Winter. It has always been a struggle for me. I’m more of a warm weather person. Driving in snow and ice, freezing every time I step outside, the layers – oh the layers and layers you have to wear just to be able to get from place to place. Winter has always been a cumbersome season for me to endure.
That is, until I started my homesteading venture. Winter is still a struggle in the ways I previously mentioned but I’ve framed it differently in my mind. Now, winter is the time I can plan for the impending spring. I’m fortunate to have a rather large garden with an established asparagus patch, a large archway to grow climbing vines, and a fence around it to keep the critters out. Each year I spend the winter planning out where I will plant everything, getting seeds started indoors, and daydreaming of days out in the hot sun – kneeling in the garden weeding while I sweat in the hot sun, the scent of sunscreen floating around me, watching our honeybees go flower to flower pollinating the plants that will be a large part of our diet in weeks to come. The way the earth feels on my fingertips and the sense of accomplishment I feel from providing nutritious food for my family and passing that knowledge on to my children is just addictive.
In the not too distant future it will be time again to tap our maple trees for our own syrup. Last year was my first time doing it myself and I’m eagerly anticipating sugaring time again! We mostly have silver maples with a couple of sugar maples dotted throughout the property. The silver maples give the syrup a light, almost vanilla flavor, like nothing I’d ever tasted. Last sugaring season I produced plenty of jars to last our family throughout the year plus many more that I’ve been able to gift to friends and family. I’m even currently playing with the idea of tapping our black walnut trees. Who knew that was a thing?! But apparently it IS a thing and while it’s much more labor intensive, the syrup is supposed to be absolutely delicious. So, if I’m feeling adventurous enough I may even give that a try.
Then I’ve also got my two beehives to tend to once it warms up. I miss the almost meditative time inspecting the hives each week. The gallons of honey to harvest are an added perk. It’s amazing how much honey is packed into those little cells. I’m hoping to expand to perhaps one or two more hives. On the to-do list is building additional hive boxes for potential splits. It’s a good way to spend the winter in front of the fire and a bit of an insurance policy. Sometimes the bees want to split – the old queen flying elsewhere with about half the bees from the hive. If you can catch it in time before she leaves you can take her to the new hive boxes and hope that she’ll decide to stay, keeping the swarm of bees with her.
And of course I can’t forget to mention the chickens. I adore my chickens, they were my very first homesteading endeavor and bring me more joy than I can put in to words. I’m fortunate enough to have a wonderful, reputable chicken breeder only 20 minutes away from me. With her help, I’ve been able to build a healthy flock of chickens that lay all different colored eggs. Watching their silly chicken antics is one of my most favorite things! I have a few newcomers that should start laying mid-spring. I have a modest sized flock that provides us with enough eggs for ourselves with plenty to spare for friends and family occasionally.
So, for these next couple of month I’ll be anxiously awaiting these treasures, always in anticipation.
