THE MAGIC OF MIGRATION

(Page 5 of 5)

October/November 1998
By Fred Schaaf 
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Has the septic tank been pumped out in the last three years? It's easier to get it done now than in February, when the frost is too deep to hand dig. (if a new-to-you house, do you even know where your septic tank clean-out hatch is? How about underground drain pipes, waterlines, or electric cables? Best find out where they all are before calling in a backhoe.)

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If you haven't gotten around to the sooty and parlous ladder work of scouring out the chimney, woodstove, and pipes by now, you won't. Avoid a flue fire and call in professional chimney sweeps. You'll have to wait in line a while this late in the season and maybe pay a little more, but the sweeps'll arrive in their stove-pipe hats before the cold gets serious.

*Bring as much wood as possible inside under cover and split it small to dry for quick starting fires on cold late-fall mornings. Lay in enough candles, lamp oil, and firemakers, dry and canned food, paper products, bottled water, and radio batteries for two weeks or more of no power and possible isolation due to winter storms. If you are on grid power and the electric freezer is in a warmed spaced and full of this season's priceless produce and meat, shop around for the best price on a gasoline-powered electric generator large enough to run it for several hours a day.This can also power the water pump long enough to fill toilets and a washwater-heating tub on the woodstove, plus a computer and TV in the evenings. Store (safely) enough fuel to operate it for a month.

Be prepared and stay warm this coming El Vieho winter.

-John Vivian

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