Everyone Knows It’s Windy

Driving back from Kansas on Sunday found me cruising along Interstate 35 in Iowa. As I was approaching the Minnesota border, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye—A wind farm! Of course being a RE nut, I had to investigate.

I took the next exit heading west and only had to drive a few miles to find myself smack dab in the middle of 89 of these monoliths.

After taking numerous photographs and wondering how I could get one of these things moved to Day Creek (I’d do it at night while everyone was sleeping.), I noticed a building up ahead. I drove into the parking lot and found a gentleman just about ready to leave. It ends up that he is a planner for the company that manufactures the wind generators in Denmark. We chatted for a few minutes and got the scoop on these turbines. (He was on his way to another installation near Dodge Center, MN.)

Look closely and you can see stars. This is a time exposure of the house taken with a 3/4 full moon.

Known as the Top of Iowa Wind Farm, the 89 900-kW turbines will produce about 80 MW of electricity per year, or enough power for 40,000 homes. According to developers, the project cost $90 million to construct.

To really get a feel for the size and expanse of the wind farm, you have to get up front and personal. Photographs do not do justice to the size of these machines. Each tower is over 200′ tall. Seeing 89 scattered across the hillside is quite a site to see along with the whirring of their turbines. (And this is a small wind farm compared to Buffalo Ridge in Minnesota.) It looks like we’ll be seeing more of these in the coming years—something I will look forward too.
Tom Wall Completed
Before I left for Kansas, I was able to finish wall number 20. It went pretty fast and I was able to mud even in the rain—well, at least in a showery rain. I would quickly mix the mortar between showers, then wheelbarrow the mud along the deck of the house. When it started raining it was no big deal because the 3′ overhang kept the rain away from the wall, the mortar and myself.

But, now the easy walls are over with for a while. No more window walls for at least five more panels. I guess I better get my mudding shoes on!

That’s about it from Day Creek!

Say hello to a Yellow Warbler