Minding the Cold

 As November 2023 comes to a close, the weather is getting more and more like winter. There have already been many mornings with temps in the low 20s. Most of the time, it is still warming up into the 30s and 40 during the day. But as soon as the sun sets over the horizon, the temperature drops quickly.

I went kayak camping in the third week of October and the early morning temps were in the mid-20s then already. One can only carry so much gear in a fishing kayak so I did not have enough sleeping gear to stay warm. Then, this past weekend, my son and I were deer hunting and it was in the low 20s again in the mornings. But, unlike when I was paddling the kayak, I was just sitting in an elevated blind while hunting and wasn't generating any heat. It was cold.

But there are some hacks you can do to stay moderately comfortable in the cold. Staying dry is critical. If you are too warm you sweat and if your clothes get damp from sweat, you will soon freeze. The object is to stay cool, but not cold. Layering helps because you can take off layers of clothes if you are heating up too much and then put those clothing layers back on if you start to get cold.

In the deer stand, I brought along a bivy sack to get in. A bivy sack, or bivy bag, is like an outer shell for a sleeping bag. The one I have is an Old School sleeping bag shell from the old 1970s version of the Army mummy bag sleeping bag. I hated that sleeping bag, it was too confining for me. But the outer shell, made of light weight canvas, makes a great warm weather sleep system component and if you button it up with your lower body inside the bag, it keeps the wind away and is surprisingly warm. It holds your legs body heat around your legs.

Another trick is to place a lit, long burning candle between your feet and drape a blanket over your body with the candle beneath you. The rising heat will keep that small, enclosed space quite warm for as long as the candle burns. You can be sitting, squatting, or kneeling to do this. I have a small candle lantern that just holds a Tea Candle inside a lightweight aluminum lantern, with a glass chimney, which makes it safer to do this. There is no exposed flame.

A thermos full of hot coffee, tea, soup, or broth will make you feel warmer after a drink. I have a small one that only holds a pint and the screw on cup hold maybe four to six ounces. But it keeps the drink hot/warm for a very long time. I have an exterior neoprene cover that goes around the thin thermos, which greatly adds to the insulation.

High calorie food such as chocolate bars, energy bars, Pop-tarts, etc. will give your body the quick burning fuel it needs to generate heat. You don't want too much fat or protein in this snack, they are slow to digest and require energy to break down the food.

Chemical hand warmers are great and last a surprisingly long time. They can get very hot so make sure they are not in direct contact with your skin. Place them over your kidneys to warm your core, in your armpits to warm the blood going into your arms, in your pants front pockets to warm the blood going down to your legs. I like to put small ones between the layers of my shirts at my wrists to keep my hands warm. One or two in your sleeping bag can keep your feet warm but be careful not to over heat and sweat.

Wearing a scarf or neck gaiter to protect your neck is important. A lot of blood passes just under the surface of your neck and if exposed to the cold it will chill you down in a hurry. If you don't have one with you, pull up your collar (of your shirts, sweater, coat) and pull down your hat to cover as much exposed skin as possible. I have often used a spare undershirt or towel wrapped around my neck in emergencies.

Always wear a hat, even when sleeping. Wool socks are best since wool retains insulating properties even when wet. If you can afford it, buy a pair of shoes that are a full size too big and wear thicker socks. More insulation from thick wool socks will keep your feet warm and the extra room in your boots/shoes will allow for better blood circulation.

Winter adventures can be magical but they can also turn deadly if you aren't dressed properly and prepared. Carry a light pack with emergency gear such as fire making equipment, fire starters, some sort of wind-proof shelter material, a bit of food, a metal cup (to heat water), powdered drink mix (coffee, tea, hot cocoa, bullion cubes, etc.), a space blanket (at a minimum but I usually carry an Army-surplus wool blanket roll), and signalling devices (a good whistle at a minimum).

The Power of Loyalty Cards

 Loyalty cards at hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores can save you a lot of money and often provide occasional bonuses.

We buy most of our groceries at a chain store called Giant. Using your card with every purchase "earns" cents off your gas at their gas pumps. The "cents off" is in ten cent increments and Giant has a 24 gallon maximum. So, any time we get up to 30 or 40 cents off, I wait until I am well below a quarter tank of gas, put two five gallon gas cans in the back of the car, and go fill 'er up. If you can max out at 24 gallons you get the most savings.

I live part-time in Maryland, where I work, and I have a rewards card with Royal Farms, a gas and food business. I earn a point per dollar spent. I also get a ten cent a gallon discount so my gas there is usually thirty to forty cents a gallon cheaper than at home in PA. With my points I can get free food and drinks. Royal Farms regularly gives out random bonuses such as a free coffee, free energy drinks, and a free chicken meal on your birthday.

My son travels a lot for work and his employer pays for his hotel stays but he gets to keep the reward nights. So when he and his wife go on personal travels, all their rooms are paid for with the reward points.

Panera Bread also has a reward point system and it takes a while, but I earn free drinks and free pastries after buying a few meals there.

A local car wash in my town has a reward card where after paying for nine car washes, you get the tenth one free. That is, effectively, a ten percent discount.

These cards generally cost nothing but pay off points for money that you were going to spend anyway. You need gas, so earn some free stuff when you pay for it. You need groceries, so get free stuff when you pay for them.

Fall Garden Chores for Spring Success

 Spring can come fast in the north, so getting ready in the fall is the smart thing to do. I'm talking garden chores here. Many people get bored or tired of garden work by the end of summer as the harvest wanes and weeds take over. But if you want to be ready earlier in the spring, there is much that can and should be done in the fall.

Removing all the dead vegetation and weeding the garden beds should be a priority. Pest insects and some diseases will over-winter in the dead vegetation. Getting them out of the garden and raking the top two inches of soil will get rid of most of the pests and expose those left behind to the harsh weather, which will hopefully kill them as well.

The raised bed to the left still needs to get cleaned up but this one is properly cleared of all weeds and dead plant material. Every couple of days I will lightly rake the topsoil to expose any insect eggs to the well below freezing temps at night. This should greatly reduce to number of bugs that hatch in the spring. Later, I will cover this bed with a couple inches of mulch to protect the soil from rains and to feed the soil bacteria and worms.

I built the U-shaped raised bed recently and filled them with soil, which is still settling. The pavers were just hastily put down just to see if I had enough. I will pull them up in the spring and set them in place properly then. The weedy area will become one large bed for larger crops such as corn and potatoes. I need to till it under soon before it freezes.

My compost pile cooled down from 143 degrees to about 70-80, due to lack of oxygen. The compost had been up to 143 degrees a week previously and was hot for over three weeks. But as the bacteria digest the organic matter, they use up the available oxygen and their metabolic processes slow down.
 

So, I used a pitchfork to move the material from this bin to the one on the right. I layered this with some older, half-composted material (to add bacteria) and some fresh plant matter from my flower gardens. This adds much needed air space, to hold more oxygen, and fresh green material to help feed the bacteria.

The result, after three days, is 150-degree temperatures and you can see that the composting process is well under way. I will probably turn and mix the compost one or two more times before the cold winter air brings the composting process to a crawl. But, by late spring, I will have approximately 20-25 cubic feet of good quality compost to add to my raised beds.