April 2020 - 26

NOTES FROM THE FARM
No shortage of power after aggressive equipment upgrade
I elected to go to a heavier system,
JERRY MILLS
Mills Apple Farm
jerry@millsapplefarm.com
not realizing how big it would be. The
power company asked for a survey of
all electric equipment, so I sent a list.
It totaled over 600 amps.
They recommended a three phase
Time running out for pruning.
Here it is middle February as I write
this and 5° F this morning. Rains,
mud, cold, snow and occasional low
temperatures seem to be stacked
against us when it comes to pruning.
It does not help a bit that I have
become too lazy to go out and fight
this stuff on my own. It is so easy
to find excuses to stay in by the fire
when conditions are less than perfect.
A bitin' and a chewin' I have always
been guilty of biting off more than
I could chew. We planted too many
fruit trees, but I thought it prudent
to have a few extra, just in case. We
also planted way too many Christmas
trees. I overestimated the market.
Now we are working on the electrical
system for the farm.
We originally had standard 120/240
volt 100 amp service. That was not
adequate and with the new red barn,
this is a chance to upgrade.
440 volt, 640 amp system. I said press
on, not realizing what I was doing.
The picture shows what we got, plus
three new poles, double sets of the
wires off the transformers at the pole
and I suspect a larger transformer.
We will never have to worry about
having brownouts again. There will
be enough juice for everything. Too
much? We will see. But, if I followed
my normal practice, we will have
enough to power everything, plus
supplying most of the neighborhood.
Coronavirus, potential threat
to the world. Students of history
know that since the time early man
learned to communicate civilizations
have risen flourished and then
declined. Sometimes the smaller ones
disappeared entirely. Many lasted for
several thousand years before fading.
The Greek and Roman civilizations
are good examples.
We think we know why some of
them disappeared, but not all. Changes
in weather patterns, invasions, plagues
years we learned to control most of the
easy diseases. Now we have one that, at
the moment is uncontrollable.
Fingers crossed. I suspect this one
will not be the last one.
Funny thing happened on the way
to breakfast: Stopped at bathroom.
Washed hands and face. Washed
upper dental plate, inserted. Washed
lower plate, inserted. Washed hearing
aid. ... What? Luckily, it dried without
being ruined.
A good plug for my book from
Jerry Mills shows the upgraded electric
mechanism. Photo: Jerry Mills
and moral decay were some of the
causes. Others are mysteries.
I have always thought that since
ours rose so rapidly, compared to the
ancient ones, it might decline in a
similar manner.
Well, here we are, facing a pandemic
for which there is no control. We think
it started in China, but do not know
the source. It is not usually fatal but we
do not have a treatment. In the last 500
a reader: " There is something
interesting on every single page. "
Know what? She is right. I am not
sure many writers can make that claim
about the stuff they write. People do
say it is good reading.
Another comment: " He has the same
sense of humor as Mark Twain. " I don't
know about that, but it nice to hear.
New lesson learned: The other
night, when headed to the bathroom, I
discovered my bathrobe was on inside
out. Never mind, the call was urgent
so I pressed on, hiked up the robe and
sat down.
Have you ever wondered what
happens to bathrobe belts when you
sit down on a john and the belt is
inside the robe? VGN
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26 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
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April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2020