This post is sponsored by Troy-Bilt.
We have a lot of questions come in from readers. Mostly about home stuff and projects, which is expected. But Jules and I have also noticed a growing interest in our lives as Idahoans. That's also understandable, since Idaho is a bit of a mystery state; only passively remembered when you pick up your bag of potatoes from the grocery.
Honestly, that's one of the things we love most about where we live. It's this hidden treasure that most people would never see as an actual destination, but it's beautiful beyond words with extreme versions of every season, though not in equal measures.
The truth is, we have snow on the ground 5 out of 12 months a year. At least a jacket is required at some point during the day for another 3 months, and even summer nights may require a light zip-up. And even though those 4 glorious months of summer are more than enough for us to gladly keep our roots planted deep into this Idaho soil, Winters are brutal.
Having the a-frame to a point where it's comfortable and useable has been nice as a getaway when we all get a little cabin fever. But day after day, the sky drops another layer of snow and we put on another layer of clothing.
For all of the work we put into our home, and you all put into yours, the change in seasons can be harsh and destructive and making sure you take care of them year-round ensures you can enjoy them at their best. We've been working with Troy-Bilt for awhile now, and last winter they sent us an Arctic Storm 30in Snowblower. Now in its second winter (which has been a doozy, let me tell you), this thing still runs like a total champ and handles all the snow Idaho throws at it.
I've been able to keep our driveways, walkways and deck all cleared, which reduces the impact of intense seasonal changes (in the case of our sidewalks and driveway) and lessens the chance of structural damage due to excessive weight (in the case of our deck). And no matter what level of snow you get, Troy-Bilt has a snowblower that'll work just how you need it to.
So even though the winters can be long and rough, they're still an important stage of the life of your home, and taking proper are during those months will really make the other months shine. So even when I'm out in the above, I'll be dreaming of this:
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Do you guys ever lose power, and what's your plan for that? Generator? Abandon ship? And what about the cabin?
I assume the fireplaces would still work in an outage, but you must be on well water? We're new to the boonies of NH, and I'm still trying to figure out how to make winters work. Any and all tips are appreciated.
Almost everyone has a generator around here and the power goes out about 3 times a winter. However we've never had it longer than 12 hours and thankfully our home is really well insulated it has never gotten below 65 even in an outage. We do have a lot of emergency food stocked and supplies that would last us comfortably for quite some time. It's definitely something that we have to think about with our long, cold winters.
Fellow Idahoan here! We're in Moscow - but we've had the mildest winter!! So wierd. I had to chuckle about your description of 'mysterious Idaho'. We went to England a couple years ago and when we told people where we were from, 9 out of 10 people said something about our state being super flat, no mountains. Uh.... Noooo! ???? They were thinking of Iowa, or something! Except that one random guy on the top floor of an island castle who knew all about our region and asked if we were on the Palouse. ???? I was floored!
We always get "Iowa?" or "Ohio?" Hahahhaa
Wow! To me this looks magical. Sweltering through heatwave after heatwave here in Australia.
I feel your pain, I’m in Adelaide where we are just beginning another week of over 40 degree weather :)
Wow! To me this looks like heaven. Currently sweltering through heatwave after heatwave here in Australia.
This post brought back memories of the part of my childhood spent in Syracuse, NY. Snow from November to April. My dad had to snow blow the driveway every day to get his car out of the garage and go to work. When we moved to the South, he sold the snowblower. :)
We just moved from Boise to Bozeman and my husband insisted on a 30 inch snow blower too. I was skeptical at first but it does save tons of time on the sidewalks. Our snow is melting though, so send us some of yours ;)
Enjoyed this post! But I did feel that the detail of *where* you live in Idaho was largely left out. Idaho is a big, yes, diamond treasure and Eastern Idaho winters can vary quite dramatically from western Idaho, where I live. And have you been to the pan handle?? Wow! Come visit the other corner CLJ!
Oh my gosh... where in Idaho are you? :) Boise isn’t anything like this! We love it here... and we moved from MINNESOTA... where your boogers freeze inside your nose the minute you step outside! :)
We live in Rexburg.
I have a somewhat related question. How do you prepare the in-ground trampoline for all the snow? I live in Canada where we typically have snow from October/November until May/June. We have a conventional trampoline that we take apart every fall and store away until June, but the idea of that in-ground trampoline is so very appealing! I always just assumed they weren't practical in our climate, but yours seems to be only marginally milder.
We just take off the jumping pad and springs, but the base stays in the ground year round. They also have covers for them which we might try next year!
Oh man I've been daydreaming about moving to Idaho (sick of the city life!) but maybe second guessing it! ha! Thanks for the post!
The summer pictures look amazing. I'm way over here in Iowa, but we get our fair share of snow too, and it gets so tiresome! I know a lot of followers don't care for sponsored posts, but I just wanted to say- you do a good job. I enjoyed scrolling through your pictures.