Boring Bits and Pieces Part 1

    Hey everyone!  Did you know that this page now has a companion Facebook page?   It will have articles, memes and such that interest me that relate to this page but don't really apply.  For example, did you know that for thousands of years it was considered rude if you didn't let the bees know there was a death in the family?   Anyhow, check out the link above and let me know what you think.   Now on with the show!!!

     

    Over the past few days I've had a few things on my mind.   When I was focused on getting our house updated and up to code it was easy to concentrate on what needed done. Finishing the roof, the porch and a few other small projects occupied my mind.  My mother's untimely death in mid October also gave me time to focus on that, putting aside future plans to concentrate on the here and now.  

    Now that the major work has been completed and my mother has been laid to rest, the question now becomes "What comes next?"  

    If I am serious about reducing my carbon footprint, growing our own food, etc, then I have to have a plan.  A way to move forward.  When I posed that same question to a few people on the Reddit Homestead forum, I got back quite a few answers.  

    Basically it all came down to design and plan your garden for the coming spring.   We already know what we want to do and how, now it's just a matter of waiting on Old Man Winter to pass on through - and as far as I'm concerned he can take his time getting here.  The garden, in a way, is the least of my worries simply because we can't do much with it till spring.

    Another response put me in touch with a great resource I didn't even know existed.   That was the extension office for Mercer County, PA which is part of the Penn State University system.  However, due to Covid and other things that are going on right now, any in-person classes are either canceled or delayed.

   So we find ourselves in a pickle.  We have a few things left that need to be done and we are considering what to do.  We are in the home stretch of "Things that must be done before winter!" mode now.  

    Basically we need snow shovels, which is not that big of a deal but I've not shoveled snow in over 15 years.  Considering how I over exerted myself cutting wood last week, I am realizing that I am no spring chicken anymore and a snow blower may be a nice thing to have after all.

    We also need a riding lawnmower.   My property is a little bit over two acres of land, and even though part of it is wooded, I still have a bit to cut.   So I would like to get a mulching mower so I don't have to rake as well as something that I can ride.  A bigger mowing deck be great, as would a trailer hitch to haul something about and then finally a snow plow somewhere in the future.   

    Well a man can dream can't he?

    We're hoping that they want to move that merchandise now to make room for other things, so I should get a good deal...right?  

    The final thing that we have talked about is getting ceiling fans put up in every room.   Our home is split level and the pellet stove, our primary source of heat, is in the den; which is also the lowest room in the home.   

    The idea is a simple one.  During the winter we want to draw the heat up the steps and into the bedrooms and living areas.  By creating an updraft we should be able to warm the home and cut down on the number of pellets we need to warm the home.  At least in theory.

    We also are thinking about cutting a small grate into the ceiling of our basement den which would allow the heat to raise directly into the hallway and that would help heat the bedrooms.        

    Simple solutions it's true but ones that are designed to work efficiently. 

    Actually the fans and the lawn mower would be the last "major" purchase before the spring.  We are to a point where nothing else really needs to be done outside other than pressure washing the home, which is another piece of equipment we'll probably buy come spring.  

    Who knew that home ownership was such a pain in the butt?