Anyone else seeing signs of an early winter?

[MF RED in MT]

It was an extended process of about 5 years to get the woodshed where it is now.

For about 4 years I would just load rounds into the woodshed and split as needed with electric 9 ton log splitter.

Use to just have winter or summer tires leaning against the wood and would have to move them a few times during the season.

Did not have the wood off the ground and spring thaw would rot some of the firewood touching the ground over a few years.

Also did not have dividers going up to the roof joist and would have an occasional firewood avalanche.

Installed those firewood dividers at measured distance so that the stacked wood would be 1/2 cord per row + -.

The dividers took the guess work out of how much firewood I burned in a season.

My kindling pile usually last thru out the winter.

Only way I start a fire is using 4 or 5 pieces of kindling, about 2 or 3 sticks of fatwood fire starter, 1 greenspark natural fire starter, and then light it with an electric match lighter.

I do not use any newspaper at all to start a fire.

All of my wood is cut to 18".

KC

 

[cqaigy2]

No winter here yet. Leaves falling are from heat and lack of moisture. Blackberries are fantastic this year, usually once they start getting ripe, we get hit by rain, and they start molding, but this year they're ripening up and taste yummy. My grandson and i sampled a largish number of them yesterday.

 

[Oaktree]

Blackberries are fantastic this year, usually once they start getting ripe, we get hit by rain, and they start molding, but this year they're ripening up and taste yummy. My grandson and i sampled a largish number of them yesterday.

I spent a couple years in the Seattle area in the mid-70s and I've never seen so many blackberries in my life!! There were a couple vacant lots near where I lived and I could fill a bucket without even moving from one spot!! Of course, this was in the post-Vietnam "last one out please turn off the lights" era. A look at Google maps shows those lots to be developed now.

 

[ArlyA]

Oh ya, looks like fall!

 

[Oaktree]

Hard to believe a couple days ago it was pushing 90 and quite humid. Today never even broke 60! Fall definitely in the air.

 

[BackRoad]

Fall is looking to be early in Northern PA...

This was Aug 22nd...

 

[ruffdog]

Several years ago I noticed the caterpillars were REALLY fuzzy so a person may think the winter would be harsh. It wasn't. Now, after 2 years of drought, I'm not seeing ANY caterpillars. We are also not seeing hardly any Asian beetles, Japanese beetles, potato bugs, tomato worms, ticks, mosquitoes, etc. Very strange......

 

[Torvy]

Several years ago I noticed the caterpillars were REALLY fuzzy so a person may think the winter would be harsh. It wasn't. Now, after 2 years of drought, I'm not seeing ANY caterpillars. We are also not seeing hardly any Asian beetles, Japanese beetles, potato bugs, tomato worms, ticks, mosquitoes, etc. Very strange......

Not really strange. Them things are small and like the rest of us, your eyes are likely dimming!

 

[cwbyeng1300]

Not sure about early, but here in West Tx, we had a very dry year - I got more rain one night a couple of weeks ago than I had since Sept 2021.

The mesquite trees produced more beans this year than I have seen in a long time, cover the ground about 1" deep. Oldtimers tell me that means a rough, wet winter.

 

[EddieWalker]

Here in East Texas, summer ended about 2 weeks ago. Temps have been very mild and pleasant. Usually summer lasts until mid September. There are a lot of predictions that we are going to have a colder then normal winter, with more snow then normal. Normal snow fall here is about 2-4 inches every other year, give or take a bit. Last winter was very mild, I'm stocking up with extra firewood for this year!!!