The end of another year is upon us, and the only thing sadder than not being able to come out to the cottage every weekend, is the thought that I have to pack up my seadoos for the winter. These last few weeks of the summer lake season are spent doing all the closing up tasks, and cleaning and fixing that the cottage and all the lake toys require after another fun summer. It's not all that bad though, because the cleanup and fixing that is done in the fall just means an easy job of opening the cottage in the spring.
Once fall hits, it is still great weather to enjoy the cottage, but I start to lose interest in riding the seadoos on the lake anymore. It's just more fun to putter around the cottage with a mug of coffee and work on packing everything away, rather than bearing the cold water and dreading every cloud in the sky that blocks the sun, preventing the last bits of summer sun from warming my chilly wetsuit. Anyway, it's time to pull the seadoos out of the water and give them the end of season scrub down to get rid of any lakewater. While washing them down, I take the time to fully inspect everything, and before they get packed away I'll fix up any scrapes or dings, or replace any worn or broken parts.
After each PWC has been cleaned and fixed, they get towed to their winter storage spot. I have a great oversized garage where there is room at the end for me to store my trailer with the pwcs on it for the winter. At the cottage I get the seadoo covers on for hauling back to the house, and then they are set for the winter (unless of course it was a wet day when I hauled them back, then I need to dry them out and recover them later). As for the other boats at the cottage, the canoe has a little frame that it sits upside down on under the cottage, and all the paddles get brought into the cottage so the animals don't decide to use them as toothpicks over the winter.
Once the pwcs are all safely packed away under their seadoo covers, there is still lots to do before we leave the cottage for the summer. Since we have a nice treed lot, we spend a fair amount of time keeping the woods clear of fallen trees and branches, so it doesn't get too overgrown. Gathering up any deadwood in the fall keeps the lot clear, and it gives us free firewood for our woodstove and campfires. Stacking wood in the fall under an overhang at the end of the cottage gives it a chance to dry out, ready for the fire to warm up the cottage in the spring.
We also spend a lot of time working on our naturalized landscaping. There are no manicured flower beds or anything like that, but we have planted a lot of bulbs and hostas and creeping ground cover that give our cottage a wonderful natural landscape. At the edges of the lawn and driveway are some banks of wildflowers that self seed and give the lot beautiful color through the season. I like to cut back any plants and bulb leaves that are starting to die back, so there is less cleanup to do in the spring. I add the clippings to our compost pile, and then take a bit of the ready compost and amend any beds that I think need it. Cutting the lawn one last time lets us enjoy the tiny spring bulbs that we've planted, without getting lost in long dead grass.
There are lots of chores to be done in the fall. I find the major jobs are getting the boats and seadoos packed up, and getting the yardwork all cleaned up and done. Aside from that, the only thing left for the final weekend is to pack up all the towels and linens, drain the pipes and turn all the appliances off for the winter. The more effort that goes into the fall packup, the less work there is in the spring when we bring out the pwcs, put away the seadoo covers and get out on the lake again!
Once fall hits, it is still great weather to enjoy the cottage, but I start to lose interest in riding the seadoos on the lake anymore. It's just more fun to putter around the cottage with a mug of coffee and work on packing everything away, rather than bearing the cold water and dreading every cloud in the sky that blocks the sun, preventing the last bits of summer sun from warming my chilly wetsuit. Anyway, it's time to pull the seadoos out of the water and give them the end of season scrub down to get rid of any lakewater. While washing them down, I take the time to fully inspect everything, and before they get packed away I'll fix up any scrapes or dings, or replace any worn or broken parts.
After each PWC has been cleaned and fixed, they get towed to their winter storage spot. I have a great oversized garage where there is room at the end for me to store my trailer with the pwcs on it for the winter. At the cottage I get the seadoo covers on for hauling back to the house, and then they are set for the winter (unless of course it was a wet day when I hauled them back, then I need to dry them out and recover them later). As for the other boats at the cottage, the canoe has a little frame that it sits upside down on under the cottage, and all the paddles get brought into the cottage so the animals don't decide to use them as toothpicks over the winter.
Once the pwcs are all safely packed away under their seadoo covers, there is still lots to do before we leave the cottage for the summer. Since we have a nice treed lot, we spend a fair amount of time keeping the woods clear of fallen trees and branches, so it doesn't get too overgrown. Gathering up any deadwood in the fall keeps the lot clear, and it gives us free firewood for our woodstove and campfires. Stacking wood in the fall under an overhang at the end of the cottage gives it a chance to dry out, ready for the fire to warm up the cottage in the spring.
We also spend a lot of time working on our naturalized landscaping. There are no manicured flower beds or anything like that, but we have planted a lot of bulbs and hostas and creeping ground cover that give our cottage a wonderful natural landscape. At the edges of the lawn and driveway are some banks of wildflowers that self seed and give the lot beautiful color through the season. I like to cut back any plants and bulb leaves that are starting to die back, so there is less cleanup to do in the spring. I add the clippings to our compost pile, and then take a bit of the ready compost and amend any beds that I think need it. Cutting the lawn one last time lets us enjoy the tiny spring bulbs that we've planted, without getting lost in long dead grass.
There are lots of chores to be done in the fall. I find the major jobs are getting the boats and seadoos packed up, and getting the yardwork all cleaned up and done. Aside from that, the only thing left for the final weekend is to pack up all the towels and linens, drain the pipes and turn all the appliances off for the winter. The more effort that goes into the fall packup, the less work there is in the spring when we bring out the pwcs, put away the seadoo covers and get out on the lake again!
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