A month ago, I said it was time to get my act together, and I posted my fall to-do list.
I’m most productive when I post regular updates to hold myself accountable, so today is about sharing where I’m at in getting ready for winter.
And I am pleased to report that I’m getting my act together.
The vegetable garden
- Hang the gate
- Edge the garden
- Put in raised beds
- Spread manure
Okay. Perhaps this isn’t the best way to start. Beyond the harvest and clearing out the dead plants, I haven’t spent much time in the garden. My plan is to make the garden my focus for November.
The bird feeder
- Reattach feeder bracket – My cousin who made the birdfeeder post for us originally very kindly bolted the top bracket back into place.
- Install a sleeve for the post – I put a section of pipe in the ground so that the post can just slide into place, no hammering required.
I restocked our seed supply last week, and we have a steady stream of blue jays, chickadees, juncos and a whole bunch of other birds I can’t identify visiting the feeder every day.
Firewood
- Tidy up the trees – Matt and his Dad went to town.
- Put up another row of firewood – As Matt and his Dad cut, I split and stacked, and we are set.
More details about our latest lumberjacking episode will be coming in a future post, but for now gaze upon our woodpiles.
Get Wiley ready for winter
- Change the oil – My handy cousin (he of the birdfeeder) changed the oil for us.
- Check the battery contacts – My handy cousin also made us a little sleeve to tighten up the battery clasp, and Wiley’s starting so smoothly now.
- Remove the mower deck – Done. There will be no more grass cutting this year.
The house
- Take off the screens
- Clean the heat pump filter — Done
- Clean out the gutters — Matt’s done this twice in October, and he’ll probably have to do it at least once more.
- Turn off the outdoor water
- Annual service and filter replacement on indoor water system — A new to-do
The house is another area where we’ve not done a whole lot. What does that say about me that I’m putting less time into the roof over my head as opposed to the property around my house? Thankfully, Matt’s on it.
Anyways, three categories out of five are completely done. That’s pretty good. Now to keep the productivity coming before winter comes.
How are you doing on your pre-winter to-do list so far?
Home on 129 Acres 
You’re making great progress. What’s your weather like? Any snow yet?
We’re hoping the kids will come help out for a day in our garden. That would help a lot.
Our weather has been ridiculous this week–as in record high temperatures. 20º+ most days. Insane! Of course, it’s supposed to cool off for the weekend (when I would like to be working in the garden myself!) and rain. Wanna send your kids my way? I’m trying to recruit extra hands to clean out the barn stalls and get the manure on the garden.
Haha, good luck! It’s hard enough to liberate them from their busy lives long enough to help with the raking.
My “to do” pile is dwindling, but slowly. My most disliked task is still on the list – clean & disinfecting the pots, cell packs & trays that have been piling up since early spring. I had planned to do that during the warm spell this past week, but got bogged down with mulching. Seems I’m much faster when it comes to creating lists than ticking stuff off of them 😉
At least you’re being productive and not just sitting on the couch! Good luck with the disinfecting. I can see why that’s not your favourite task.