What is winter like on our farm?

Spring is on our minds but winter is still here! I’ve been asked a lot recently what winter is like on our farm and I thought I’d give you a little glimpse.

A few weeks ago we had a stretch of 50-degree weather in February, which felt like a gift. The sun was warm, the snow melted, and for a moment it felt like spring was just around the corner.

Then winter reminded us who’s really in charge.

We got nine inches of snow and temperatures dropped back into the negatives. That’s farm life this time of year — a little tease of spring followed by a firm reminder that winter isn’t finished yet.

Winter is still a busy season here, but the work looks different. The daylight is short, so we have to get a lot done in a smaller window of time. There are no strawberries to pick and fewer guests coming through our rental. We also have fewer cows this time of year and they don’t need to be moved across pasture every day.

But that doesn’t mean things slow down as much as people might imagine.

Winter chores usually fall into one of two categories: preparing for the next storm or cleaning up from the last one.

Preparing means checking that the waterers are working, making sure the skid steer will start, and getting plenty of feed stacked where it’s easy to access. Sometimes we move the cows to a different part of the farm so they have better shelter from wind or snow, like the wooded bottom pastures. We also make sure everyone has dry, warm bedding.

After a storm, there’s snow to plow across the entire farmyard and around all the buildings. Wet bedding needs to be cleaned out and replaced, and there’s usually something that needs fixing after the weather passes through.

And in between all of that, even the basic chores are just harder in winter. Bundling up takes time and the layers make everything feel heavier. Walking through deep snow slows you down. The cold has a way of draining your energy faster, so warm meals and extra rest become pretty important. In the summer I swear we sometimes live off cold sandwiches and sunshine, but winter calls for something heartier: big bowls of chili, stew or soup with fresh homemade bread.

If I’m being honest, my least favorite part of winter might be how long it takes everyone to get dressed and out the door. And since we come inside multiple times a day to warm up, it often feels like we’re constantly putting coats, boots, and hats back on again.

While we are inside warming up, there’s also the important task of bookwork- something that most farmers don’t enjoy because we thrive off of accomplishing things with our hands. Winter is a time when we all have to get ready for taxes and we can also catch up on things that fell off the priority list during the growing season. We check prices, do research and planning for the upcoming year. This year we are really focusing on building habits and systems that we can keep in place when all hands are needed outside.

But winter gives us some things we really love too.

The long evenings mean we get more time together as a family. After chores are done, we often curl up on the couch and I read aloud to the kids. This winter we’ve gone on quite a few adventures through books — Robinson Crusoe, Huckleberry Finn, the Shiloh books, Little Women, Little Men, Indian in the Cupboard, and some of the Penderwick stories.

Since we’re homeschooling this year, we don’t have to rush everyone off to bed quite so early to get up for school the next morning. We can stay up a little later and enjoy those stories together, which has been really special.

We also try to make the most of winter outside. The kids love sledding and skating on the pond. We walk through the woods and watch how the landscape changes from season to season. We keep an eye out for deer and look for shed antlers. And sometimes we just stop and take in how beautiful it all really is.

And the winter sunsets out here… those might be my favorite part of all. The sky turns soft pink and gold over the snow and it feels like the perfect ending to the day.

Even now we can feel the seasons beginning to shift again. Soon the maple sap will start running, and we’ll begin working in the greenhouses.

Winter may look quiet on the outside, but it’s really the season that prepares everything for what’s coming next.

Thanks for being here and following along with life on our farm.

Darci