As you know, Lynne and I worked pretty hard over the summer to stockpile sufficient fire wood for the winter.

We have a wood dolly that we use to haul wood to the front porch where we stockpile about 1/2 cord.

We heat the cabin throughout the day and evening with wood in the wood stove. And, it is nice to have a fire in the open hearth fireplace occasionally. The cabin looses about 1° per hour overnight, so if we can start with a temperature of 70° or so when we go to bed (usuallly around 9:00), then it is around 60° when we get up. The thermostat on the propane forced-air heater is set to keep the cabin at 60° from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., then to raise the temperature to 65°, where we keep it all day. If it is windy, we lose heat a bit faster because we are still tracking down all the little leaks we have around windows and doors.

So far this year, we have been using wood stored on the front porch that is probably 10 to 12 years old! But, this week we used the last of that and had to start using the wood we cut this summer. We had planned to cut, buck, split and stack 7-8 cords, but only got a bit more than 6 cords done. We are not sure if that will get us through the winter. We'll see.

So, on a nice day, we got out our wood dolly that handily hauls many armloads of wood in a single trip, and restocked the front porch. The dolly is built to carry split wood and can carry quite a bit. The large wheels make it easy to pull it up over the two steps at the door and we just pull it through the cabin to the front where we have some wood racks. It save many trips through the cabin with armloads of wood.

The dolly loaded with wood. 

Wood storage on the front porch.

We are experimenting with one other fire wood management subject: how to deal with the large amounts of sawdust created while bucking the wood. We probably created enough sawdust to fill a 55 gallon drum. We can't just leave it laying around because it does not go anywhere (unless the wind blows it). The dogs like to roll in it, we track it into the cabin, etc. So, I've collected most of it and put it in a large black trash bag. I then poured about a quart of lamp oil over it and stirred it around. (Diesel fuel may be a better option.) I allow it to "cure" in the plastic bag, and take out some into an empty coffee can to sprinkle in the fireplace to help start a fire. We've only started using it, and we still use some paper and pinecones, so am not 100% sure if it helps. But, it is a way to get rid of the sawdust. It is called "firedust".

A black plastic bag filled with firedust.

Today, we went into Laramie and did our "final" shopping for emergency provisions for this coming winter.

While we can quite likely always get into town within a week or so of any major storm, it is also possible that back-to-back storms with high winds could strand us at the cabin for several weeks in a row. We have heard that year-around residents in previous years have gone as long as 7 to 8 weeks without being able to get into town. The last thing you want in that situation is hearing your spouse yelling "Crap, we are out of toilet paper!"

The back of the truck after our first provisioning trip to Sam's Club for bulk items.

If you follow this blog, you know we've taken a few steps to ensure our ability to get out in an emergency--such as putting tracks on the Polaris Ranger. However, absent an emergency, it would be best to just hunker down and ride out any bad storms.

The highest likelihood for such storms is in February, March and April of next year. But, we decided to create a list of non-perishable items that we could use to create dozens of meals, and stock up on those items "just in case". Maybe we can highlight some of those recipes in the future. For now, here is a copy of our winter provisioning list. Feel free to suggest additions in the comments.

A few weeks ago we drove to Sam's Club in Cheyenne where we purchased items we needed in bulk. Today, we shopped at the WalMart in Laramie to get the items we only needed one or two of. It was a heavy load as most items are canned. There are some frozen items and dry ingredients too, of course.

And, as you know, I have fully insulated and sealed up the storage shed just outside our back door. Most of these items go in there. Because there is a propane refrigerator and electric freezer also in there (giving off heat), it is staying around 40°, even when the temperatures outside are in the teens. (We are about to get some single-digit temperatures next week, se we'll see how it goes.) Here are a couple of photos of the stocked-up storage shed.

Obviously, we can't have fresh vegetables, so we have some canned and frozen. We do have potatoes and onions. They are in the laundry basket on the bottom shelf. I am hoping that storing them in that cool, dark place with the open air will keep them fresh. I hate soggy, limp potatoes. Again, a learning experience.

Items that might be chewed upon by critters (although I think I have the storage shed critter-proof), go into plastic storage bins (flour, boxed items, etc.) Everything else goes onto the shelves in what I hope is an organized way. We are not making an inventory of the shed (like we do the freezer). Instead, we can refer to the original shopping list to remind us what we have bought, and then rumage around to find it.

Now, if we don't get snowed in and are able to buy groceries weekly for planned meals, we'll have all this stuff stored and we will need to then eat from that stock next spring. We will keep you informed.

If you are also provisioning for winter and have suggestions for us, or questions about our strategy, shoot us an email at otg@rickandlynne.com.

Just a short post about our Thanksgiving.

It was a cold day (mid-20s), windy (gusts up to about 30 mph at the cabin), but sunny. We took the dogs for a short walk, then started meal preparations. Somehow, we survive in our tiny kitchen. The main problem we have is counter space.

All burners going!

