Winterizing

Godzilla geranium in its natural habitat. It spends less than
four months outdoors.

The temperature hit 32 overnight and the sun came out today so a good one to get some of those

chores done at the end of summer and preparing for the coming winter even thought there's no termination dust on the mountain yet.

Changed and checked and filled all the precious bodily fluids in the Jeep and cleaned up what's left from summer in order to pack it with stuff for the East Pole this winter.

Got some modifications done on the new snowmachine so it will work better at least doing the things I need it for. I swear people who design and build things ought to use them and learn what it is like to operate them. I once drove a boat in which I had to cut a hole through the cabin sole in order to reach the oil dipstick on one of the engines. Who the hell designed that?

The problem and the solution.

This snowmachine isn't nearly that bad. It has a huge cargo area on the back but has only a single bar about 10 inches above the deck going part way around it to hold cargo in it. I did this on my other machines in the past and today I put two solid eye-bolts on each side to attach binders or bungee cords to hold things in place on the trail. In the whole setup of snowmachine and cargo sled the area that takes the least beating from moguls is the back of the machine. It's where I carry eggs, and camera gear and anything else I don't want broken or shocked. So it's vital to make sure that stuff can't bounce around. So now I have some tie-downs to hold things in place. Enough times I had to wring out those cardboard cartons to regain at least some of the eggs after several broke on the trail. I even measured and spaced the eye bolts so I can strap my snowshoes, one to each side, to the cargo rail. Still TBDW (to be dealt with): There is no easy access to the top of the engine.

An unexpected difficulty interrupted that operation. Neither of the batteries for my drill motor had enough oomph to drill the holes. So while they were charging, I went after the plants that had to come indoors. The other day I harvested what was left in the garden so this was all that was left except to put up protective wire fencing to keep moose out of the lilac and put up the bird feeders. I collected the godzilla geranium and the Valentine rose plant (it defies the term "bush) and brought them indoors.

With several nagging chores out of the way and that geranium where it spends the larger part of the year on the kitchen table while the rose plant waits for February atop a bookshelf, maybe it's time to sit back a little and relax into the evening with some music. I hear my favorite Lady singer has a new song out.