Still Time

It sure seemed like we were on the cusp of fall about a week back when the weather suddenly turned cool. Suddenly seems a bit oxymoron because let's face it, it's time for cooler weather, so we shouldn't be surprised. However, right before the temps cooled down, we had a crazy stretch of really warm weather, almost hotter than any stretch we'd seen all summer, if you can believe that. It was good for hitting the beach, but not so much for everything else. Either way, it was hot, and then the temps suddenly dropped overnight by about 25 degrees, I kid you not. It was a bit jarring, and suddenly we were burning wood every morning, which is more like it is supposed to be.

Then, out of nowhere, we have gotten another stretch of warm weather. Yesterday it was about 80 degrees with high humidity, and it sure felt like summer. I was talking to our neighbor at the farm and he said we really need some rain. I guess you don't really think about drought conditions at any other time besides summer, but it can happen in the fall and spring. Winter not so much.

The weather hasn't been miserably hot, so I can deal with it, and another silver lining, if you can call it that, is that I can continue doing some outdoor projects that I didn't get to over the summer, namely painting the house (for the record, I totally feel this guy's pain). I can split and stack wood in the snow, if need be, but painting is a trickier project. You really need moderate temperatures for the paint to dry properly and withstand the brutal New England winters. I've been told that the days need to get above 50 degrees to paint, and I'm hoping that gives me another couple of weeks, at least. Maybe more.

I'm aiming to paint the other gable end of the house and finish the front. Last year I started on the bottom half and for whatever reason, and there are many, didn't do the top half. You can see the line of demarcation where the new paint ends. This time around I'm hoping to paint the trim and finish the clapboards. I'll hit the front first because it faces north and doesn't benefit as much from warm sunny weather. It's also the most accessible since it's not as high as the gable end, which require a 30 foot extension ladder, which I am not a fan of. Plus, on the gable end, I'm dealing with wasps galore. Like the other gable end, I'll work up to a certain point and then stop to avoid clashing with the little buggers.

We'll see how my master painting plan works. I'm hoping to avoid relegating this project into the realm of pipe dreams, because let's face it, I can't make my way to being a real man by just splitting firewood and making casseroles, can I?

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Kim Skotak for the pic.