What are you all doing to prepare for winter?

[Mini Horses]

WOW -- whoda thunk?

We all know Parkersburg!

I luv how we now live "off-grid" and then, you just lived normal. You hardly new there was a "grid". Kero lights work, I still have some but keep a less aromatic oil to burn when needed.

Those apples reminded me of a gnarly old tree in grandmas front yard that had tasty fruit. They sliced them, strung up on some heavy thread and dried by air/sun. Yum. Wild strawberries & blueberries, hickory nuts....and red clay! I didn't think it was a hard life but, not there full time & now see just how hard their everyday life was, overall. Like you beekissed, they were ready for winter, snow ins, etc., all the time -- had to be!

 

[Mini Horses]

Today my son is here to re-roof my equipment/livestock barn building. I am far more impressed than he but, you know how "payback is heck" and he's a framer, work slow, $$$ borrowed and now I collect. YEAH!! remove old roof, replaced some bad wood, now installing that $1K of new metal, plus the new T-111 on the livestock side.

I put up 200' of new fence yesterday (only another 400' to go) for the pasture around the barn area. Last Fall I did other 800'. So now I can use this field for my goat girls for the winter. They will be moved to the stalled barn as they approach kidding, where I can contain them easily. All of this is actually a long term repair/improvement for a farm.

So excited to get this done. My new tractor needs to go in the equipment storage side. It's 24x24 on equipment side & 12x24 on the lounge barn side. And a shelved storage area is being added to center for tools, etc. Wooohoooo, I need this organization to take place where it will be easy to access.

Building solar surrounds for some troughs, also. It will cut back on the amount of electrical tubs I need to plug in. Won't stop 100% of use but, cutting out 60-75% will make a big difference in the bill. Have reworked 3 of 4 of my below ground water lines with extra cut-off, drains and insulated enclosures. My winter hay is ready for delivery, was put off due to so much rain here last 2 wks but, all bought & waiting for me to tell them to bring it.

For some reason, I feel a bad winter coming.
Hope I am wrong as I hate, hate, hate the cold!!!!!

Hope everyone else is getting winter ready.

 

[Britesea]

Unfortunately for us, we are probably looking at a warmer, drier than average winter due to El Nino. It brings more rain and cold to California, but doesn't reach this far north; instead we get the opposite. This will be the third winter without normal snowfall, which the basin depends on for water the rest of the year. I'm researching more ideas for keeping the water usage down in the veggie garden while still getting a decent harvest. Mulch, of course; I use drip/seep hoses already. I'm thinking of an idea I saw that is used in the dryer parts of Africa- A large covered pot of water is set up high (like on a platform about 3 feet above a garden bed) with strings running down to each plant; the water seeps down the string to the plant where it delivers a bit of moisture all day and night. They also use something like shade cloth on an A frame above the bed- the cloth covers only one side of the bed, and gets moved halfway through the day to follow the sun; this protects the plants from the hot sun and drying winds, but still allows lots of light. It might work in our high desert.

 

[Mini Horses]

Do you have a way that you could use grey water, maybe into a tank/drum? Basically instead of a rain barrel, capture & reuse the household grey water. Washing machine.....unload into a pipe that goes into such a container...generally easiest.

 

[Britesea]

We already have a grey water system- it was in place when we moved here. It waters the 40' row of wild roses that border the back boundary. I have made many a jar of rose petal jelly and rose hip jam from that...
I may have to resort to what you suggested though; the veggies are more important than the flowers, although their thorny mass acts as a wonderful security back there

 

[Denim Deb]

I'll be interested in reading what you do.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I feel like a slacker compared to all of ya'll! All I've done is get my hay and plant some fall crops. Maybe its because we don't have much in the way of winter compared to most of the country.

Just watch though - my luck this will be a bad one. Honestly, I don't care if it gets really, really cold as long as it isn't wet for the next 6 months!

 

[Mini Horses]

As always, what we do depends on our own area and resources. Britsea has already a house with grey water use & I suspect that many in that area may have due to "normal" weather for them. TX - yep, generally hot/warm majority of year but, not entire state. VA we have coastal with some issues -- summer hurricanes & nor easters -- then the western portion of state has some low mountains, so they have more snow & rain. They actually stop, slow or reduce some that that snow/rain that won't get to us at the coastal area, 3 hrs away. They have snow ski areas....we only water ski. LOL

For me, snow over 3" and cold enough to last over 3 days on ground is severe Every 7-10 yrs we get HUGE snow, 1 to 1.5 ft. Talk about paralyze -- our area is not equipped for removal as it is so unusual to see. A friend lives in IL & has said she can get snow early Nov and not see the ground until Mar. Where you get 3 to 5 feet, and doesn't melt, so next piles on. WOW ! Not what I could live with, I'd move.

It's interesting to hear what others go thru. I had a member on the mini horse forum say it was a mild day as only -10 that day --- that's MILD? What they must do to even have running water is unreal. We all live somewhere but, that's not for me.

With the el nino, they say many areas warmer & wetter. Guess we will all have to wait and see what we get.

 

[Britesea]

You get used to the climate you live in. I remember an acquaintance of mine that lived up in Alaska, the Kenai Peninsula; she once mentioned that up there, 70F in summer is a major heat wave.
When we first moved here from Santa Clara County, I had trouble adjusting to cold winters and shorter days, but within about 2 years, it became normal and I found myself dressing lighter than at first. But I do still miss that Mediterranean climate for gardening- 3 harvests a year!

 

[goatgurl]

@frustratedearthmother I'm kind of like you, i feel like a slacker next to these gals. I've gotten the winter hay in for the girls. propane tank is full. steer butchered, last of the rabbit growouts butchered. number of sheep and goats lessened and that's about it. still overrun with chickens and ducks but will be butchering all the biggest part of the ducks and all but a couple of the roosters before snow flies. sil made me a chicken plucker to use will a drill this weekend. i can't wait to try it.
oh, and i have the last of the tomatoes in the dehydrator right now. and the last of the herbs before frost. stevia, oregano, thyme and lemon balm. maybe I'm not such a horrible slacker after all.