Don’t jump that way!

This farm is named for the frog and eagle who were the first two animals we saw here.

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The basement has window wells a frogs seem to get stuck in there. The biggest window is the one in front of my computer. Sometimes I am working at the computer and I hear a gentle tap on the window. I have watched frog jump onto the window, scale it and hop out, but they dont always make it

Waiting for the sun…

Late summer bloom of Bachelor’s Button.

Today is one month after the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year with only 8 hours and 42 minutes of day light. The days are still too short but 9 hours and 22 minutes is a big improvement.

I have read that plants need ten hours of sunlight a day to really start the growth spurts. And we are just about two week from the big day, February 7th will be here soon enough.

Sunrise, Sunset, and Day length, January 22-25, 2020

Sunrise, Sunset, and Day length, February 5-9, 2020

Source: www.timeanddate.com

Grasses that are now only inches tall will soon be up to ours knees and it will still be too wet to mow. We will still have a frost to contend with but soon we can start the plants that we will transplant into the garden in April or May.

This is a time for planning the big projects that must be done and prepping to make sure we have the tools we need to complete them. This includes:

• Looking at seed catalogues and picking which variety of tomatoes or peppers we want to grow this year…
• Marking the spots where water comes down the hill and makes our path to the chicken pen a navigable river, then planning a way to fix it before next winter…
• Tightening up the water collection system so we are actually collecting enough water to irrigate the orchard in the summer…
• Figuring out where to get a few more goats, so that our older girls stay young and healthy…
• Being overly concerned that everything is going to bloom or bud out way too soon – before the last frost…

This a a very random and completely partial list of things we need to work on before the days get long enough to force us to put all of this aside for the things that must be done right away.

Meanwhile, as we sit out the dark and rainy part of winter we find ourselves waiting for the Sun and the blooms she will bring.

Debbie sitting in the field getting ready to plant Red Alders in March 2017.

Sunflower opening.

Allium.

Tiny purple flower.