Thunderstorms 1 - Open Sky Farm 0

In the very first thunderstorm of the year, within the first hour, lightning took out our wind turbine! I knew that's what happened as soon as I heard it hit but hoped that the turbine was still operational. I got distracted and forgot to confirm that it was still working. Fast forward to 2am this morning, when I realized the power was out. The wind was howling so I knew that the turbine was broke. I turned on the generator and investigated things in the battery shed, where all the electrical equipment and controls are. Everything was fine on the wind power center, which meant the problem was in the nacelle of the turbine and the turbine would have to come down. I've watched John Dixon, of Dixon Power Systems, take the tower down once but I'm not yet comfortable trying to do so on my own. Even if I was, it's still a two person job. It's too windy to tilt the tower down today so we'll have to wait until John is available and the weather is right. Until then, we will curse the wind and praise the sun.

It should be noted that we were out of gas so I headed into town a little after 3 this morning to fill the gas cans. I went to start pumping, only to realize that I left my wallet at home. If this sounds familiar, that's because it is (See "A case of the Mondays"). In fact, after it happened the first time, I told Jamie I was going to put a credit card in the truck. Guess what! I didn't... Guess what I did when I got back to the house and got my wallet! I put a credit card in the truck!

The good news is that things like this don't bother me like they used to. I didn't stress out, I didn't get angry, I just did what needed to be done. In fact, on my way back from the gas station (the second time) I saw a shooting star or meteorite or Starship or something, as I was about to pull back into our driveway. It was the brightest I had ever seen. I haven't decided what it means, if anything. I just know that it was worth it. Just like this farm.