WINTER FARMING.
Every winter we get teases of Spring like we received this week, where the highs are in the fifties and rain holds off for a bit. It's good working weather. Maybe even perfect. And it's a nice time to start easing into the labor ahead of us. I pulled tomato cages out of the garden for hours. I mulched like crazy. I yanked the remaining plastic off the high tunnel and right now, as the rain is beginning to come back, I feel sore and fulfilled.We need these little tastes of the growing season to help get ready for the real deal––mentally and physically. We enjoy that we get to work just as hard during these periods as we will in March and April, but get to do so without the stress of HAVING to work hard. It's all the joys of hard work without the pressure. So when the Spring comes, and everything explodes, we will be well conditioned and ready. And over the next month or so, while the ground is still bare, we will take every opportunity to get out in the dirt and sun to prepare. The more we do now, the less we will have to do later. Off-grid farming like this––or more precisely, homesteading––requires that you are always working to take care of the future you. So right now we're taking care of our Spring selves by getting in shape, and getting the farm ready for several months of mayhem.- Jesse.
MOVING THE CHICKENS.
Between the cold and the rain lately, we haven't had much time to do anything productive outdoors. Still, we were so desperate to move our chicken yard that we worked through the mud and rain to drag their ragtag coop across the farm to a new location. We were in a hurry to move them because we need to cover their old yard with heavy mulch, so that we can use it this upcoming season as garden space.While the chickens seem to like their new spot, they are having difficulty remembering where it is. Every night since the move, we have had to pick up the chickens trying to roost in the old spot and carry them over to the coop. Their roosting instinct is pretty strong, but I think they are starting to figure it out....although we keep finding a scattering of eggs among the hay.- Hannah.
A LITTLE MORE PROGRESS.
I got to make another trip back to the farm this Wednesday. Unfortunately, Hannah had to work, so once again she didn't get to come. It's a bummer––truly. It's not just that we're one of those obnoxious couples who suck at being apart––though we totally are––it's also that she hasn't been back to the farm since December and she misses it, the Smiths, the animals, the work. I am, however, excited for the next time she does get to go for her to see all the progress we've made. We've just about got a threshold for me to carry her through!––we just need to build some stairs to get to it...My goals for this trip were to cut some cedar logs to bring back and turn into shakes here in Nashville (check); finish the wiring (nearly check––ran out of wire again); put up some insulation (check––though still a lot left to do there). And although mulching a third of the high tunnel was not on the agenda, I ended up getting that done, too. It was bitterly cold working in the cabin, so when I would get a chill––which seemed embarrassingly often––I would go work in the high tunnel to warm up. It happened so much that I eventually accomplished an enormous task: mulching enough area for our early tomatoes. Starting early tomatoes, however, is a whole other issue. But more on that another time.
This week, our goal is to get a wood stove. We don't need a big one for our tiny cabin. Just something like the Smith's that we can cook buckwheat pancakes on, perhaps!- Jesse.
HAULING HAY.
Our little house is basically nestled in the middle of a rather large cattle operation - which makes for some surprising mornings with cows peeking in the windows. This past week, bales and bales and bales of freshly-cut hay have been rolling into the nearby barn for storage. Generously, the farm manager offered to give us some of the old rotten bales if we would haul them out of his way. This is an AMAZING gift to us, as we mulch our entire garden with hay and straw. SO - we got up extra early and spent a hot, dusty, sweaty, itchy morning loading up the truck and driving up to the garden - over and over and over. It was all worth it, though! We think we now have enough mulch to finish out the season (all for free!) Plus...we found what we assume was a baby vulture in the barn. I am trying to convince Jesse to let me keep it and raise it as a pet. Right?!- Hannah.
