 Hello? Hey. What's going on? It wasn't tight. Yeah, it was. Or you're going to get higher height. Dump it in the tube if we head to. Can you pump it in? Maybe we have to call someone else, because that seems crazy. Okay. We're going to take all day. It's not going to be the same strength. It's going to be the same time. You're going to call someone else? Yeah. That works. I have to say I am pretty nervous for today. All the thoughts are going on in my head of what could possibly go right, but also what could possibly go wrong. Everything really needs to be perfect today. Yikes! I say we're putting the solar up just in time. So you might be wondering, it looks completely shaded here. And yes, you're right. It does. On the ground. However, we're going the TPM 12, which is a single pole mount system, but we're doing that times two. However, the first panel is going to be six feet in the air with the top one being over 11 feet tall. If you look at the trees, they have sun even four feet high. I'm really happy that our ground mount system actually didn't work out. Everything happens for a reason. That's what you call a rock. That's a big rock. This terrain is far too rocky for these screw piles. We actually wouldn't have got enough sun in the wintertime on the bottom panels, which then gives you less electricity to harvest through at the day as we only have 1.5 hours of actual sunlight in the winter months. That's what we call a happy accident. Summer's over, but you're keeping it hot. I stay right next to you like it's my favorite spot. Keep holding you close like you're all that I got as this autumn leaves fall down. All right. Everything is now measured out. We decided to only go with the one hole and start digging before we measure the second one because basically we don't want the first array to shade the second array. There's really no point of us measuring out the second array as who knows what we're going to hit in our rocky ground. The hole might change slightly, so it's best to play it safe. Our solar array. Such a surreal moment really. It failed one time. Let's hope it doesn't fail this time. Don't you feel like your head's been spinning today? Oh. Just taking like a deep breath and imagine a solar array. I'm like I was so nervous, but now I feel like I've got a little bit more of a I can breathe. Yeah. We still have quite a few big decisions to make today, but I think we're going to nail it. I hope so. That's 10 feet. It looks way deeper, hey? I don't even know if the camera can do it justice. Just how deep that hole is in the earth. Wow. You are the best. Are you serious? Screaming lady. I can't take credit, Paige made it. I have to say today is such a special day. It's so nice to have friends here. Just the other day we picked up Colin and Paige, who are great friends of ours, and they're here for the week. And they're here on this very special day where we set up our solar. I'm so excited that they're here. And Colin looked at us this morning because we hadn't eaten yet. And he was like, don't worry, we're going to keep you fed. So sweet. All right. So before we put the solar tubes in the hole, now that it's prepared, we are going to put some stone in the bottom. And that has a lot of purposes, like for example, drainage, but also getting the solar tube completely straight and flat, sitting on an even surface. So we're going to start with some two inch because it is really mucky down there. And then we're going to put some three quarter inch clear stone on top. Because that's the instructions Colin for. And we're following the instructions to a tip. I'm not going to lie everyone, there had been some confusion on certain things of what to get based on different things. And Crystal was the problem solver. She project managed the entire situation calm, cool, and collectively. And now we are set up for success. That's exactly why we actually had to end the last week's blog early because Crystal literally did so much preparing. And like this day actually wouldn't be happening right now if it wasn't for her. This place looks like a true construction site today. Materials everywhere, machines going, lots of different bodies moving around. It's so exciting. Porter's finally back filling the very first hole. I can't get over it. It's surreal. It's faster than I thought. Yeah. So he's being extra careful right now to make sure he doesn't move the tube. Yeah. And then that steel tube goes in it when the cement comes. Yeah. Okay. They can do hard things. Us, we just watch. So you need between 8 to 10 feet in the ground. And we hit, well Porter hit 9. Woo! That's with gravel and everything and then back filling. So that's it. It's pretty perfect. It looks amazing. Okay. Adam arrived just in time because like we said the second pole is super important because you don't want the first one to shade it or. Mathematics. And he's really good at math. He tried to get me to do algebra the other day. Trials. With the shadow. All about trying. I said Adam I haven't even had my coffee yet. I'll do that another day. I have to say it's really good to have a community of people around you who have a little bit of knowledge in the back of their pocket because Adam showed up at the right time. We were putting those solar arrays a little bit too close together where the shadows you know in the late evening or the early morning might have casted on each other. So we did some quick math there. And I think we found a place that's going to work perfectly all year round and we're not going to have to worry at all. Might have found a spring. Yeah. Seeing how much water is in that hole is literally stressing me out a bit. We've just prepared so much for this and for that much water to be pouring out of the ground is actually really nerve wracking. How's it looking? All right. So things are not going to plan. We just got the second sonotube back filled and it's just looking not good at all. Like first of all it was so hard to get in there with the water and it was kind of a stressful moment for everyone and then and the concrete truck is coming right now. And at the same time