Winter is Coming
The weather of winter is closing in upon us, with rains for most of the week and the prospect of the frost coming this week. You see, unlike the winters in Montana where the land can already be covered in snow, where it will remain for most of the winter. Ohio rains and freezes, off and on for most of the season, making the land muddy and roads slick with ice. Which, despite its frequency, few people in this state ever learn to drive on. So, to prepare for this we are cleaning the yard and putting in our last fall crops for much of last week and this one. We cut back the last of the dead and dying trees and the vines attached that threaten our buildings and trailers on the property. While working on this, we noticed our garlic peeking out of the leaves promising a good harvest next year. It also reminded me that if I want an attempt at a winter wheat crop, I must get it in the ground today before the expected freeze later in the week.
We have also been engaging in farm visits and classes to continue our own education process. We frequently work with various animals and their owners on these visits. This way we get to better understand the needs of different animals and animal combinations. During one of these visits our friend Gus, a donkey, was a little disappointed when I feed the goats instead of him. This has been a better learning experience than any book or YouTube video ever could be. It reminded me of Drill Sargent Polk trying to explain combat and saying, “you will learn more in ten seconds during a firefight than I can share in ten hours” (colorful language removed). One of my fellow soldiers then asked: “Why should we sit here and listen to you?” DS Polk responded: “So you idiots Joe’s can survive those ten seconds.” (lots of colorful language removed). Unlike Basic, where we ran in a circle for the next 30 minutes, here when the training gets a bit boring, and we are tempted to run our mouths we have office dog to help us out.
I hope your preparations for the upcoming season is going as good as ours. Deven Little