Technology is fragile.
My phone blinks out at 20%. I can’t warm it in my armpit like a little animal. It has no stamina, no heart. My laptop is cold as ice. I leave the window open at night because candles and wood fire suck up the oxygen in the cabin. I can see my breath. I put on another sweater but the machines have no remedy.
warming my laptop by the fire
They talk about this great age of technology, but it is marred by inconsistencies. Almost laughable. Batteries die of cold or heat. In November/December, the darkest time of the year, when the sun rises in a low arc behind my cabin roof, my solar battery will charge to half, if I’m lucky. I charge my phone on my car, but it takes 2 hours to fully charge, and I have to warm my car first. I can also charge my house from my car with booster cables, but it takes gas and a good car battery. I go back to my flashlight and mini batteries. If I run out of batteries, I go back to candles. Three candles a night. They are sometimes hard to find in stores, so sometimes I make my own from saved wax and bacon fat.
I find myself between two very different worlds.
Ah! I didn’t get the water out of my rain barrel in time! Back to melting snow on the stove…
