Once the furniture is closed up, it is easy to forget about it until April. A few minutes after each big storm is enough to keep it out of trouble. Nearly everything that goes wrong over a South Fork winter comes from three causes: water that has nowhere to go, organic matter sitting wet against the wood, and anything loose enough for the wind to work on. If your furniture is wrapped A healthy wrap looks tight and smooth, with no slack, no flapping edge and nothing resting on it. Walk past it after every nor'easter and after any heavy snow. You are looking for five things: A tear or an open seam. Even a small opening lets in rain and blown leaves, and a wrap holding water is worse than no wrap at all. A loose or lifted edge. Once wind gets under one edge, it keeps working at it. Branches or debris on top. Lift them off by hand. Dragging a branch across the film can puncture it. Snow or ice built up on a flat top. Brush light snow off with a soft broom. Never chip ice off with a shovel or anything with an edge. Water pooling against the base. If the bottom of a wrap sits in a puddle every time it rains, the furniture inside is standing in it too. If you find damage, do not cut the w
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