The Killing Frost

My former urban life didn't include much notice of the first big frost. The landmark weather event of my year was usually the first big sleet. This sleet storm would traditionally be observed by putting a pork roast in the oven with squash and potatoes along with a small apple pie then curling up in front of the television to watch a movie. The fireplace, if I had one, would be ablaze and I'd be wrapped in a blanket. At the end of the night I would watch the traffic and weather report, just to remind myself how crummy it was outside of my cozy little home. I might bring a potted plant or two off of the patio, but that was the extent of my winter preparation.

The first sleet here in the country was followed within hours by snow. Indeed it was observed in the ritual fashion by an impressive menu:

Broiled Chuck Steaks with a Toasted Spice Vinaigrette

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Quinoa Salad (from my head)

and

Harvest Baked Apples and Granola

The menu was driven somewhat by the need to clear the tomato plants quickly before the sleet started in earnest and the fact I had just been given apples from a co-worker's trees that day. Despite making up the  quinoa recipe on the fly the meal turned out to be a first rate Sleet Observance Dinner.

However in the new reality of country living the first sleet/snow is only the precursor to a more important event for which we have been planning for weeks: the killing frost.
The most obvious preparation has been harvesting the summer vegetables, bringing in the potted plants and making cold frames for the plants that will winter over outside.Additionally, we've been constructing a greenhouse we got from Craigslist for some of the plants that can winter over in there.

The greenhouse begins

Under construction

Done

We've planted cold weather vegetables and cover crops in the garden. I hope to get some baby kale before it gets too cold. In the meantime, we're getting creative on how many ways we can cook squash and tomatoes. I'm looking forward to the parsnips, though they can stay in the ground almost all winter.

The new garage doors have been installed, so that (Hallalujah!) we can park in our garage without fear of the old doors falling on us. Unfortunately it may be a while before we get around to insulating the garage itself. Nonetheless, I'm content not to clean off the car in the mornings.

The new garage doors.

For the house we've been working on heating and insulation. We had the chimneys cleaned and repaired. We are preparing the wood burning stove insert to help heat the basement and the living room above. It's time for me to start unpacking the basement to use it as a real living space now that we may be spending more time there. Salt is starting to replace some of the 26 windows that were state of the art in 1977.

There is a lot to be done in preparation for winter, and the frost is upon us. It has been a few weeks since the first sleet storm, and we've now had several nights in a row when the temperature dipped into the low 30s. We've been fortunate so far that the mild weather has brought us only two killing frosts.We had a pot roast with garden vegetables to mark commemorate the most recent one. It was not as elaborate as I might have liked, but Salt was just getting back from a business trip that evening and I had the chores to do myself before darkness fell. Everyone here is anticipating a hard winter, and it looks like it will be a busy one as we finish up our projects outside and turn our attention to the interior. I've ordered a new crock pot in preparation.