Breezee BarnsOh no, the cold has made its way here. 🥶 The last few weeks have been beautiful, and we were really enjoying the last few days of warm weather and some rain around here. The fall and spring temperatures are more my speed. Unfortunately, the cold, plus a little snow, finally appeared. To be honest we may not like the frigid temperatures (but I would rather not be dripping in sweat from high humidity either, so the cold wins), but there is an upside for us that comes when the weather change. We finally slow down a little and take a break! The girls refer to the winter months as our “summer break” since we can have some down time.
Our Crazy Summer
The summer and early fall is our busy time here on the farm. Here is just a gist of what these last few months have seemed like. To us, it was nonstop work. Between working on the garden, keeping up on the lawns and newly planted saplings (watering and weeding took a lot of time) there was something to be doing constantly. Then our new chicks and turkeys that arrived throughout the summer, so more things were needing to be done. Adding a second run for the flock became necessary as the birds grew. As the growing season came to an end, the canning season began. As you can see, the list of chores changed and grew all summer long. Trust me, there is never a dull moment on the farm!!
Our kiddos were exhausted most of the summer from all the hard work they did. They endured it well and will have a better understanding of what to expect next year. There is always something to be done on the farm. The things they learned this summer will help them be better workers later on in life.
Cold Weather Apparel Returns
I know I am not the only one who hates to get all bundled up and feeling like you can move very well. That is where we are headed again with this cold weather. The return of cold temperatures means it is time to pull out all the winter gear. The heavy coats, hats, gloves, ear muffs, insulated boots (these are similar to the ones the girls have), scarfs and whatever else we can find. Of course as we pull out the winter gear, we find that either a dog has lost gloves or the gloves need replaced due to being well used. So off to the store we go and look for new gear, especially gloves, since they always seem to get lost or wore out. It is no different than when we lived in to city.
Even when living in the city, we would rotate our winter apparel as the cold weather returned and each time it was the same. The kids had out grown the coats, boots or remembered they had lost gloves. Yes, I could do hand me downs for awhile, but evenly that did not work anymore. As a parent, I would dread those shopping trips. I knew I would be dealing with the same issue in a year from now. It is just a constant revolving door when it comes to seasonal shopping.
Winter Chores
As for the regular farm chores, they have to bundle up a little more, but the workload is much lighter. The main chore will be taking care of the flock. The ducks and chickens will become the priority. As for the turkeys, they will be harvested very soon. The bigger projects, like cutting down trees, will be done in the spring or summer when we can spend more time outside.
Even with the hassle of replacing winter gear and bundling up in the winter, we do like our “summer break”. We can rest a little more and catch up on some reading. I have few new books I want to read, so now will be the time. Plus the girls have some new books they want to read as well. We might catching up on a few movies or television shows as well. Who knows what it will be, but at least we can finally have a break.
Life on the farm is not for the weak. If you have kids that tell you they are bored, just send them to a farm! The value of work is created when working on a farm. There is always something to be done and there is no time to be bored.
