Preparing For Winter

The writing is on the wall and the calendar is too. Soon it will be winter, so preparation is needed.

I covered the AC outside with a homemade cover made from an old shower curtain. It probably doesn’t need it, but why not. I built a cover for the inside too out of styrofoam. It took a while to decide how to make it , but with careful cutting of the styrofoam from Lowes and some wood glue, it exceeded my expectations.

The bathroom window needs work, so I had to winter it from the outside so that’s done. I’m going to change the batteries in my remote temperature transmitter outside so I don’t have to do it when it’s covered in snow. I have to gas up the snow thrower and run it before it is needed. One year I waited until the first snowfall to try to start it and it would not start. It’s too early to put away the mower. I might do a little touch up painting outside and give the shrubs one last trim.

 

Winter prep in Houston: Open the blinds on the west side of the house.

 

After we had 5 days in a row recently without rain (thank you), I coated the deck floor with a mix of mineral spirits and boiled linseed oil. Hope to replace the railings this winter, but probably won't get to do it. Bought some stuff to put in the gas tank in the lawnmower to overwinter.

 

Preparing for winter in Central Florida:

Check to see if I have any socks.
Take jeans out of storage.
Change wreath on door.

 

I have posted about some of our winter prep in other threads here, but we have snow all around us on the mountains, but the stuff that fell last week has all melted, although it was 20 F. this morning. There is ice on the lake out back in the areas with no springs. Orchard fences repaired and the greenhouses put to sleep, as well as most of the gardens. I try to get the gardens tilled in the fall to allow the soil to heat up faster in the spring, but I haven't gotten that done yet. If the ground freezes soon, it won't get done this year. We are going to dig a grave in the woods for our old dog, as we don't know if he will survive the winter and burying an animal in frozen ground is impossible. People here are often frozen and buried in the spring. We want to have the grave ready just in case. If the snow stays away, we will probably mow/mulch the leaves on the lawn areas, but, again, if things get cold soon, it may not get done. Otherwise we stay ready for winter almost all year.

 

I caught a mouse in the basement the other day; they only come in when it starts to cool off.

I used to have two cats and there were no live mice around anywhere, but I had to have the one cat euthanized in June 2020. Her brother is still with me, although he will be 17 in January and isn't catching many mice lately. He's about in the same shape I'm in.

I need to get new tires on my truck before the big snow flies; I got stuck in my (uphill) driveway last March. If I had good tires I don't think that would have happened.

Oh well.

 

Shovels and salt, blankets and thermals, heavy drapes and Great Stuff, can't forget the push broom to remove snow off the Jeep.

 

I quit cutting my own wood 8-10 years ago, and now buy it from my buddy. He should be bringing it this week or next. But I have to transition my porch from the "summer mode" to the "winter mode." It was beautiful today, I sat out there several hours this afternoon, but that won't happen after it's filled with wood.

Some of my family, July 2016:





How it was in October 2010 when I was young and vigorous:

 

That's quite the outfit you've got there.

I always wanted my own wood supply, and finally got it when I bought this place in 1981. But when I expanded the 20 x 24' cabin to a 1300 sq. ft. house, the amount of wood needed to heat it all winter would have been gigantic.

So I started burning coal in 1990 in the worst 2-3 months of winter, with half my wood in the fall and saving the other half for coming out in the spring. That idea works out well, and I only burn about 3 face cords per season now that I have to buy it.

It was some years ago I looked this up, but there are websites where you can plug in what you pay for gas, oil, propane, electric, firewood, or coal and it converts it so you can compare which is the cheapest per BTU. I was a bit surprised to find out that burning coal is cheaper than burning purchased firewood.

Of course this depends on where you live and what's available around you. There is an endless supply of hardwood around here, a FC is about $80. I get anthracite coal not too far from here for about $200 per ton, me hauling. In the dead of winter, coal heat is far superior to wood.

Problem this year is with my arthritic hands and wrists I will not be able to carry in the 50-60 pound coal buckets. In the coldest weather I need 1-2 per day. I will have to only fill them halfway, or whatever works. Living in the boonies is not so easy when your bod starts breaking down.

 

I'm now in central Florida, and need to find a few sheets to cover up some of the delicate shrubbery if it gets close to freezing. May not need them, but ya never know.

 

God bless those with wood, coal and even oil heat for the winter. When searching for a house, I was fortunate enough to find this place with baseboard electric heat. No work involved. It’s as easy as can be for older folks.

 

We still have the ability to heat with wood, and certainly have an ample supply. I use wood as my emergency back-up, and I use wood to heat my shop and the big greenhouse when it is being heated.