Wednesday 17 October 2007

Seasonal Chores

So much of fall is really about winter--specifically, getting ready for winter. For those who have a garden, fall harvest is the time to put up the produce for the long winter season. I confess that I did not have much of a garden this year, since spring planting time was so disrupted. I did manage to get a few beans and some chard in the ground by late June, so we have enjoyed some homegrown goodies. Thank heavens for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) to which we belong. Three wonderful women near Grand Marais farm all summer and fill a cooler each week with the fruits and veggies of their labor. Already I am looking forward to next summer, for the CSA coolers and for the opportunity to again test out my own green thumb. Moses and Jethro are consistently doing their part to provide dirt for more raised garden beds.

I�ve probably mentioned it here before, but one of the most important fall chores is to process the firewood. You may have noticed our huge stack of logs in the backyard across from the gravel pit. Having a woodpile like that is like having money in the bank. It will keep us warm in the months to come, once we have it bucked up into stove-length pieces, split, and stacked to dry. Ever since the kids were little, they have been required to help in some way during firewood season. As they get older, they have been able to help even more. Paul and Addie are both proficient at running the splitter, and they are excellent stackers. There is a bit of an art to making a good wood stack, so that it is neat, spaced for good air circulation, and most importantly, so that it won�t fall down. To do this, one must build �corners� at the end of the stacks. We log-cabin the wood on each end of the stack, so that it is a little more stable. I used to dislike making corners, but have since come to enjoy the challenge. I�ve also learned that if I split the wood properly, I have good corner pieces to work with. Even the most rote and mundane chores can have their interesting moments.

Another way we are preparing for winter is by having some new furnaces installed. Birch cabin is getting two small heaters, one in each bedroom. The big old gas furnace finally is being replaced. This should help make even the coldest nights cozier. In Diamond Willow cabin, the furnace in the master bedroom will be given the old heave-ho in favor of a new and efficient one. It is good to know that we can head into the next season a little better prepared to handle it.

Speaking of the next season, we are all hopeful that it will be a snowy one. It feels like we are overdue for a really good winter. Greg has a new truck and is ordering a snowplow for it soon. He is excited as he loves to go plowing. Already we have had flurries, the first time having been in mid-September. We saw some snow again last week, so that sends us scurrying out to work a little harder on the woodpile. It is much easier to get that job finished before the snow flies. So why am I not out there today? You guessed it---it�s raining again.

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