What's at the top of your To-do list?

[TanksHill]

So I was just over on another thread and this came to mind. The weather effects everyone differently and we all have chores to do at different times of the year. What's at the top of your list for this time of year? And please include where you live, if you doln't mind. Mulching, finishing off the tomato plants, cleaning out the coop?

Let me learn from you. gina

 

[enjoy the ride]

Get a decent roof on my goatie shed, pick up all the debris wood and get it somewhere dry before the rains start. Bed up the horses shed. keep an eye on the apples to get them picked and stored the day before the bears realize they are there. Get a rubber mat for the walk way before it gets too wet to get down there. Clean the gutters on the pump house and clean the water system out for winter.

All before it starts raining..............

 

[user251]

im in Alabama and ive been working on compost piles and gardens getting ready for winter crops. i dont have huge fields to tend just small personal gardens and raised beds, also getting the last of the fire wood cut and stacked. Im hoping for a very cold winter with snow which is rare down here.

 

[shareneh]

I still need to clean the chimney, get three more loads of wood, split and stack it. put plexiglass on the windows of my coop and winterize my own house. Oh yeah, organize my cupboards and basement so I can live happily with myself in the wintertime. Organize my quilting and beading material that has been pushed around all winter so I can have more time to actually do my projects.

 

[FarmerChick]

Being in NC I can do alot into winter time.
Top priority is building my addition onto the back of the house. Putting in a family room and giant mudroom. So want that started and walled/roof up before weather turns colder, should be starting in about 1 week.

Have 80 acres of fields to turn over and such to get ready.

Have to finish round baling hay in the last field for fall cutting. Got alot of bales so doing well on hay. Back field needed more dry time before baling. Gotta stack up bales that are finished.

Just cut down 8 giant trees, have to pull out stumps, clean up area and fix level, etc.

Have about 8 more trees to take down and clean up...not a true priority cause they can be done anytime I guess.

Makes tons of inventory for soap for Christmas...getting slammed already with orders and I have some craft/holiday fairs scheduled so much make ALOT of soap now and get it ready.

That is about the top priorities for me right now........oh also, top priority is saving some money for Christmas now. Buy Nicole her things with cash...no credit card at all.....so saving up now is important...LOL

 

[Zenbirder]

This time of year it is a rush before freeze, we are 6000 feet up in the mountains. So the garden harvest is priority. DH is building a root cellar type structure, something I have wanted for a long time. The greenhouse has been planted with the winter lettuces and spinach. We transplanted the tomatoes in, but are waiting to transplant a few more things from the garden. I reorganized the pantry to try to fit the fall stock up neatly inside. Still need to reorganze the freezers, they get jumbled as I keep adding the produce. The hen house needs a fall complete cleaning. Then there are the grasses, I spent an hour yesterday weed-eating the paths so we can get around a bit easier. It has been the wettest summer since we have been keeping records. Then there are the time consuming normal kitchen duties of a person who cooks (almost) everything from scratch.
I have been wading ever deeper into the self sufficiency lifestyle for so many years that I am in pretty deep do-do sometimes as far as time requirements. Most people I know think I am more than a little bonkers......

 

[heatherv]

Top of my to-do list... that's a tough one, my to do list is SOOOOO long at this point!

I guess get the outside ready for winter would be priority, then the inside.

Our well house needs to be rebuilt before it starts freezing up. FIL backed his truck into it and tore the front off of it this spring. No offer to help fix it.

We need our pipes and everything under our house insulated (last year was our first winter here and it was awful cold) I've been waiting for it to get cooler weather to do this as I'm a huge chicken to go under the house and have to deal w/ snakes and spiders. I figure if it's colder they'll move slower!

And chicken coop prepared for winter.

Those are priorities, but the list is much much longer than that.

I'm also doing The Holiday Grand Plan, which I get emails weekly of a list of holiday prep things (including having your home ready for the holiday guests) So that's helped me prepare. As the porch/entry way were done 2 wks ago.

 

[TanksHill]

Oh, my goodness. Is all I can say. that''s a ton to deal with. Mother nature and our great earth plays such a huge role in all our lives.



shareneh ... Where do you live? Is your wood your only heat source?

Zenbirder ,,,, Do you use your greenhouse year round, or only when temps drop?

FarmerChick .....What type of soap do you make?

heatherv .....whats the Holiday Grand Plan? Email reminder sound great.

 

[patandchickens]

I try real hard not to think about the entire list at once

In more or less, but not exactly, descending order of priority:

-put in 200' of woven wire fence across side yard, now that kids are getting big enough that running out towards very busy road is an issue. This means I guess I have to find my post hole digger and narrow shovel which have been missing since spring.

-build 'real', roofed runs for the sussex pens (right now they just have chainlink temporary pens that will not do for winter) - I am thinking 5x15 and 10x10.

-mow out the entire drainage ditch system so grass is not clogging it -- the ground is already so saturated it is probably going to be the wettest winter since we moved here, sigh. Also need to dig additional ditch in part of backyard in hopes of reducing flooding in coop and well areas.

-turn over another 150-200 sq ft to enlarge veg garden, and as soon as a hard frost kills things off I need to haul a bunch of chicken poo and composted hay to sit on the whole area til next spring.

-call around about getting barn driveway re-gravelled. Oh, and I'd better call the hay guy soon!

-replace garage eavestroughs (gutters) and repair ones on front of house.

-spread (like, by wheelbarrows and fork) all the composted horse manure from last winter to make room for the coming winter's supply.

What I have actually been doing lately is more along the lines of planting bulbs, FINALLY getting the one useful horse back into work (woo!), moving mountains of mulch, lots of canning and suchlike, making more pesto than we will ever eat, and going to local fall fairs with the kids

Pat

 

[roosmom]

We have to replace door on chicken coop, try to protect our garden from the frost so my tomatoes will ripen ( took care of this). Get more straw for coop. Put up as much venison as we can. Trapping season is almost here, so prepare the trapping stuff. Prepare the duck hunting stuff, Get our bows and rifles ready. Build an ice fishing shanty. We have all our wood done.
IT NEVER ENDS.......