We've been working around here all day today getting a head start on winter preps. Pulling dead flowers splitting and stacking firewood caulking around foundation raking leaves switching over buckets in barn Just some of the things we've done today! Propane has been delivered so I'm ready to turn on the furnace
already got a big stack of firewood, propane tank full, lot of shavings stored, plenty of hay, still have to put winter oil in everything and bring in the patio furniture and I think I am about ready as I will ever get.
got the pool winterized and covered, getting ready to pull up garden, take down fans in stalls, and hopefully build another barn door.
I've been working diligently on my stalls. I have a lot of repairs to do on two and then I need to get one more stall in before winter. I have huge stalls, so right now I have two horses in one of them (which is 14x17) until I get the last one up. I need to get the big tank in the barn to fill with water and run two heaters in it. its a 300 gallon tank and it usually lasts my horses about 2 weeks before I have to fill it up again. (the hydrant freezes really bad in the dead of winter so there may be days that i dont have access to it and I use it any day I can just to make sure I have a full stock when it does freeze) I don't use heated buckets in the winter because of all the horror stories, so I just switch out the buckets twice daily and stick the frozen buckets in the heated tank. they thaw out and are ready to be switched again! works great for me.
I guess we do not do anything. Although we decided last nite to rock a bigger parking area for semis to turn around in, that is not so much a winter thing as we just need it. It was still 85 degrees here this week, so I have not thought about it much--it has dropped today though
We heat purley with wood so we started filling the shed with wood in late Aug. Tuned up the heater on the auto waterer. Fixed a good section of fence. Filled the fuel tank for the furnace in the chicken barn. We also replaced the last of the old wood windows. Got the attic insulated. Its a big ole house with just two of us in it. It's expensive to heat so we are hoping that sealing up the house a bit should save some $$$. There had been an inch gap at the bottom of one of the bedroom windows . . .drafty to say the least. Now its just a matter of keeping up with the leaves.
In the barn we just take down stall fans, make sure everyones mats are level (goofy stall walkers move them all the time!), make sure there is propane in the tank for the tack room heater, fix any broken fencing, clean outside water troughs so they are ready to be dumped when it starts freezing, and this year we are hopefully getting new footing in the indoor before winter. Oh yeah and I have to clean out the horse trailer of any show grooming supplies that shouldnt freeze.
We don't do much around here either. I'll put in the tank heaters, but not until I have that first skim of ice. Extra straw in the peacock pen. A little yard stuff.....damn little. Love the house Brilliance! I LOVE big ol' farm houses!
Brilliance - we have the same house (basically)! Mine turned 100 yrs old this past Aug and it is just me here now. I have been busy getting the tank heaters checked, caulking some windows and tossing a lot of stuff to try and empty as many rooms as I can. [ftp=ftp://http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1321/561047643_9aabd46a9e_t.jpg]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1321/561047643_9aabd46a9e_t.jpg[/ftp]
Thanks everyone! I am hoping to host a summer getogether here next year. I have been doing home improvement projects for about two years!!!I want to show it off now.
Oh winter. Yippee. Close the hay loft doors. Get out the tank heaters and make sure they work. Make sure blankets are clean and ready just in case/when they are needed. Drain the hot tub since the damned heater quit working. I guess he will fix it in the spring. Winterize the living quarters in the trailer. Remove hoses from hydrants as soon as it starts getting in the low 30's at night. Check antifreeze in the tractors. Take all freezable liquid items (shampoo, leather cleaner, etc) out of the barn and put them in the garage. Put saddles/leather goods in the garage or basement so the don't have to freeze/thaw all winter. Get the damned back door automtic light working again. Damn it's dark back there and soon it will be getting dark at 5:00 pm. :bs_20 Get an extra load of sawdust so I'm a little bit ahead in case the sawdust man can't get down the hill due to snow. Someday, when I grow up, I'm going to have a water heater in the tack room that will keep it semi warm in there so I can leave my tack/liquid items out there. That's all I can think of right now.
Get hay lots of hay. Put shoes and pads on 1 of the horses. Put in tank heaters. Get out the SLED yippiee!