December has arrived–and with it our first significant snowfall. That means time is up on my fall to-do list.
Winter came on fast this fall. I was waiting for all the leaves to fall from the trees before I cleaned the eavestroughs. Then temperatures turned cold. Weather got rainy (causing unfortunate hair-dos for Hair-Do) and then snow.
I cleaned the eavestroughs, but it involved a jug of hot water and a chisel. I turned off the last outside tap when temperatures were already below freezing. I dealt with some new to-dos, like resetting our mailbox post after it was knocked over by a street racer and setting up a cat house for Cedar who persists in hanging out under the lilac in the front flowerbed rather than in the barn.
“Inside is for wimps.”
“Never mind. This inside is perfect. I’ll stay here. Thanks.”
I also checked a bunch of smaller tasks off the list and tackled some (not all) of the tasks on my main fall to-do list. Here’s how I did.
Coop
The coop felt like the biggest task–and the most critical. I did pretty well here.
Clean out the pens – Done.
Put in fresh straw – Done. The chickens will keep getting new layers of fresh straw throughout the winter.
Patch drafts in the walls – Done.
Patch leaks in the roof – Not done. We had some big rains in the fall and the coop stayed dry, so I’m crossing my fingers that will hold for the winter. I’m hoping to revisit the roof in the spring.
Clean up scrap wood – Half done. (The smaller pile, of course.)
Set up a designated straw area – Done
Barn grading
This task was my biggest fail. Fortunately, it’s not a critical pre-winter task, so it’s moving over to the spring to-do list.
Remove old fence post – Done.
Remove bush – Half done.
Spread dirt – Not done.
Driveshed siding
Done.
Mowing
No photo evidence. Done.
Brush chipping
No photo evidence. Done. I’ve already started rebuilding the brush pile.
Swallow shutter
Spot the assistant.
Swallow shutter – Done. (It’s definitely not a shutter, but the broken window is covered.)
I feel pretty good about what I accomplished this fall. The birds, cat, barns, tractor, house, property have all had attention and hopefully we are all ready for winter.
Home on 129 Acres 
Hi Julia,
I love that you have a systematic âcheck offâ list. You are my kind of gal.
I have a similar strategy getting things done and when I feel under the gun I write things down and check them off but not on a regular basis. Nine times out of ten I create a list when going to the grocery store and feel completely lost if Iâve forgotten my list.
We returned from a 15 day trip to Costa Rica early Thursday just after midnight. Thankfully we arrived then and not 12 hours later with all the snow that arrived.
We really had a wonderful time, one of our favourite holidays. The nature there, where we visited spanning across the entire country, was the natural kind of beauty Jaro and I love. We had a lovely group of people on tour, 30 including the tour manager and local guide who was very knowledgeable and funny. The accommodations, apart from the beautiful Hilton in San Jose and a gorgeous quiet all inclusive on the pacific north west coast, were all authentic eco lodges in the midst of the rainforest. We toured everyday enjoying meeting the local people often visiting their homes and/or small plantations where they were very welcoming and gracious. We learned and sampled making from scratch tortillas, chocolate and rosquillas that is a pinched dough corn based biscuit/cookie. We went on many river and canal cruises on small boats and an inflatable raft that included a class 1 river rafting seeing howler and capuchin monkeys, crocodiles, osprey, iguanas, egrets, kingfishers, toucans, macaws. We visited an animal rescue sanctuary that was a lovely facility with clean large enclosures for animals and birds that had been injured or given up as pets not able to return to the wild. Seeing up close sloths, jaguar, toucans, grey fox and the butterfly conservatory were highlights. We visited a farm that had a small pineapple plantation, starfruit trees and another that grew sugar cane and had a small rum distillery where we were given a tour and tastings. We finished our last day on an afternoon catamaran sunset cruise stopping at a bay where some people snorkelled and others, like myself, bobbed in the Pacific on a water noodle chatting with others. We left a warm tropical country where Christmas was in full swing in decorating for the holidays to returning to Canada with winter in November. Quite the contrast. It has taken me four days to acclimatize back into routine having done several loads of laundry that is thankfully now all done.
Yesterday I started decorating for Christmas. It feels good to be home again.
Iâm looking forward this Wednesday evening in having dinner out and seeing the Nutcracker with my daughter and granddaughter at The Sanderson Centre.
Wishing you all the best with your winter âcheck offâ list and enjoying the upcoming Christmas season.
Pam
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That sounds like a lovely trip, Pam. Thanks for commenting.
Nicely done Julia.Sent from my iPhone
Thank you for checking in.