Chapter 5: My New World

I moved into my new house in early July and got to spend a glorious summer in my new digs. Every day, giant cruise ships passed in front of me and the Gulf was alive with sailboats, cruisers and the like. I celebrated a summer of great weather that lasted all the way until the end of September and despite my loneliness, I truly enjoyed it. There were Bald Eagles in the trees nearby as well as deer, raccoons and the occasional bear that wandered by the house. I had to learn to secure the garbage, since there was no pickup and the bears were pretty clever about busting into most canisters. I stymied them by building a wooden shed just for the garbage that would give them more of a challenge than they could cope with.

During the next year I began to install my own particular needs in my home. First, the solar panels on the roof to look after heating water and a secondary supply of electricity. Second, a proper generator equipped with automatic start when the power went out. We were in an area where power supply was problematic and I didn't want to rely on Hydro. My cell phone was marginal in that location so I broke down and bought a satellite phone. It was expensive to use, but I could use it anywhere in the world. I set up my own satellite receiving system for both television and my computer. I lived by the internet and I wanted something that I could rely upon. I set up my own composting system to look after as much waste as I could; the rest of which I would take to the dump when the need arose.

I had completely redone the insulation and windows in the house with the original renovation, but I wanted a better heating system. I decided to use a combination of hot water from the tank supplied by the solar panels and a wood fireplace in the living room that would effectively heat the whole front of the house when necessary. I had a couple of portable electric heaters for individual areas if needed. The gas range and oven in the kitchen were already set up for propane and I could look after filling those tanks myself. The fridge, freezer and microwave drew little power on their own.

I had used my engineering knowhow to make the place as self sufficient and energy efficient as possible. I wanted to have as little to do with supplied services as possible and I felt like I had accomplished that. I had considered a bio-diesel powered generator, but they weren't readily available yet and I didn't feel like being a guinea pig for their development. Inadvertently, or perhaps unconsciously, I had set myself up to be a recluse. I would never admit to it, but that was the result.