Hey, about to start gluing up the styrofoam elements of my slowly-progressing insulated attic hatch sled.
I've yammered about this previously, and finally settled on a design based on controlling cost and effort, but still getting a good R-factor above a pull-down attic stair hatch (which is currently uninsulated).
It'll all slide out of the way when I (rarely) need attic access.
Yay, just finished the second installed attic-hatch build & install. Number three is easy, hatch is fine, just needs insulation. Number four is more complex. Some sketching and thinking is required there. It's a large pull-down ladder hatch.
#Journal, Day 1365
Thursday, 14 December 2023
#UkraineWar: Day 660
#HamasIsraelWar: Day 68
#MassShootings in the USA in 2023: 638 & holding
#birdsofmastodon #parrotcare
#winterizing
#holidaybreak
#workingvacation
It gets pretty cold here and we typically cover a number of windows in the house with plastic to keep the cold out. But that’s super wasteful so I’m looking for reusable solutions. Has anyone done this? Any tips?
Yesterday I winterized the banana plants on my patio and today I did the same for two dahlia plants. I feel obligated to the former owner of this apartment to take care of the plants, and I am doing my best, with the assistance of YouTube. Having never owned either banana plants or dahlias in the past, my efforts are lacking in experience but bolstered by determination.
The banana plants were pruned and surrounded with bubble wrap, in accordance with the instructions from J.F. Hedge Trimming. I also protected the plants with mulch and black plastic bags and then brought them close to the apartment to avoid the worst of the cold and wind that winter will provide.
I thought about digging up the dahlia tubers but did not have a convenient cold, dry, and dark place to store them for the winter. Nor did I have a handy supply of vermiculite in which to surround them. So, I left them in their pots. Wallish Greenhouses provided me with a reasonable alternative, and I have followed their advice. The dahlia tubers and appropriately short stems are now shrouded in mulch and black plastic and nestled in their pots. They are close to the banana plants and next to the window to my living room in the hope that they will be both protected and cold but not frozen. In due course I will let you know if my efforts were successful or not.
Before I winterized the dahlias, though, I saved the last bloom. It has already survived some cold nights and I didn’t think it had long to live, but I wanted to enjoy it just a little while longer. Here it is in a vase on my table.
The person who lived in this condo before me had looked after several large pots of plants that still live on the patio, and I have been enjoying their company. As the weather cools, I am thinking about winterizing, but I have been reluctant to cut down the dahlias because they still have some lovely blooms. So, today, I cut a few of the remaining flowers and put them in a vase to enjoy them indoors. I particularly like the colours of the peach-coloured blooms and I hope they come back next year.
I’ve lived somewhere it snows almost my entire life, and it never irritates me any less.
Pretty, though.
Finished #winterizing the #garden this weekend. They all have their little "sweaters" on now. 
Good luck to all!
