Winter Preparedness
It's
that time again to get ready to hunker down for the upcoming
winter months. Get ready to prepare your home, your body
and your soul for another 5-6 months of wintertime glory
and misery!
With
the crystal days almost here, it time to do the finishing
touches on our winter preparedness.
Starting
with the house, make sure any and all loose ends are taken
care of (or nailed down) and put away for the winter. That
includes outdoor furniture, kid's toys, volleyball nets
or anything that you don't want ruined or buried until next
spring.
Disconnect
the hoses! Now! Many a broken pipe has occurred by forgetting
to do that small task. Hoses need to be drained and put
away as well. Freezing temperatures will freeze the water
inside and crack the hose, leaving it leaking for next summer.
All
fire wood is in order (that was last month's article)
Rake
up the yard. You'll have to do it again in spring, but it
will help a little now. It's easy to slip on a little snow
that is covering up loose leaves or pine needles.
The
garden is put into order. Plant bulbs, cover with mulch
and say goodnight.
Make
sure the snow blower is in working order. Check the gas,
oil and spark plugs, etc... Keep extra gasoline on hand
so you don't have to run out in a snow storm and get more.
Or make sure your contract is signed with your snow removal
provider.
Shovels
ready. Spray silicon on dry warm shovels for easy snow removal.
Chains
are in working order and handy.
Gloves,
Hats and boots, clean, snow sealed and accessible.
Other
items to check on for your home: check that the heater is
operating and that the filters are new. Vents on roofs in
the high country need to be able to exhaust, so make sure
that they will clear the snow when it's deep. Especially
a forced air heating unit.
The
propane tank should be snow staked so that it can be found
in the event of a heavy dump. Venting on tanks is important
too.
Can
you reach your TV dish? Sometimes snow accumulates on them
ruining reception. There are covers that you can buy to
prevent snow build up.
Fireplace
screens on the chimney and flue cleaning should be attended
to. Make sure you avoid a flue fire by having a safe and
clean chimney and outer screen.
Snow
stakes should be up in the driveway to avoid the snow plow
from scraping the landscaping away.
Storm
windows or shutters should be on. Some lower north facing
windows may need protection as the snow accumulates on this
side of building and can crash through unprotected glass.
With
the cooler days upon us, the summer clothes have probably
already been moved to the back of the closet of into another
one and the warmer clothes brought out. Make sure all your
gloves are in order, there nothing worse than trying to
find one when you're in a hurry. Have the coats, hats, scarves,
long underwear and outerwear ready to go for snow fun!
All
skis, snowboards and snow clothing are ready to go.
Don't
forget your skin. It needs extra protection too. Have plenty
of moisturizing lotions on had, as well as bath oils, lip
balm and sunscreen for the brilliant on mountain days. Stay
hydrated too with fresh drinking water. It will help to
keep you skin and lips from getting dry and chapped.
Of course
it's a good idea to be training for all the winter sports
if you haven't been doing that already. Snow sports take
a lot of strength and stamina, so a membership at the gym
to get all the muscles in shape is a good idea. Hiking in
the fall is nice too, there are less people and the cooler
temperatures help us to acclimate to the colder weather.
Bike riding is great for the quads which are used predominantly
in snow skiing.
Now
for the inside of us…do you plan a project to complete
over the winter, like a scrapbook or photo album? Is there
something special to do on those long cold evenings? Jig
saw puzzles? Read Books? How about studying for a new career
interest. We spend so much time outside during the summer
months, that when winter comes, its just right for turning
to our inner life and planning something that gives us a
mental, spiritual or meaningful pastime that can help the
nights be richer and give us a new lease on life as the
pristine crystal snowflakes pass by nighttime winter wonderland
sky.
