I suppose you could call these the dog days of winter! Our freakish week of warmth and melt-off are already faint memories, and this year, it seems like snow and cold have been around forever. January is an odd time for me on the tiny farm. Five years have gone by, and I’m still cruising on the original discovery that this is incredibly absorbing FUN, and there’s still a ways to go before the start-up is really done. Heading south for sun isn’t even at the back of mind. Ice fishing is only vaguely tempting. From what I’ve picked up, farming used to be a full-time, day-in-day-out kinda thing. Old school farmers generally had animals, which meant getting away from the farm was not really practical at any time. Of course, in recent decades, working off the farm became a necessity just to pay the bills. And now, the original farmers have all but vanished. Which leaves the new farmers, who I imagine are usually smaller and more specialized, and can treat farming as a seasonal thing if they like. For me, sticking to the farm seems only natural. Right now, I’m buried in bits of paperwork, reading, clipboards of jotted ideas, lists, notes, and it’s now time to set up the grow racks and start the first of the new seedlings. If the clouds and whiteness everywhere do get a little trying, here and there, well, it’s all part of farm living! And spring IS just around the corner!!
