A flurry came in over the weekend and this time I truly was ready for it to dump buckets of snow. It snowed most of the day Saturday but was a rather wet snow that was melting more than it was accumulating. The Frankenstein snow plow was ready for it to deepen, with a new starter installed and gas in the tank.

Luckily the snow did not get deeper than an inch so I was able to drive over it with the truck in 4 wheel drive and by the next day, my car was able to travel up the mountain with only studded tires without falter.

Luke assisted me with getting the snowblower ready as well by pulling off the carburetor and cleaning it out. The little blower had been sitting around for at least two years without use and gas had become a yellow jello within the lines and filters causing rust to clog the carb as well. It took him several hours to clean everything out but once it was it ran like a little monster (earplugs advised). I am so grateful for his machine knowledge as it would have taken me months on youtube to get to the root of the issue.

This wasn’t the only task Luke helped me with this weekend. He also took it upon himself to help me tackle the massive pile of logs for my winter stores. He said about a third of it was still green but it could sit over the winter behind the house and be a good start to next years supply. I agreed and we almost had all the dry logs cut to size for my small wood stove and stacked under the covered area beside the house. This was an all-day task cutting, sorting, hauling and stacking but it will be well worth it to continue to heat my home fully by wood.

I am so blessed by this life and the routine I find myself in. This week we are expecting temperatures below 20 degrees! I am shivering just thinking about it. Luckily I have plenty of wood to keep us warm.

How do you homestead? Are you prepared for winter? I certainly think I am. But as you know life likes to throw wrenches every now and then. HA! Here is to hoping for a smooth holiday season.