Preparing for Winter, Planting for Spring

The weather seems to be returning to something more recognisable—although tomorrow is apparently going to be sunny, just to prove me wrong.

After the summer we have had, the van’s cold-weather setup has not been at the forefront of my mind. That needed to change, particularly with a trip to Kendal planned for November.

Today, the diesel air and water heater arrived. It looks reasonably straightforward to install, although it needs to integrate with the new sink and revamped kitchen area. The timing works, but it also means I must now put some directed effort into finishing the kitchen.

The new EcoFlow battery is working well. The next step is to augment that setup with another battery and a monitoring system.

I have decided to install a separate 240-volt system in the van, with interlinked charging. This should make it easier to remove the 240-volt system for charging—or deploy it elsewhere to support other activities.

Time will tell whether this is a sensible arrangement.

Meanwhile, today’s rain should make preparing the ground at the allotment easier. That means onions and garlic can be planted and left to overwinter for next year’s consumption.

The allotment will become a hub for my adventures and travels: somewhere productive, familiar and relatively still to return to.

It will also offer a retreat from the pressures of life. Most of those pressures may be at least partly self-inflicted, but relief from them remains important.

Perhaps freedom needs both somewhere to go and somewhere to return to.