Busy Autumn

By Daisy Luther

Fall at the homestead is an incredibly busy time.  Lately I’ve felt like a squirrel, trying to get my acorns stashed away for the winter.  As the days get colder the feeling of urgency increases to get everything squared away before winter hits in earnest.

As with anything, you have to figure out your priorities.  The basic necessities to have in place are…

~ heat

~ food

~ water

When you are this far North, heat is one of your most vital concerns. Our major project for October has been getting our wood situation straightened out.   We have 6 and a half cords neatly stacked and covered with tarps. I’d like to get 2 more cords if I can swing it financially. I may not need them but I’d feel better having them!

As well, I’m still working on perfecting a long lasting fire in the woodstove.  I think I’ve finally mastered a fire that will last all night!

We’ve been adding to the food stockpile too. I recently did an inventory of our stash and realized that I didn’t have nearly as much as I thought I did.  I did a spreadsheet to help identify where I was lacking and have spent a great deal of time this month topping up those areas.  I want to have a solid 3 month supply of food in the event that it all goes to heck!

Finally, water. Every time I go to the grocery store I pick up another 5 gallon bottle of drinking water.  When we lose electrical power we lose running water, as our well is on an electric pump.  Apparently the power gets knocked out for a few days to a week at a time on occasion here so it’s vital to have a supply of water that will get us through such an outage.  My next investment is a gravity water filter, so that, worst case scenario, we can make lake water or snow safe to drink.

I finally understand about that great design that is fall.  As the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter, it is Nature’s signal to you that time is running out on the warmer weather. Fall is your warning that winter is nearly upon you!