Homestead Hill Farm: The Farm in Winter

Winter on the farm means life moves at considerably different pace than the flurry of activity that is summer harvest season. There are days that are beautiful in their icy austerity tempered with the dark, leaden skies prior to a storm that make me want to pull the covers over my head and sleep ‘til Spring.

I fully intended to write something to de-bunk the myth that farmers take some sort of vacation in the Winter as it seems that a lot of other folks out in cyber-world are talking about the actual WORK of winter. I tried…but, it fell flat. I really didn’t have time to sit and think and write coherently---there was too much to do!

Then it struck me, our “to-do” list for today alone proves that there is a lot of work to do in the Winter, too.

After morning chores, there is a great number of things that need to be completed prior to going to purchase and haul a load of hay. Purchasing a load of hay means that the Boss has to stack the bales at the point of purchase and then we un-stack from the truck and trailer and RE-stack in the barn when we get back home. But, the sheep gotta eat!

It’s a bright, sunny day, and we will be gone for a while…so, the greenhouses/hoophouses must be irrigated and ventilated prior to our departure. The seeds started last week must be checked for germination and any misses re-seeded.

When we return home, it will be time to feed the bottle babies again.

Tomorrow is Winter Sales Newsletter day. That means that today I need to identify what crops can be harvested and what we will offer for sale this week. I need to check the weather to see what kind of harvest window (when the temperatures will be above freezing) I will have, too.

We’re also keeping an eye on the weather…a predicted storm may preclude harvest and delivery. We need to make a plan “B”…just in case.

Afternoon chores will be followed by supper and a meeting in town about LOCAL food which if nothing else will give me something to rant about for a couple of days.

Then, we’ll crash and burn...