Our Agrarian Year: Season of the Hearth

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Of course, our southern winters aren’t as cold as those in northern climes. People tease me about saying the 20s F is cold, to which I always respond, “but it’s relative. 20°F (-6°C) is a 70-80 degree difference from our typical summer temps. Of course it feels cold to us Southerns!” And I get to tease them back when they complain about 80°F (26°C) being so unbearably sweltering. We’re thrilled with summer temperatures that low!

So, what’s on the winter project list? Seasonal chores revolve around keeping the critters watered, fed, and protected from drafts, and keeping the fire wood and kindling boxes full. But weather permitting, we still like to be outside.

• continue work on the greenhouse
• garden

• mulching (which involves raking and hauling leaves)
• maybe dig out another swale bed or two
• maybe make a couple more hugelkultur mounds
• tweak the garden swale (because it isn’t perfectly level)

fence maintenance and repair

• We still have two rooms to finish on the inside. While neither is specifically on our radar for finishing, both have become catch-all rooms and are in need of a good purge. That is something I plan to do this winter. 
• Mending 
• Freezer canning (jams, jellies, bone broth, etc.)
• Personal learning. I’m not sure when Helen Atthowe’s permaculture garden master course will be ready, but in the meantime, I want to resume where I left off in my photography course, which I set aside when the tomatoes, figs, and pears were overwhelming last summer.

Not a long list and nothing pressing, which is good. It’s nice not to be so busy, plus it leaves room for whatever might pop up.