Monday, January 17, 2011

Winter's Grasp


Winter has been hitting us hard, over and over all winter. As you can see from the pictures there is no end in sight for at least a few more months. This is the type of snow I remember getting as a kid. For the most part we have been hanging low, keeping as warm as a person can in a tin box that has three inch walls. Actually though, the woodstove I built this fall has gone a long way towards keeping us more than warm. It works fantastically as long as a fire is kept in it. While I'm away at work it goes down to coals that I have to stoke up once I get home, but nothing to bad. I know that the stove has gone a long ways towards reducing the propane bill for this winter.



Speaking of stove, I unfortunately have not put the finishing touches on it yet. I had purchased the steel for the side, but I got as far as putting the plastic on the outside as a weatherproof for the insulation. Once it warms up one of these weekends (so far its been hoovering in the negative range for most of the winter) I will get it finished.


The Shed has been holding up real well in the weather. Everything in it is snug as a bug. The only drawback I have seen with this is that water condensation during the day builds up and can drip off onto whatever is inside. Luckily everything I have is in totes, so this is not an issue. You would not want to store anything in cardboard boxes of loose if there is a chance that water can wreck it.


With so much snow, I have been doing alot of snow removal on the driveway. Bouncing around on a bobcat with a snowblade on it can certainly mess your back up!


Besides removing snow from the road, another important area to be taken care of is the roof of the house itself. For the most part the roof on the trailer is flat with only a little bit of a pitch and so it is important to get all that weight off of it as soon as a large amount has accumulated. So is the cycle of winter!