READY FOR WINTER

Today is our last day at home--tomorrow we start the trek to Surprise, Arizona.  Every fall we go through a similar routine of getting things put away for the winter and we do our best to ensure everything winters well.  This year we added the 3 new fruit trees to our “to do” list and followed advice from various internet sources.  The trees are still very small and vulnerable so we wrapped the stems in burlap and we also packed straw around the base.  Don’t they look nice in their winter coats?

The roses were covered with a layer of dirt at the base, then straw and then surrounded by Stuart’s customized rose protectors.  Some of the roses are much larger this year so Stuart may have to build a larger set of protectors for next winter.

The basement window wells had their usual covers screwed in place to keep the snow from building up and melting in the wells.  They also serve as an additional security measure.

A friend of mine told me that I might be able to overwinter the geraniums so I researched the process and here’s the plan.  You let them dry out, cut them back about half way, cover them with a paper bag and store them in a cool, dark location.  I’m putting ours in the garage and hopefully, they will survive and bloom again in the spring.

And last but not least, Stuart made a snow scraper for our “boat house.”  We’re not sure how much snow might build up on it but it isn’t designed for a lot of extra weight.  A friend of ours is storing his boat in it and will keep the top snow free.

So the truck is loaded up, the fridge is almost empty, the car is decommissioned in the garage and our travelling clothes are packed.  Stuart even had time to make a batch of fresh buns to go with our homemade ground turkey ravioli for supper.  We’ve been cooking some speciality dishes that we can’t easily do in the RV.

We have decided to take a different route this year on highway 95 which goes through central Nevada rather than eastern Nevada.  We plan to stop in the town of Tonopah, NV for our second night and then continue through Las Vegas and back onto our regular route, arriving at Happy Trails on Saturday morning.  If I get a chance, I’ll post to the blog along the way.