Winter advice for people new to winter

John F Dean wrote:...... And, no I did not offer hands on help.  I did not want to put myself in a position of being blamed for any damage.

Given the characters on hand, I would be worrying most about damage to my own body when said 2X4s came hurtling out from under spinning wheels.  Sounds like "judgement of the situation at hand" was not their strong suit......yet a learning experience for the visitors!  

Hi John,

Possibly worse, 2x12s.   Anyway, I selected a good place to stand. It didn’t matter. They couldn’t figure out how to use the sand. AND, I am remembering as I write this, I was asked which way the board needed to be turned.  I suppose it is sort of like right  and left handed drywall screws.  I was nice, I told them it didn’t matter. And it didn’t.  They never tried to use the boards.

There looks to be some nastier weather than typical for many areas of North America that's on it's way. My sister, whose region is referred to as Canada's "Banana Belt," is currently shoveling out from a major snow dump.

There's tons of good info in this thread and others here on permies, so everyone please prepare yourselves for what might be coming!

Isa Delahunt wrote: Allow extra time to do chores, because breaking trail and moving things heavily covered with snow and cold and sticky will take more time and effort than usual.  Double if you are hauling water too.  Be aware when you are getting sweaty and adjust clothing as needed, or you end up getting damp and colder.  (People with real winter are laughing now, but mild-climate people don't get this!). Drink enough water!  Especially if you are hauling water and don't have as much as usual, it's tempting to not drink because you use it up faster.  But it's dry in a northeaster here like it is in our hot dry summer, as the moisture is the air is all sucked up in ice.  Keep your gloves and socks dry, rotate them out for spares if needed.  

Great info, especially while working around the homestead! Some things to go along with that is to put some of the light foam covers over all outside faucets, even if you don't intend to use them. These are cheap and can be enhanced by adding insulation under that using a 2-3 inch wide roll. Another good suggestion to keep your door locks free from freezing is to buy a tube of 3 or more tennis balls. Lay a nickle onto a ball and mark around that with a good pen. Cur the circle out then snip five slots around the circle to about mid-way down the tennis ball. These slip nicely over the outside knobs with the key-way on all the doors. Easy to slip on/off for access the keys! I've never had one of  these freeze on me when some I didn't use these on froze solid - no entry!
   One other major item. IF you park outside in winter a good suggestion is to use your plastic shopping bags tied around your mirrors. Simple to tie and untie these and save you some work cleaning ice off. And, if you have an old light weight blanket or throw you can tie some string or garden twine around TWO corners on the longer ends. After you get those tied to the ends, wrap the other ends of the strings to a door handle or pass through a window and tie inside, but keep as high up as possible. After those two items are done just lift the windshield wipers and pull the blanket underneath on both sides. The wipers hold the blanket down and are also kept reasonably clear when taken off so that you can immediately drive, something you might need to do in an emergency rather than having to take time to scrape ice off the windshield.
Keep SAFE, walking, driving, around animals, etc.