What happens around the farm in winter?
People often ask us what we do on the farm in winter. Especially when the goats are not giving any milk and there is no cheese being made. The answer is “lots of things”. December seems like a time of catching up, shelling out the dry beans, sorting through the ripening (some rotting) tomatoes or other fruit. Of course there are still daily chores, feeding and watering all the animals and making sure that everyone is healthy and secure.
Once the snow starts to settle in for the season we stick close to home. This winter the snow has been the focus of the daily watch. It seemed for most of January Rick spent all the daylight hours plowing the driveway! When he took a break from the tractor he was chopping wood and stoking the fire at the school. Winter is also the time to slow down and catch up on all the reading that we put aside during the summer and fall. As the new year rolls in plans for the school start to evolve; workshop dates and what new programs we want to develop this year.
The coziest part of winter is curling up by the stove with a hot cup of peppermint tea and looking through all the garden seed cataloges. Oh the gardens I will plant! Flowers to revive our souls, berries which the thought of make my mouth water, herbs and vegetables to delight meals to come.
No garden plan is perfect without friends to share in the dream, so this is a time to think back over the moments in gardens past, the people who have shared in every stage; planting, weeding, harvesting and the wonderful meal memories. Now looking forward and dreaming up an abundant harvest for 2008!
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