Snugging Down

 

Summer ended abruptly last week. One morning , we woke up to clouds and drizzle and damp air and the long dry season was done.  Since then, we have been working on snugging down the house for the winter.

·         The storm windows are up.

·         The outdoor dining table and benches are in the basement—always better to move them before they are waterlogged.

·         The winter curtains—darker and heavier—re in the living room to reduce drafts on the back of the next while reading at night.

·         The firewood is all in and sorted by size.

·         There are leaves on all of the garden beds but one and that has a bin waiting for when I pull out the tomato plants.

·         I brought in the last round of tomatoes with any color on them and they are waiting in the dining room to ripen.

·         The greenhouse is clean and the lettuce is in on the shelf under lights.

·         The chiminea, compost buckets, and redwood rocker are all in the greenhouse to stay out of the rain.

·         We have replaced or repaired all of our bike lights.

·         I have bags of bulk onions, a pile of winter squash, and potatoes in the bins. There is tomato sauce and jams on the shelf.  

·         We have shifted to sweaters and boots when we go out for rambling in the fields and forests.

·         Carved pumpkins guard the entrances to the house while others call down the garden spirits for another year.