Winter Realities

Rustic living is easy in the summer. Take showers, for instance - the rain barrels are never frozen, so it's easy to draw water at any time; the green house/shower is always piping hot; and if you wanted a hot shower on a hot day, it's as simple as leaving some water sitting in the sunshine for a few hours. None of these conditions existed yesterday, but a shower was necessary nonetheless. There was still several inches of snow on the ground and the temperature outside was 35 degrees. It was a gray, cloudy day, so the temperature in the greenhouse was (and I'm surprised it was even this high) only in the mid 50's. The rain barrels were all still frozen, although Joe had broken through the ice and brought some water inside, several gallons of which was steaming away on top of the wood stove. We were going to my sister's house in the evening to help decorate her Christmas tree, and I considered just showing up early and taking a shower there. Somehow that seemed like cheating, though, especially since I was already taking a load of laundry with me. :) Nope, winter has just begun, and I might as well start figuring out how to make it all work right now.

Fortunately, the sun broke through the clouds for about 10 minutes, just enough to shoot the temperature in the greenhouse up to 61 degrees. Strike while the iron is hot! I immediately mixed up a batch of hot water from the woodstove, using our dairy thermometer to ensure I didn't cool it down too much (160 degrees seemed a bit excessive, even for a cold day). Once inside the greenhouse, protected from any wind, the combination of 61 degree air and 120 degree water made for a quite delightful, albeit quick, shower. The short dash from the greenhouse back to the Shanty was invigorating, but a few moments by the woodstove chased any lingering chill away.

I was so thrilled with the success of the whole venture, I highly recommended it to Joe. His version of a hot shower, however, was to stand out in the snow and dump a bucket of hot water over his head. Well, at least it looks like we'll both have no problem surviving a whole winter in the Shanty.