Nearly three months ago I published the list of fall chores that we needed to complete to be ready for winter. Well, winter officially arrives today. Are we ready?

1. Winterize exterior waterlines. Done.
2. Take off the window screens for cleaning and patching. — I have no excuse why this, one of the simplest tasks on the list, isn’t done. Maybe this weekend?
   Update: Done! Closing early at work for the holidays meant I was home in the daylight. Popping off all of the screens, labeling them and carrying them down to the basement took all of 15 minutes.
3. Fix up some winter beds for the cats. Done.
4. Fix leak in basement foundation. — Matt adjusted the downspouts and put a sheet of plywood under the window to run water away from foundation, which seem to be working for now, but we will have to give this job some proper attention next year.

From the light above the window and the retaining wall half buried in the garden, you can see that this used to be a door, so we’re pretty sure this is the source of the water we see once in awhile in the laundry room.

5. Get rid of scrap metal. Done.
6. Organize driveshed so that we can find the snow shovels and park at least one car inside. — Matt has dug out the shovels, but the driveshed is still mostly in shambles.
7. Get rid of the woodstove and old chimney, which are also in the driveshed. — We thought we had a buyer, but he never showed to pick up the stove. Anyone want it?

This beauty is still for sale. Send offers to homeon129acres@hotmail.com.

8. Fit out the mudroom and front hall closet. — Halfway done. The front hall closet is super functional now, but the only progress we made in the mudroom so far is adding two boot trays and moving the coats to the inside closet. I’m hoping to finish off this project over the Christmas break and will of course share posts in the new year.
9. Remove stakes from established trees and stake the new trees that we planted this spring. — Halfway done.
10. Install the flag pole. Done.
11. Pull the fallen tree out of the pond. — A project for next year. If the pond does freeze this winter, we’ll still have plenty of room for skating and hockey. I guess a good thing about putting this job off for a few months is that I didn’t have to go swimming in November.
12. Buy snow tires for my car. Done.

Wiley got bling, and my poor little car lost hers. 😦

13. Put away the lawn furniture. Done.

Something else I should have put on the original list was learn how to count. I thought I had 14 tasks when I actually had only 13. Oops.

I also had two bonus “nice-to-dos,” one of which got some attention.

14. Install a bird feeder on the driveway turnaround. — Didn’t even try to do this.
15. Trim up some trees around the property. — We trimmed two trees, but we didn’t take down our sickly blue spruce or trim the very twisted willow tree at the pond.

Our other twisted willow before and after its haircut

Anyways, out of the original 13 and the two bonus, we can officially cross off 7 8… or 8 9 if you count the jobs that are half done. Not a great completion rate, I guess. But hey, the basement’s looking really good, and it will be a nice and cozy hang-out space this winter!

In addition, we did do a few extra tasks specifically for winter.

1. Winterize Wiley. Done.
2. Put the blanket on the bed. (Not really post or picture worthy.)
3. Get the outside lights working. Done.
4. Dig out the snow fence, although we haven’t decided if we actually need to put it up yet.

A few rolls of snow fence were buried in the long grass of the field behind the barn, and Wiley helped us dig them out.

I met our local councilor a few weeks ago, and he told me that I’m not a true rural resident until I’ve made it through a winter. I like winter, so I’m actually looking forward to a snowy season of hiking and skating and staying cozy in the house. My fingers are crossed that we’re prepared enough to be able to enjoy it without too much hardship.