Winter Survival

Continuing snow and sub-freezing weather is keeping us contained indoors, but Jeanette is keeping busy trying to keep our hummingbird juice feeder, located outside on our balcony, working. In this photo, taken yesterday, with the temperature at 18 degrees, you can see that leaking juice has made icicles! It's been quite entertaining to watch the Anna's Hummingbirds fight for control of the feeder.  For my part, I venture outside several times a day to check on the campervan where I have the thermostat for the propane furnace set at 40 degrees to keep the freshwater system from freezing. One thing I hadn't counted on was the snow, which turned to solid ice, has covered the solar panel. The batteries which provide electricity to run the furnace are normally kept charged by the solar panel. I have had to resort to running the engine several times a day to make sure the batteries keep charged.  A few more days to go before we get out of the freezing weather.