 19 Going on 83.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive and keep moving forward!