What Farmers Do in Winter – wk 2

We do repair work and we plan.

Admittedly, our days are shorter and more time is spent in barn, greenhouse, or huddled at the desk, than in the manic heat of spring and summer.

Much of our time is spent cleaning, inspecting, inventorying, and repairing the various tools and resources of our trade. For example, the walk-in cooler and barn shelves are stripped, all surfaces bleached, and the shelf contents examined. Some contents are discarded, others neatly organized, and still others put in the “try to fix this” pile. A careful inventory of supplies we’ll need to replace or restock is taken, accumulated and sorted by priority. We know we can’t buy it all, so we create a hierarchy of need.

We gather together in early fall to reflect on the past season. Taking stock of our assumptions, the yields, the weather, and analyzing what we should do differently next year. How much of a problem was the result of our errors and how much was due to the wild vagaries of nature? Again, we take what we know of the past and hedge it against the future. Trying to predict and protect against the swinging extremities of the Southern clime. We arm against nature’s harshness with our wit and grit.