We had fresh turkey from the Butcher Block in Laramie. Stuffing. Mashed potatoes with gravy. A cranberry/apple relish. And, a new brussels sprouts recipe. It looks pretty good on a plate:

Everything was fantastic except we didn't care much for the brussels sprout recipe we used. We'll use our old standby next time.

We took time to talk about what we are thankful for: friends, family, our health, and the opportunity to live our dream at the cabin. We also took time to think about those who are not having the Thanksgiving they probably hoped for, including our neighbor who spent the day in the hospital.

We are also thankful that dinner got cooked. We've been having a lot of problems with our new appliances. We love the mechanical designs and functionality. But, their quality suffers. I am becoming quite the appliance repair guy. The oven had been "acting up": at first not starting at all; after replacing a toggle switch it would start but would then go off after some time; an adjustment fixed that but left the oven unable to regulate the temperature; backing off the adjustment seems to have fixed it. We were able to cook several items in the oven and it performed well.

The refrigerator is another issue, and a good topic for another time. After all I want to stay positive and thankful in this post!

It's been a good couple of days for viewing wildlife. I think we are all glad that hunting season in the high country has come to an end. Yay, no more orange!

The pronghorn antelope herd that has been living just over the hill from us is pictured above, obviously before our last snowfall. We never know when we are going to come across them. There are about 30 of them as near as we can count. 

On Thursday when we got up it was still snowing with about three inches on the ground already. When I pulled open the curtains and looked outside, there was a big black moose standing just inside of the Ewok Forest at the edge of the meadow. At first I thought it was the big black cow that was hanging around so much throughout the summer. Then it started to walk into the meadow and HELLO — it was Big Boy honoring us with a visit, not the cow moose I had orignally thought. It was truly hard to photograph him because the camera kept focusing on the snow coming down! Look at those paddles! We keep hoping he sheds them somewhere where we can find them. In fact, we are thinking of buying a kit that teaches a dog how to find and bring back antlers. Destin has such a great nose that we think it would be fun for him. Good luck and haha, right?

We were glad the dogs had already had their out pretty early on because Big Boy decided our meadow was a good place for an early morning nap. Photos just don't do him jusctice. He is HUGE.

Here he is when he first laid down and then a little later on. Funny how the snow seems to fall in a blanket on his back instead of covering him all over.

Big Boy you are welcome any time!

As far as our feathered friends are concerned, we've had some sightings there as well. Going in to town we sometimes see eagles, both bald and golden and lots of different hawks. We have missed several great photo opportunities lately, one being two mature bald eagles sitting together on a rise. No cameras! So now every time we go into town we both have our cameras with telephotos lenses at the ready. We went one week without seeing any big birds at all, which we chalked up to having our cameras with us every time.

Wednesday we had to go in to get eBay's food from the vet and we got lucky a few times.

We are pretty sure this is an immature bald eagle because of the mottling of the underside of the wings.

A little further on we came across this golden eagle sitting on the post of a cattle guard. Pretty head!

On the way back from town we took a different route since we had also gone to the feed store to get a couple of bales of hay to put out for the deer and elk. There is an eagle's nest in a big cottonwood tree and we see the pair of golden eagles that live there once in a while. 

This time instead of seeing the eagles by the tree we found this hawk (unsure of identification) sitting in the cottonwood. Hawks came be so hard to identify. My best guess is a ferruginous hawk. He blends in well!

And finally, a golden eagle just down the road.

Sitty pretty.

Lift-off!

Stupid pole, but you can see the huge wingspan.

We never know what we are going to see either here at home or on the road!

As Lynne mentioned in her previous post, we need to learn "snow management" for the winter. While we've been up here many times in the winter, it was either snowed in or blown dry. We have not had the opportunity to experience the full life-cycle of a snow storm. So, we were not sure where the snow would melt, would drift, would turn to ice, etc. After this last storm with about 5" of snow, and the fact we did nothing to manage it, we now have a better idea. 

One snow management task is to brush the snow off the solar panels. One set is on the ground and easy to reach. The other set is on the roof and requires a ladder. In both cases a 15' extension broom is essential. Lynne is not happy about the idea of leaving the ladder set up all winter, but I don't necessarilly want to be putting it up and down for every storm.

I was once counseled by a wise man who had lived up here many years. His counsel was to "leave the snow alone until you absolutely have to move it". He had the same philosophy on dead trees. That is what I decided to do this time. That might have worked for him in his location where he got lots of sun and wind. But, our driveway is sheltered from wind and sun by trees. So, I am probably not going to follow that advice next time.

Instead, I think we will have a list of snow chores to do at the end of each storm:

• Verify generator airflow is not blocked
• Verify propane system vent is not covered at the regulator
• Clear off decks
• Clear off solar panels
• Run snow blower on driveway
• Use snowshoes to pack down trail for dog duties
• Take a drive in the Ranger

It is supposed to snow again today and tomorrow, and again several times over the coming weeks. We'll see how that goes.

Of course, this is only snow management at the cabin site. We'll also need to learn to manage getting in and out of Sand Creek Park, which will mean managing the snow on the roads. Chains, jacks, tow ropes, shovels...can't wait.