the sonotube is wanting to give way. Yeah. So in like three different areas of the sonotube it's starting to push in. So it's like beveling almost. It's just, it doesn't look good. So Porter's literally undigging the sonotube that he just back filled. It's just such a bad area right there, right? So bad. You might have to switch it. But who knows. Looks like only one's happening. Yeah. Is it really rough? It's bad. It's even more. It might be a little bit. And I think what's more nerve wracking is seeing Porter's face. I've never seen him this stressed out before. He was even saying he's like season one of the cabin. Piece of cake. Girls season two. This is a whole new level. Without a doubt some of the worst news we could have gotten. This is definitely worst case scenario. Well, maybe not worst case scenario. We got one in but the concrete truck is literally coming down the road right now. So I guess this is means delays bringing everyone back out again and trying to track down another sonotube that size. So I'll see what we can do but boy oh boy. I think you got it. All right. This pull is going in the first on two. So I'm back from being down low permanent. I'm high on energy happy again because this is super exciting. Even though we just got one, all we could do. We did all we could and I just called air construction products. They can't get another two bin. There's none in the province or in the city anytime soon until Friday. So it's going to be quite a few days before we get another one. But here we go. We're going in. Just as soon as things were going right, they're going wrong again. The concrete truck got here and immediately said that there's four feet of water in the sonotube. Yeah, we got four feet of water in there. So we're already one is completely done. The sonotube has is done. Now the second one, I feel like it's filled up. Supporter can't get the pull down because it just keeps filling. I'm nervous. I don't think we're going to concrete here today. No, I don't think so. I'm thinking I'm probably going to get two new sonotubes. Yeah. And we can't actually put the concrete in right now. So we're trying to pump it out with buckets and some pumps. And it's just, oh my goodness. It's kind of wonderful to get concrete in there today. I knew today was going to be something, but I did not think it was going to go like this. All these modes. So much water has filled up into the sonotube. So if you put the concrete into here, the concrete is already wet. It's already mixed. It wouldn't be as strong. As much. The more water we can get out, the better it's going to be. That's how it's happening with us. It's not actually collapsing. It's just taking off the inside cardboard, falling off. We're still doing good. Yeah. That was a wild few minutes. Good job, team. Wow. A little scary. A little scary. Spooky. Spooky. I have to say, pretty sad about that. There's not much you can do, right? Just got to wait until Friday. I actually can't believe this is happening. This is something Crystal and I have dreamed of. I just can't believe we're at this point from what the cabin used to be like and what it was like. I could have never, and I don't think we ever planned for it to ever be like this. I guess I want to say I'm proud of us all pack. Concrete person. They're gone. Hey Porter, did you quit yet? Yes. It's only us. So that would be something. One pull down and now time to shower all that concrete off of us. Because it's cold, we now shower in our sauna. So we light it. Enjoy the sauna. Enjoy the sauna and then you shower in the sauna and then it's like you haven't entered a shower. Good night. Hi bud. Don't freeze in there, right? I have to say that van heater sure does sound nice. Anything for our guests. Morning. Good morning. Yes, it's this cold. I'm wearing a poofy jacket. Poofy. We're just making Colin and Paige some morning beverages while they wake up in their nice toasty van. But a true tea drinker. I don't know if anyone else can really, but you know that person drinks tea when they bring their own tea bags. My mom does the same, so I was laughing. Morning. Oh, thanks bud. You're welcome. I was outside and I heard a truck from like a mile away. Quarter. Really? It's got to be quarter, right? Yesterday absolutely crushed us. How many things of concrete did you left on your, over your head? We should count actually, but we'll go full body sore today. You're strong. We're on the same boat though. Yeah. I think we're on the same boat though. It was on a long, long day. I think it was like a 12 hour day at least. Got one. You got a tube? Yeah, and I can pick it up right now in Kenville. You want to go to Kenville, Paige? Yeah, where's that? We'll go to a wine. Bye Colin. Have fun editing. We love you. So the sauna tubes are hard to get because they have to order them in from a manufacturer. A lot of places don't stock them in the places that do usually run out really fast. So in Halifax in the city, they run out all the time because there's only so many places that stock them. And then the places that order them in usually take a while to get them because, well, everything's pretty slow here to begin with. They hold street signs too. Yeah, like highway signs. So I called the home hardware that is closest to the manufacturer and they, because they are so close, they just go down the street and pick it up because I can't pick it up because I'm not a distributor. You should be. So they are going to go pick it up today, which is wild. You're smart. And I can go and get it from them. Good morning, Porter! So with the help of the tractor, Porter, crystal, me, Bella, Paige, I guess he's not going to do much. Colin's busy editing. We are going to try to extend this pad that way. We will have enough wood storage and we'll be able to get the wood for the winter because that is our number one heat source. We need to extend this pad that way we can build the lean to that will go over the existing pad, but you also have room to grab your firewood. Back to that time of year, everyone. Let's do it. I don't use these clothes, but it's lost. 70% of Nova Scotia, which