Preparing for the Snow

 


The BBC usually refuse to accept that snow exists, so often it's a surprise when we wake up to a snowy scene. Given that they are forecasting multiple snow showers, coupled with high winds over the coming days, it must be going to be fairly deep!

Stempster is made up of lots of roofs, all going in interesting directions. The result is an exciting looking building, but also that there are multiple slopes around the house. This means that, if the snow is too deep, an avalanche is deposited from the roof onto the floor, causing an alarming sound as it slides down. Any plants that are in the way of the avalanche are squashed beyond recognition.

So, in the event that the BBC actually admits to a snowstorm on the way, the wisest thing to do is move any pots of plants away from a roof slope.

While this is easy for small pots like the 15cm jobs for the Meditation Garden, a wooden raised trough full of compost is a different matter. As soon as we tried to move it, one of the legs split and the wheel came off. I'd already decided that the bed would become my herb bed next year, so we had to move it somewhere that could be its "forever home". Moving it back and forward would not do, not with only three wheels working.

Having a look around, it seemed sensible to use the kitchen garden for an edible planter, and we found a suitable spot just in front of the oil tank. Only problem was the 2m, 20cm wide poles that needed moving, and the stones that needed putting there for the path. But necessity driving us, we worked together to put the bed in situ, and hopefully it will remain there for the foreseeable future.


Another pre-snow job was splitting the logs for the stove. If it's going to be cold, we need to make sure that we have plenty of fuel, especially as the wind may cause a power cut. I got Dad a log splitter last Christmas and, one year later, we had fun figuring it out. Together, we made short work of splitting the logs and stacking them in the wood store, ready for whatever the weather will throw at us.

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