Nature Switched On - 2009 December 16 to 23

Practical Ecology

Nature Switched On

in the Pyrenees the first 10 years

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gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
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>> 2010 Jan 14
<< 2009 Dec 6

Looking north.
16 Dec 9:06

a S T A M M E R project

2009 December 16 to 23

The weather conditions toughened in the middle of this month and one night the temperature got as low as 10º below zero. And then it became clear that the service piping had to be improved because not only the drain from the house was frozen again but this time also the inlet pipe. It took some days before we had running water again.

The village with the Turbon (2492m) at the background.
Looking north-east.
16 Dec 9:08

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Just some days before I had constructed a kind of cupboard outside to hold the butane bottle and to house the in- and outlets of water and electricity. But the severe frost came when I still had to close the cupboard on all sides and wrap the tubes in isolating foam or cloth.
The wooden cupboard is screwed around two dry walls of concrete blocks and is strong enough to hold an old wine barrel to collect the rainwater from the roof.

From this cupboard I also installed electric wiring to have some lamp light under the overhang and a socket.

North face of the house with the cupboard made of salvaged boards. The red tube contains electric wires for the exterior lights.
19 Dec 9:42

Pipes, wires and the butane bottle inside the cupboard. Fortunately the butane didn't freeze.
19 Dec 9:43

This red tube for the electricity outside could be nicely fixed to the metal wire which is stapled to the OSB boards. The tube will be buried in the next layer of earth plaster.
17 Dec 13:13

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Inside the cupboard and in other strategic places I mounted digital thermometers to get an idea of the isolation and temperature buffering. In the cellar under the wooden floor (filled with straw) I measured a fairly constant temperature of 6ºC. An ideal refrigerator and place to store potatoes, so I furnished some shelves near the trap door to hold some baskets of vegetables and potatoes or the occasional saucepan.

The trap door to the underground cellar, which is 150cm high at its deepest point.
23 Dec 11:01

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The freezing and thawing of water is a complex phenomenon which in the combination with light produces an infinitive spectacle for the eye to see.

Upper pond
16 Dec 9:21

Upper pond.
16 Dec 9:23

Upper pond.
20 Dec 10:03

'Runes' of Sparganium erectum in the upper pond.
23 Dec 9:04

Lower pond.
23 Dec 9:15

Leaves of Iris pseudacorus stand like a rain bow among the dead remains. The green grass is Lolium perenne.
16 Dec 9:20

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In front of the window at the back of the house we hang some birdfeeders and they became instantly popular with the birds, especially when the snow fell. The main visitors were of course the Great tit (Parus major) and the Tomtit (Cyanistes caeruleus) with the occasional Red robin (Erithacus rubecula). Chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) don't seem to be bright enough to pick the sunflower seeds from the feeders and confine themselves to picking up the spillage on the ground.

Two Great tits and a Tomtit on the birdfeeders.
Looking north-east from the window.
19 Dec 13:33

At the end of December the weather turned very misty and wet.
North window with a solar lamp (Ikea).
22 Dec 10:16

Much less frequent on the terrain is the Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
21 Dec 11:42

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Happy Christmas and a Good New Year to you all.

Exposure time 15s.
22 Dec 18:21

introduction
floristic catalogue
faunistic catalogue
contact
index
gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
map
>> 2010 Jan 14
<< 2009 Dec 6