is the province we live in, actually heats with wood heat as their main source. And our appointment is on November 1st for a wood stove because everyone, and by I mean everyone, is the 200,000 Ontarians that I've moved here in the last year are all looking for wood stoves. Whoa, guys! Yeah, making good time. Thank you, Paige. Wow, I can't believe this. Okay, check this out. We found a fully intact Dragonfly. Paige found it and has learned some very interesting facts about them. Dragonflies are actually really cool because they begin their life cycle underwater. They crawl out of the water, burst out of their exoskeleton and then dry off their wings and then fly away. Wow, imagine that. All right, Paige, time for a supply run. Oh, yeah. In the meantime, Colin and Jasmine are filming something you won't want to miss. I already cried in my interview. Subscribe and check it out on Colin and Paige's channel. Freezing cold showers outside. Turn the heat on. All right. We're here to pick up the last Sonotube. I looked everywhere to try and find this one. Here we are. It means that this week we might be getting both poles in the ground. I am so happy that we got this Sonotube. We could have been waiting a few weeks. We got it. Time to bring her home. What a day. Done for the day. Thank you for everything, Porter. You're welcome. Making our homestead a dream. Yeah. High five. One day at a time. Day at a time. What a nice day for a solar array. We're all here and we're all going to attempt hole number two once again. We have a new Sonotube and we even picked up this three inch trash pump this morning. I think we're in luck. Fingers crossed. And with the knowledge that we learned from the other day, we're probably going to be smooth sailing. I'm honestly starting to think that we have our own natural spring here on the property the way that the water is flowing into this hole. It is just a lot and it's not stopping. What's the plan? I'm going to go and try to hit it back in around where that spruce tree is. Yeah. And then that way we can put the pump in that hole and not have the water come in this hole. Yeah, that's super smart. So essentially the water that's going to be going into this hole will be already taken out before it can reach there. So it should save us. You hear that? Splish splash. Just got to fill up the pump because you don't want to start it dry. That's what I learned this morning. I'm very excited about this. I love new kind of toys. Come on, Porter. No. Even happening? Porter thought he was going to be out of here by one. That is a funny joke. We are not doing good. Nothing's going to plan right now. Okay. Head-adjust. We need to prime it again. Soar. I was just trying to get a little bit more comfy holding that ratchet strap, but apparently you can't move. Hence I, Porter, wanted to put a rock there, not me. Try this again since somebody messed it up. Okay. The pump is definitely doing its job, but it just keeps getting clogged because of how much gunk is down there. So basically now Porter has jumped back in the excavator. We're going to be digging another hole and then I trench that hole to try to divert the water to the other hole. I hope that works. And then we'll go back to the pump because obviously some water is still going to come in as this is a very wet area. This day has been absolute chaos. Anything that could go wrong has gone wrong. I know today's challenging for them, but I think I really believe that they're going to get this done today. All right. Well, we're at the point now that this can go one of two ways. We can end up with two TPM-12 hole mounts in the ground or just one today. It's been, again, a lot of emotions, a lot of up and down and back and forth. This meant sure coming and the water started pouring back in the hole. And we've been staring at this pump all day. Pumping water out, digging, pumping water out, digging. We're all drenched and dirty and we're not even close to putting the rock or the sound tube in yet. So it's been a little bit of frustration and trying to keep spirits high. Okay. It looks like we have the hole under control. Porter's just bucking at the first one. So I've got to go, everyone. I'm sorry. I've got this down to 30 inches. I actually can't believe we're here. I can't believe it. So the plan is instead of backfilling with all of the fill that we've taken out, instead we're going to be using the three-quarter into the base layer to make sure it's complete level, we're going to be taking two to four inch gravel and then it's going to be going around the sound tube. That way it doesn't cave in again like the first day. Okay. Now we have water in the hole. So they're trying to figure out how much water we have. Then we'll have to at least we know what we need to do now. We need to take that bucket with the ratchet strap and bail it out. Two feet of water? Not bad. We're good. This is the most important part. Karen Blavor at this stage. Not going to lie. We do it, but I was very scared at the same time. But if there's anything I know about Crystal and Jasmine is they can get through anything that they put behind it. So perseverance and sometimes acceptance that things don't always work out but. Yeah. I know I was making coffee and you're like, are you like, are you stressed? Are you used to things that are working out? I was like, yeah. Zero expectations today I had. Just the way she goes out here. It's a memory. It's done. I'm forever a part of the cabin. Thank you. Just feeling super grateful for everyone's help. It was determination that got us here. And heart. Yeah. It wasn't anything but that. Everyone wanted it to happen. So that's why it happened. It went up and down for sure. Yeah. All of a sudden you're on a high and then boom. I'm crashing down when the hole gets filled with water again. The whole week was like that though. Yeah. Ciao, Pac. Ciao, Pac. We love you. Couldn't do without you either. Yeah. Very tired. Good work today. You're 10 out of 10 working today. You were. You were doing so good. How are you? I could fall asleep like this if you could hold me up. Same. Please do.