11 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Oct 7 2026
The forecast cone swings toward your county on a Tuesday. By Thursday the gas station lines wrap around the block, the hardware store is out of fuel...
8 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Sep 29 2026
The generator has been sitting in the back of the garage since the last outage, and there is still fuel in it. Half a tank, maybe more, and no memory...
9 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Sep 23 2026
The mower goes in the shed in October. The sled goes in the barn in April. Same problem on opposite calendars: a tank of gasoline sitting still for...
7 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Sep 15 2026
The first hard freeze usually shows up before anyone is ready for it. The thermostat calls, the burner that has been quiet since April clicks, and...
8 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Sep 8 2026
The storm track shifts your way, you pull the generator out of the garage, and the gas in the tank is whatever was left in it last October. Now you...
9 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Sep 1 2026
That's why the mower that ran perfectly when you parked it in November may refuse to start in March.
8 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Aug 25 2026
The mower sat all winter, and now the gas in the tank is months old. The first instinct is to dump it and start over. Sometimes that's the right...
9 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Aug 18 2026
The first real cold night arrives sometime in October, the thermostat calls for heat, and the furnace that sat quiet since April either fires or it...
8 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Aug 11 2026
The mower starts on the first pull in April, then sits through a busy month, and the next time you need it the engine coughs, sputters, or refuses to...
7 min read
Erik Bjornstad: Jul 28 2026
You fill the mower from the same can you use for the car, the gas has been sitting in the garage since last fall, and now the engine sputters,...
