Nemo:
Re: “a checker at our new store a couple days ago, and she said we are suppose to have a lot of snow this winter.”
Yeah, well the checker at the store is bound to be at least as accurate at the weather guys on TV.
We had pretty miserable weather Wednesday. The high was about 30. But I woke to high winds (gusts of 34 mph) and could see two of the three tarps over my firewood flapping like crazy. I probably spent 4 hours during the day securing and re-securing those tarps. My plastic stakes were all pulling free. Later, they began shattering when I tried to hammer them back in. (I only tapped them, really, but they've gone brittle.)
One of the jobs on my "To do" list Wednesday was to spread the gravel to make a parking spot at the top of the lot, adjacent to the driveway and next to the road. I got to the gravel and found that it had turned to stone. Even my pick can't do more than knock a few pebbles off of it per swing. Ugh. I won't be able to do anything with that gravel again until it thaws in the Spring. It's a good thing I did half of the work a few days ago and we SORT OF have a place near the street to keep the truck. Just not as big of one as I'd intended.
Then I put the chains on the tractor. I haven't done it before and eventually got them attached, but they're too loose and will definitely fall off. I think I must be missing some straps for tightening the chains. I picked up a 100' spool of paracord after dark. I'll use that in the morning to tighten the chains.
The only thing that really went well from Wednesday is that the snow blower - which has been sitting out front with a tarp around it since I bought it - started right up. Its tires were flat, but I pulled out a bike pump and had them inflated in fifteen minutes. I let the blower run for five minutes and then steered it into the garage. It'll be in good shape when I need it tonight... I think.
The older trailer was winterized when we bought it and should be fine. The Solaris trailer had water added before our misadventure in October. We've drained it and it's probably okay, but we didn't get around to adding the antifreeze. So there's an electric heater keeping it warm tonight. That'll probably blow our budget for the month.
I gassed up the snowblower and dieseled up the tractor. They're ready for the snow (but the blower's effectiveness is untested.) I just don't know if I am.
The temperature is 14° right now, falling to 12°, but at least that accursed wind finally calmed down.
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