Fixing our fence and getting mini-splits

Our fence was rotting and sliding down the hill behind our house. We got some quotes to fix it but they seemed very high since the metal posts were still well anchored. So, we decided to fix it ourselves by getting some panels from home depot and replacing the damaged panels ourselves. Nate used some power tools to saw out the section of fence where the tree was in the way. We lined everything up to hang correctly on the existing posts and were able to fix the situation without too much trouble. This took us two-three weekend afternoons and coming in at $70/panel ($280), some long screws ($10), and hauling away the old damaged panels ($50). Much better than the 2.5-3K we were quoted for similar repairs. And now we have the satisfaction of a job well done.

The other thing we're planning this summer is installing mini-splits to have some more air conditioning in this house. We are going to do 1 head in each bedroom and 1 in the TV room and 1 in the living room, all those 5 will be hooked up to 2 separate condensers. The good thing with mini-splits is that they can both cool and heat so we can offset some of our oil usage in the winter by using electric heating. When the electricity company was hooking up our solar panels, they accidentally added together our electricity production and use, and therefore were over charging us. They have since fixed it but still owe us quite a bit of credits so we have energy to spare. 

Hiking Mt. Chocorua with Olga

[Previous Olga&Oksana Adventures: around CT/RI/NY in winter 2021, around CT/RI/NY in summer 2021, Potato chip rock in 2017, Luzern in 2017, Martha's Vineyard in 2013]
[Previous intense hikes: Potato chip rock in 2017, Col de Milon in 2016, Flattop Mountain in 2013]

For Memorial Day, Olga and I decided to do a long hike. This is something we had been talking about for a while and Olga has done many hikes in the northeast. Olga chose Mt. Chocorua (in New Hampshire's White Mountains) and got us oriented with a very affordable bed and breakfast and plan for conquering this mountain. We drove up to New Hampshire on Saturday, explored the neighboring towns a bit, and then hiked it very early on Sunday. It was about 4 hours, 8 miles, and 2,100 ft of elevation. The weather was perfect, even though there were a lot of bugs. This mountain is under 4,000 ft so it's part of a series called "52 with a view" and it sure delivered on that!