The Need for Winter

The new year celebrations are come and gone and we are left with... Winter and the month of January.  Some folks are not terribly fond of either, but I can honestly say that I do very much appreciate them.

We still get the question/statement: "Well, since it is Winter, I suppose you don't have so much to do on the farm now."  OR "So, what do you do during the Winter months?"

Ok, I get it.  If you don't do the veggie farming thing, it's pretty easy to assume what we do will mirror what you (or people you know) do with their gardens.  This is the season for looking at seed catalogs and dreaming, right?  Otherwise, things must be pretty tame around the farm, yes?

Well, no.  And, every year I do this job, it becomes even more of a 'no' than the year before.  I'm not going to cover the 'why' of it and I'll just simply state that the work on the farm continues through the Winter.  The pace is different.  The types of jobs are often (but not always) different.  But, there is still work to do.

It's the change of pace that is critical for me.  I tend to work outside in bursts of an hour at a time, unless we get a really nice day.  Daylight hours are shorter and I actually let myself do a bit more of what 'normal' people might do in the evenings.  Ok, I'm not normal.  But, I do get to spend time reading a book or participating in a hobby.  Tammy and I try to play board games a little more often.  But, that still means that I can easily fill an eight hour day with work for the farm.  Could I (and do I) work more hours than that some time?  Sure.  And, I sometimes work less.  This is not a competition.  It is about getting things done that need getting done and it is about being a well-rounded and healthy person.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

We still have VAPs in January. But, they sometimes have things like "fix the kitchen floor," "fix broken tools" or "do the taxes" in the list instead of "weed the beets" or "trellis the peas."  But, the really nice thing is that I can put "enjoy relaxing for a little bit with your best friend" on the list and we actually have a good chance of accomplishing that item.