drglinski: First, I like your 147. Second, it is a hydrostatic. There are two things you can do that I know of to help with the cold starts.
1. Put a magnetic heater on the transmission to keep the Hy-tran warm, it will really help your cranking speed, from what I've heard.
2. Store your battery inside where it is warm and put a the trickle charge on it a few hours before you intend to use it.
Outside of keeping it in a heated garage, I don't know of any way to leave it in a condition that will ensure instant starts without some method of bringing heat to the machine, or the machine to the heat.
Disclaimer: I'm just reporting from experiences of others I've read. In North Carolina, I don't need to use my Cub much in the winter, and the coldest I've had to start it is about 45 deg Fahrenheit. Everybody up North swears by the magnetic heaters on the hydro though.
Edit: Everyone but Roland Bedell, that is
I'm sure he has his engine in tip-top tune though. Timing, plugs, condenser, air cleaner, ignition wiring and key switch --all the usual suspects need to be in good working order. But trying to get them that way at below freezing is no fun at all.