It's Fall Y'all! Do These Seven Things Before Winter Arrives

We're now deep into October, and that crisp chill is in the air. Color is bursting onto the landscape and our thoughts turn toward all the outdoor fun we can finally have without risking heat stroke and dehydration.

One more great thing about fall: It's football time in Tennessee (and in other slightly less significant places).

Yes, it's a great time of year to be outdoors. In fact, I have an idea: Pretend for a moment that we're standing outside your home. It's a good time to take a look at a few things before winter gets here. Would you join me?

Let's take a look in the tool shed and make sure we have our water hose spigot insulators. When winter gets here and temps hit freezing, we're going to need those so that the pipes don't burst. Don't forget to firmly attach them when it starts getting cold outside.

Okay, now let's grab our water meter wrench (the black rebar thing that looks like a "T", and should probably be classified as a deadly weapon), and head to the front yard. Find the main water shut-off and make sure it turns. Everything good? Great! You want to make sure that thing works. Much like FEMA after a hurricane, interior shut off valves are notorious for not working properly when you have an emergency. You need to have that exterior valve as a backup.

Let's check the rain gutters now. Set up your ladder and climb on up. If the gutters are full of leaves, go ahead and get those out. Leaves clogging them up can cause rain water to back up behind the gutters and go under the eaves, which will cause the fascia to rot. That ultimately leads to water and pests getting inside your house. Besides, if you don't keep your gutters clean, you'll have small trees growing out of them in the spring, and then all the neighbors will know your shame.

Now while you're up there on the ladder, take a look at the roof. Are there any shingles missing or curled up? Are any tree branches touching the roof?  By the way; how old is that roof now? Even the best asphalt shingle roof will only have a life of about twenty years, maximum. Do you see a lot of granular matter in the rain gutter - a kind of sediment that builds up from the shingles disintegrating? If so, you might want to call a good roofer before winter arrives. Predictions from very serious weather bloggers with no credentials, as well as the Farmer's Almanac indicate a very wet winter this year, and the last thing you want is a leaky roof.

Can you see your chimney from where you're standing? If you plan to use your fireplace this winter, you'll want to have it inspected and cleaned before you build your first fire of the season. Even if you had it cleaned a few years ago and haven't used it since, it's best to have it inspected. Wildlife can get in there and build nests, which turn into raging infernos when sparks hit them. Although it looks amazing when your chimney resembles an upside-down rocket engine, it's really not so amazing when it's the only part of your house still standing.

Let's briefly pop into the attic now that it's cool enough to go in there without suffocating. Look at any water pipes that run through there. Are they well insulated? If not, wrap them up good before the bitter cold hits. There were far too many burst pipes in this town last winter. Not all of them could've been prevented, but some of them could've been with just a little planning. Alright, let's go back outside.

Now, walk around the perimeter of the house and see if you can spot any holes where squirrels, roof rats, or raccoons can get in. They often chew their way in; especially around openings where wires are run into the house. When furry pests get inside your walls and attic, they can make quite a mess; but even worse, they can chew up your wiring and cause an electrical fire. Since shooting holes in your walls with a 12-gauge isn't an option, you might have to call a wildlife removal service if you can't trap them on your own. In any case, evict them as soon as possible. How you dispose of them after that is your own business, but keep in mind that Jed and Granny weren't very picky when it came to vittles, and you don't have to be either - I'm just sayin'.

Okay, that should do it. Don't forget to do that every fall. If you need a reminder, just think of this article when you see the leaves change next year. Happy fall, y'all!