Getting ready for winter.............

[FarmerDenise]

I picked our popcorn, luffa and dried beans. We might be getting some rain within a week. So I am trying to get everything harvested. We still have firewood from last year and some large branches on the side of the property, that we can cut up. We mostly have to deal with rain here and some cold, mostly frost. Last year we had some freezes though. So part of our winter prep is to plant our winter garden. I picked up a few six packs of plants and plan to get some seeds planted too.
We got the wading pool taken up and the outside furniture moved closer to the house.
We'll need to clean out the rabbit's cage, before things get really wet also. I also need to rearrange his furniture so he can stay out of the wind and we will need to check the tarp that covers his cage to make sure it doesn't leak.
We also need to get the chimney swept. Swifts have been nesting in our chimney and I wouldn't want them to catch on fire.

I prefer earthquakes to tornados. I been in hurricanes and don't like them much either. The loma prieta earthquake was the scariest, but I've experienced a few other good ones.

 

[Beekissed]

FD, what will you do with your luffa? Sell? Make soap?

 

[keljonma]

I saw a really neat thing at a local farmers market. The soap maker had put the soap into the loofa sponge to harden; so there was soap and scrubber in one.

We have had 3 frosts already, lowest temp has been 35. Winds this week have been from 25 to 50 mph. I am sad to say I think we may just skip autumn this year in NE Ohio (although we *have had* a few beautiful autumn days).

We have put indoor plastic on all the windows on this rental. We have blocked gaps where we have found them.

I am in the process of making window and door quilts and some braided rag rugs for the floors. I have been searching all my recipes for winter meal ideas. I am looking to move a bit further south.


ETA: We have not turned the heat on yet, but sweaters, sweat shirts, and flannel jammies have come out of storage and are in use at night.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

hee hee hee ok here is the rest of the story.... when 'the big one' hit seattle i had just gotten out of the shower and was standing there naked. conventional wisdom says to run outside where the likelihood of something falling on you is greatly reduced.... but there was NO WAY i was runnin out in the street neked NO WAY! hee hee hee

That is what a lot of people instinctively do. Not the best thing to do though . . . between powerlines and trees, you could get yourself into trouble. I grew up being told to brace yourself in a doorway -- supposedly the strongest structural space within a building. Interestingly, though, I have since heard from people who rescue others after earthquakes that one of the best places to be is by exterior walls -- more than one is best. I think they called it the "living triangle" because when the ceiling or roof falls, it will usually stay attached at the edges. This same principle applies to beds and desks too . . . you are better off at the edge of the bed than under it, because the bed may collapse, but it will help hold the ceiling a little bit, maybe just enough to save your life.

OK, back to the original topic . . . I can't wait for my fall/winter chores. I am tired of watering my garden.

 

[justusnak]

Ahhhhh, Sweet Autumn. The winds are blowing...raining...and cooler temps. We have had several nights in the 40's.
We have about 15 ricks of firewood split and stacked. (whew!) We dont use ALL wood for heat, but try to keep the propane furnace from coming on. Last year we was able to save 50% of our propane, by useing wood heat...so this year..we are shooting for 75%. The pantry is stocked..the hogs go to butcher in 2 weeks...then I will can a few dozen quarts of meats. Just need to get the blankets out and washed, and hung out to dry..when we get a nice day. I will be ready! I cant waite for winter. Time to pull out the spinning wheel, and practice on it for a while.
I still need to put the garden to bed for the winter...and get a few more dozen bales of hay and straw in for the sheep. This sorta weather puts a spring in my step! I LOVE IT!

 

[Big Daddy]

Rebecca- I hope you get to re-start your true home soon. It's quite hard to downsize like that.

On the radio last week, a stormchaser was saying how he saw a herd of mini-donkeys get picked up by a tornado- about half of them disappeared. But one landed on the roof of his truck and put a giant dent into it.
Later he was saying that earthquakes in California were much more scary. One of the regulars on the show said that in an earthquake, your cat may run around the room and that's about it. No earthquake every caused anyone to get hit with a flying mini-donkey.

A gross exaggeration maybe about earthquakes but I do find tornados much more scary. How the heck can you prep for something that clears off your house and land and everything on it?

Quakes can be pretty scary. At least in a tornado you can go hide in the basement unless you don't see it coming. In a quake the house just falls on you. I was in one in the Bay Area in 79 or 80. That was the one that collapsed the double decker highway going in to SF. You try to walk and you can't because the ground is oscillating.

They're both really scary.

 

[enjoy the ride]

Have another chore that a posting here reminded me needs doing- I have to get the garlic and winter onions planted- today as we're supposed to get some rain on Monday or Tuesday. Right now it is so dry here that wild Rhodies are wilting in the woods.
But in a few weeks, water will be running mid-calf high all over my place.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

:/ Sorry to hear about the rhodies. Ours were like that this summer too. I thought my native elderberry was going to die too. Hard to watch it suffer, but I didn't want to water it either.

We are supposed to get some rain too. I hope you get your gardening done, ETR.