One of the ginormous drawbacks about this planned move into town over the next few years, and as we age, is having the house be grid-tied; apparently, it’s the law. And, to make matters worse, after 15 years of living without having to pay an electricity bill, we will now have to, at a minimum, pay $15 just to be attached. So. The current plan is to have solar panels on the roof of Allegro Confusione. But people rave about geothermal’s benefits.

About a year ago, we started discussing, Carl and I, the long-term reality of Darwin’s View, ten, fifteen years from now. That time will be here before we know it, assuming we live so long. And the question is, will we continue to live at Darwin’s View?

Here are some photos of the salt water batteries being loaded out of the house to their pick up destination. Carl found a company that will recycle and repurpose them. Apologies to anyone who had hoped for a very large paperweight!

As we returned home from voting, Carl and I enjoyed a different view of Mt. Monadnock: from downtown. Carl noted the many angles of the mountain one can see from the different points of this region, and what a different impression they give. I ran with that thought to perspectives, and how many people there are in the world, each with their own views and opinions. And that returned me, like a boomerang, to a topic that I’ve attempted to write about a few times.

Here we are at Darwin’s View! How fabulous and bracing when the electricity in half of the house turns off, usually during a Zoom business meeting or cocktail hour. Our salt water batteries aren’t as robust as they used to be. Only five years old, this winter has exposed their weakness: an inability to deal with power surges.