Hibernation and the Anticipation of Spring

As I write this, another 5 inches of snow is falling on the farm. As many of you know, this month has been the winter of snow every few days. Our first snow of 22 inches has been replenished with three inches here, 5 inches there, another 8 inches here. It has been both beautiful and isolating. Quiet and lonely. In a year where many of us are staying at home due to the coronavirus, this winter has felt a lot like hibernation in both good ways and harder ways.

Last Friday, my tractor got stuck in the snow as I was taking a bale to my bull and his friends. The back wheels spun and spun, digging deeper into the snow until approximately a foot down, I could see grass. The green of my pasture was shockingly vibrant against the snow. It was a visual reminder that as we approach spring, the snow will begin to melt. The grass with the earth around it swollen with the plenty of snow melt, will feel the sun, and our pasture in the heat of spring will grow inches in a day. The hibernation of snow makes that spring growth and life possible.

As I choose to appreciate the snow, I want to remember that spring is right around the corner. That winter days make spring sun possible. So, today, as I warmed my hands from shoveling and taking another load of hay to my cattle, I made an advent calendar of sorts…a calendar that marks the advent of spring. Spring is when the piglets arrive, small and squirming, the calves are born, soft and sleepy, when the chickens roam, scratching and busy. We only have 26 more days of hibernation. Spring will soon here.

Want a copy of my Spring Advent Calendar? You can print it here: Printable Advent Calendar

A Farm's New Year's Resolution

We farm with a lot of heart. I know you often think of farming with muscles, with strong backs, and good arms, but, this year, I want to farm using my heart muscles more.

As a farm, we are in another transition year. Last year, we began a big project of fencing, installing waterline, and preparing the rest of our farmland to be put into pasture. This project is exciting because we not only will have more grass for our cattle, but will be able to start grazing more cattle and making less hay. We are moving towards a goal that started 5 years ago when I first started farming. A goal that involves:

1. Farming in a way that gives back to the earth by nurturing the soil. By making choices to plant trees, to plant grass, to protect our creek and natural resources because what we do on our land doesn’t just impact us. It impacts our birds, our foxes, our farm animals, and our next door neighbors.

2. Farming in a way that simplifies systems. That works to get food to people in our immediate community and reduces our consumption of fossil fuels as we learn new ways to have our cattle do the work for us.

3. Farming in a way that strengthens our local community. That builds up the other farmers in my area and brings our community together over growing, buying from, and supporting local businesses.

So, this year, as our farm continues to work towards these goals. I want to make farm decisions not just with my mind, but also with my heart. With a view of the broader community, of my impacts upon it, and a focus on how our farm can continue to work to take care of the community around us through wise decisions, good food, and care for the earth.