As you begin your fall preparations, here are some things to add to your list.
- Check your culverts. Mud can fill culverts up with silt. Grass and weeds can obstruct the openings. Animals can build nests in them. You need to make sure they are totally clear so that water can flow unobstructed over your property.
- Weed eat your ditches. If the grasses are short they will cause less drifting when snow comes. The shorter grass also helps the road grader work the ditches easier. It also prevents debris from washing down into culverts.
- Remove rocks from barrow ditches. We have an ugly cycle where the road grader pulls the gravel out of the ditches...along with any large rocks that are present. He deposits them on the roads. People throw the big rocks back into the ditch...and we do it again next year.
- Be Bear Aware. Bears are looking for extra food to bulk up for winter. Make sure that garbage cans, pet food, bird feeders and coolers are secured. You don't want to attract the wrong kind of attention.
