Some photos from yesterday morning and then from yesterday’s snowshoe excursion on the Woods Trail starting behind the house.
Woods Trail, winter
Category: winter
Final touches
It seemed to take me forever to acknowledge that winter is coming, is indeed here.
I declare that putting the garden to bed is finally finished.
Some things didn’t get done or are done haphazardly.
Potatoes, parsnips and carrots are still in the ground. Marked as well as possible, except for the carrots.
Some leeks are still in the garden. I had so many from the community garden that I couldn’t deal with that patch at home. Today I just threw some hay on their frozen stalks and decided to leave until spring.
Sam built a cold frame of sorts over the mature kale. We’ll see how that does.
I took away all the row cover. Note to self: row cover in the late garden is a bad idea. It freezes onto everything, blows around in storms, sags under any little snowfall, and generally gets beat up and ripped to shreds. Useless. I just laid hay, the magic blanket, on top of all the remaining greens.
Yep, it’s winter
It’s cold. After a warm November that lulled me into laziness. I didn’t get everything done in the garden. So some things froze that aren’t supposed to. Granted, I don’t really have the infrastructure needed to keep greens in the main garden. That would probably be cold frames. The row cover is not adequate. That’s the way it goes.
The dried heads of various flowers are interesting this time of year. A variety of browns and all different textures. I don’t cut them back until spring so they can provide cover or whatever for creatures that might depend on them.
And I spotted these sweet little cups when cutting back fronds in the asparagus bed. They are growing on bits of straw. The largest is maybe 1/4 inch wide.
Tunk Lake
It’s incredibly blue and white, isn’t it.
Woodstove
Might be my favorite thing about winter. The stove is a companion. And warms us.
Our stove is the Castine model from Jøtul and it’s perfect for us.
Of course, part of the reason I can love heating with wood is that Sam takes care of all the chores involved with getting a handy supply of ready-to-burn logs.
Mulching for winter
We mulched most of the beds for winter. The two near the back got a layer of chicken coop waste covered by a layer of straw. The other beds got waterlogged straw, picked up from J&P Farmers Market. And some leftover hay.
The strawberry bed got a light layer of mulch. It really needs the blighted leaves pulled off and more mulch. Maybe later.
What’s left in the garden? A nice patch of leeks, quite a lot of kale, some juvenile broccoli that I don’t have much hope for, and mostly bygone escarole. A row of half-hearted spinach.
It’s definitely getting to be wintry out there.
Hoar frost
A brilliant coating of hoar frost whitened the trees this morning. 
January
Winter activities…love January!
I finished this baby blanket for today’s baby shower. Used the Greyson pattern from Moogly crochet.
And I baked these two loaves of sourdough bread this morning, one in the Dutch oven (preheated) and one in the Mason Cash terracotta loaf pan (not preheated). Both turned out great! We put a bowl of water on the floor of the oven to generate steam, which I think helped the uncovered loaf rise so high. My sourdough starter behaved like a champ for these loaves.
Sam ordered a bread slicer which helps us cut perfect slices for sandwiches and toast.
Greens, 2020
We did some work on the raised beds in the hoophouse today. Some were pretty much gone by and had to be cut back severely (arugula, mizuna). Others needed a trim, removal of dead tips and rotting base leaves. We got a bag of fresh greens for our trouble. Then tucked everybody back under their row covers. Supposed to drop into the teens tonight. The chickens got a bundle of clippings.
Whiteness
Snow is falling thickly and drifting off the trees periodically in great puffs of white powder.
I’m not thinking about plants or gardening.
I’ve been doing a lot of stitching, some drawing and painting, making some books, reading some books.
Walking in the winter weather. Taking care of the chickens.
It’s been a quiet, peaceful time.
When we return from South Africa in early April, it will be time to plant in earnest.