What have done towards your prep?

[Pete Grey]

Yes SS winter maintenance time, moss cleared from gutters, leaves cleared from drains, fences all checked and some minor repairs, and a little general tidying and pruning of some of the bushes.

Finally got round to changing the door seal of the stove, we’ve only used stove a few times on chilly evenings so far this autumn as the house is so well insulated, just burning a bit of pallet wood, when we do start to burn the smokeless coal it will be lit 24/7.

The car is winter ready after it’s recent service and new lights and battery, GHB +extra top up kit, and sleeping bags in boot. The camper is booked in for mot and service tomorrow.

The new solar panels are working well and doing what we expected bearing in mind the shorter daylight hours, after all they are just for battery charging for AA’s, AAA’s, usb and rechargeable devices during power cuts. We have never had any intention of permanently running any appliance on solar power.

[Mortblanc]

I have decided to stop this constant prepping for winter.

No need to any more, it's here!

On Tuesday I was in shirt sleeves and discussing with a friend when the first snowfall of the year would beset us. I missed the date, saying by the last week of the month. I should have said by the end of the week!

I woke to 25mm of snow and more falling. At noon I have 50mm and the temp is -1c.

I do have a plan though. I will warm up the pot of soup I made yesterday, drink lots of hot coffee, and spend the rest of the day listening to Grateful Dead concerts and watching Rumpole of the Baily reruns.

When has not been done will not get done.

[bigpaul]

winter isnt quite here yet, people are saying how mild it is but then I live in a mild part of the country.

[Pete Grey]

(13 November 2022, 10:01)bigpaul Wrote: winter isnt quite here yet, people are saying how mild it is but then I live in a mild part of the country.

At the moment they say temperatures are up to 10 degrees above the seasonal average but I wonder how long for ?.

[bigpaul]

(13 November 2022, 19:57)Pete Grey Wrote:

(13 November 2022, 10:01)bigpaul Wrote: winter isnt quite here yet, people are saying how mild it is but then I live in a mild part of the country.

At the moment they say temperatures are up to 10 degrees above the seasonal average but I wonder how long for ?.

might be in some places but its fairly average temperatures here, weather forecast says gales later this week, batten down the hatches folks.

[Pete Grey]

(14 November 2022, 09:55)bigpaul Wrote:

(13 November 2022, 19:57)Pete Grey Wrote:

(13 November 2022, 10:01)bigpaul Wrote: winter isnt quite here yet, people are saying how mild it is but then I live in a mild part of the country.

At the moment they say temperatures are up to 10 degrees above the seasonal average but I wonder how long for ?.

might be in some places but its fairly average temperatures here, weather forecast says gales later this week, batten down the hatches folks.

So this will be the first winter storm, I’m glad we don’t get flooding around here.

[Straight Shooter]

Processed three fallen trees last Sunday used the power barrow (beast) to get all the logs home , dropped them outside the splitting shed , one more cut per log and they will be ready to split …..ash and some willow , there are some more trees down within easy access so I will go get them shortly ….oak and ash . Although I have plenty of woodland I try to use up the trees from local common land for as long as I can .

As I have mentioned before there are a lot of people having wood stoves fitted ! Chimneys are being opened up plus insulated flues are popping through roof tiles and slate ……by magic ….most of these people have no clue how much firewood their stove will eat ? All they know is they now have the means for heat ! At this moment they will be happy to buy in their firewood, there are many people starting to sell firewood …..some just sell pallet wood .

All tree surgeons are now selling any and all wood , there is nothing now left by the side of the road ….it’s all sold ! Even our local council have a dedicated tractor and hiab armed trailer to collect felled tree logs which they use for themselves and process back at their yard .

There is only one way this will be going and where things will eventually end up , Shortages of supply and increased prices , it will take some time but it’s coming , as for coal ….that will go the same way but much faster imo .

I am curious ! Has anyone else noticed any increases where they live , smoking chimneys , people selling firewood or people cutting down trees and new chimneys being built or new flue pipes popping out of roofs ? Especially if you are in a rural area ? For what it’s worth I have spoken to a guy working on installation of wood burners and they are flat out and even into march 2023 with work and people are waiting that long and they have two teams and a sub contracting team …..most modern homes go with the insulated flue pipe system , it’s the quickest way to get them going …..no one wants a new chimney built he said , if a old type terraced house they drop down a 6” flexi flue liner and open up the old fireplace …..they do loads like that he said .

[bigpaul]

there is so much scrap timber lying about these days there is no need to buy expensive firewood, at least in my area there is.
I've got a shed full of the stuff.

[Straight Shooter]

Walked into the brew shed to make the sloe gin …only to discover I had already made it ! Been shaking the bottle ever since , I can now remember doing it ! What a muppet ! But there you go .

The small poly tunnel is doing great everything has come good ! The potatoes have now keeled over and will be ready for Christmas , the salad leaves are ready to pick , the onions have a bit to go yet as well as the turnips , garlic will be a while , the carrots will be a good while yet and the best bit is no heat was used up till now ! .

The big poly tunnel was cleared and to last of the tomatoes have been processed in the dehydrator along with the last of the chillies …….the sil has plans for this poly tunnel but has not sent me the memo yet ? …..but hey there you go …..must be a top secret mission ! .

The chickens are laying around 24/28 eggs per week , the bees are doing fine and have been treated so all is well at the moment .

Firewood processing has come to a full stop due to all the rain and wind , but I will get to it when I can it’s not important right now ! .

Been buying some gear so I can carry on with some projects in the workshop …….there are only so many Welsh cakes , corned beef pasties , chicken pies , minced beef pies , and bread a guy can help bake …..to the point of wild child ordering me out of the kitchen ……in fact insisting that the workshop was calling on me ! Yes it’s fair to say her pain barrier has fallen of a cliff !

We continue to maintain our food preps and find spaces to store it ! Along with other preps as we see a need for stuff that we might need as time go's by .

The truck had new belts and water pump fitted ……the guy said they had been already done …..but done them anyway …..at least I have piece of mind now .

[Stewart]

just basically winer prep,cleaned the chickens out.locked in now so got to keep on top of them.processed some more firewood.put some worklights on the truck