Ready for winter?

reply to post by spooky24


I always thought I wanted chickens. I grew up on farms in the Midwest, and chickens were always a given. Now with allow our local predators and a reminder of how a chicken coop smells, I don't know if I can do it. I am leaning toward rabbits myself, though that won't be until next year. They are cheaper to keep and have great meat. As a gardener, they also produce better, less stinky poo for the garden fertilizer. I can also feed them all summer with little to no out of pocket expense. I do miss out on the eggs, but I would still be in the same situation trying to store what we don't use right away. I have a couple of neighbors with chickens though, and one of these years I will be in a good barter position with my garden produce.

I am pretty far north, and the only member of the weasel family that I have seen are ermine. They are pretty small, but beautiful when they are wearing their winter coat. They are also great for helping out with the rodent population. Luckily we don't have any snakes up here.

reply to post by MystikMushroom


If that's all you need for winter, than sure it counts. We all have different needs and priorities. I actually had to take out my auto start because it was screwing with my electrical system on my Subaru. I don't leave my house very often though, so sweeping snow and running my car for half an hour to warm her up isn't too bad either. I have to agree with you on the timer though, it saves a lot on your electric bill, and saves having to remember to plug it in before bed. we just plug our vehicles in as soon as they get parked.

reply to post by woodsmom


Awww, I have a subie too!

I also replaced some of the most frequently used light bulbs with LED ones this past weekend. Not exactly cheap, but they use 1/4 of a regular bulb, and 1/2 of a compact fluorescent. And, they're supposed to last a LOOOONG time.

It gets dark and cold here, and I often have to resort to an electric space heater and I figured anything to lower the electric bill!

Oh, protip everyone....real, wood burning fireplaces actually aren't energy efficient. Sure, the fire feels nice sitting in front of it, but you are also loosing a lot of heat! When it's -30F outside, it's better to plug it up with foam.

reply to post by MystikMushroom


Eh, only if they aren't burning. I won't give up my wood stove for anything. Its definitely cheaper than a space heater.

A subie is the only way to go in my humble opinion, none of my other vehicles could ever rally down the beach, up a snowy mountain trail or out to my berry patches carrying my kids and all my crap as well as get the gas mileage that they do. I love my little LEDs too, and the timer really did knock a noticeable amount off our electric bill. It was one of the easiest things we did.

Just wanted to add to the topic of winter preparedness. Just read this today. It's from an older woman who is making it though the ice storm in Pennsylvania. Some of it is basic, some are things I had never thought of before.

Lessons to Learn From Tech-Age Ice Storm

reply to post by Kmhotaru


That is a great link! Thanks for adding it.
Who would have guessed it would turn into a tougher winter down south than in Alaska this year? Hopefully everyone is as safe and warm as possible.

Another tidbit to add to the link you provided, if it is cold enough outside to store food safely, a cooler works if you don't have a shed. It's a little trick that we use up here all the time in the winter, especially around the holidays when the fridge is never quite big enough.

Hopefully this year some folks learned the lesson that a little preparedness can save a huge headache or worse.