The First Snow Storm of 2022
Wildflower Farm House In The Snow.
The dark has fallen some time ago. The night sky looks down at the white earth beneath it. It seems proud of itself somehow for the sheets of snow it let loose earlier. The snow from the first winter storm has finally arrived like a late Christmas present. We have waited so long this year for this day. It was such relief earlier, to plod through the white stuff hearing it crunch as I went to visit the chickens and check in on them. Though I must say, it was a lonelier walk across the acreage than usual without Pikku. Pikku, was fixed recently and upon getting the cone off after two weeks she then had some weird allergic reaction that sent her back to the vet. She is largely an indoor dog again this week, till she finishes her treatment. Poor thing spent a night in the dog hospital. So, my little walk without her was kinda lonely and not quite as cheerful as usual without her goofy great dane antics.
Snow Goats
Still, I was not at a total loss for fur ball antics. The goats were quite silly acting all upset with the snow. They came to greet me, clearly upset and unhappy to have to walk through the snow to say hello.
Cranky Goats
The snow makes them quite cranky. They yell about it and make their feelings very clear.
Asstrid, hates snow.
Asstrid, hates the snow the most. She gets quite cantankerous about leaving her little indoor space. No one made her or even asked her to. But I guess, she felt obligates I really don’t know. Or maybe her desire to yell at me for being 10 minutes late, was more important to her than even her rage at the snow. They are a funny crew.
Wildflower In The Snow
The white was pristine and so beautiful. I could smell it outside the cold even has a taste, like nothing else making it hard to describe. But if you have ever experienced it you know it forever after. We spent the morning snowed in, looking out at it in relief, through the windows while we hid by our wood stove.
Wood Cutter’s Block
The wood cutters block lay covered as did our many piles of winter wood that we keep in order to keep the fires going inside. Winter here is quiet and so very cozy. The quiet broken only by the dogs having a temper tantrum when the plow man arrives to dig us out about half way through the day. Once he takes off the silence rolls back in like an ocean wave onto a cold white shore.
Winter Wood Pile
Close to the woods, the wood piles sit waiting to be brought in doors…. The white woods spreads out behind them… The trees now blanketed for the long winter sleep. They seem grateful to me for the cold white covering after the summer we had that was so severe that they looked tired and beleaguered. They finally surrender for what remains of the winter. But soon enough, the leaves will once again sprout and grow in green and healthy. Hopefully next summer will be less severe than this one. It was really kind of shocking to see the trees seeming so tired and overwhelmed.
Winter Woods
It is just that time of year when all life is done living, and it sleeps. The gardens too have bedded down, not just the trees in the forest and the rageful goats.
The Gardens Sleep.
We can actually see our neighbors in spots during the winter. It is comforting to know that though we swim alone in this now white world we are not actually alone.
The chicken coop door got busted by the wind.
The chicken coop stands damaged now by the wind, to be repaired over the weekend. All our farming efforts are now blanketed by a cold white sheet of snow. From the coop, into the woods, to the goats and gardens…. Even the red farm house.
Going Toward the road
The expanse leading down our little farm road to the town road lays stretched out a sea of white bordered by the woods. Up in the trees I can see the odd bird looking almost as grouchy as the goats. Right now, having winter arrive to turn this place into a kind of messy winter Rockwell painting is beautiful, and such a relief, one we have waited so long for this year. But, if this repeats too often it will become quite a hindrance well before the little spring wildflowers rear their colorful bright heads. Soon we will be crying out to see the lush green again. But for now, the white is quite all right with everyone except maybe the goats. The sun is gone and the sky is dark, Dr. Farmer Moomin, digs out the steps while I sit inside near the fire feeling so gifted once again that nature is doing what nature is supposed to do during this season. I have a hot drink, and the wood stove heat is perfectly glorious against the white backdrop outside.
Welcome To Wildflower Farm
Thank you for reading
Enjoy the winter
Amanda Of Wildflower Farm
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Wildflower Farm, is a small New England homestead, B&B and AirBnB, in the Baystate. We came out here 7 years ago, when we returned from the better part of 10 years as peripatetic aristotelian nomads, for my husband's post docs. Upon our return, we had a plan. We had a lovely home. Everything was so clear. Then, I got sick. Things I used to eat all the time during our travels elsewhere in the world and even here before I left almost 10 years earlier made me ill. It took a couple trips to the ER and a trip to specialist... It became clear, something had changed in the way food is processed in this country since last I lived here. Some off label things was inevitably going to be my demise.
My husband and I looked around to see the clear path we were on, had exploded in front of us. We decided we had to create a new path for ourselves. We put children on hold. We found a small piece of land with a house we loved in a rural suburb in a right to farm area. I began researching how to do it ourselves. Grow it ourselves, make it ourselves, survive on our own as much as possible. We bought the property, and began plotting a new course. One that didn't involve off label chemicals. Closer to nature, with a lot more DIY, gardens, and animals for the products they provide. We created a life we loved though it hasn't always been easy and has of course come with compromise with each other, and even with ourselves.
Our family thought we had lost our minds. What were we doing leaving the city? We had no idea how hard this would be. They thought we would be back in 6 months. That was over 7 years ago, now. We have been making it work. They were not wrong, it isn't easy. But has anything worth doing ever been easy? And for us, avoiding as much store bought food as possible was simply necessary so I could live given how sick I was getting.
Then Covid hit.... We were lucky to have this place. It has allowed us a lot less need for public use territories which has kept us a lot safer and spared us much of the risk others face daily. This place, has given us a privilege through this of great meaning to us. To be of use in a difficult time. We have been able to help friends family and even strangers in need when things couldn't be found on store shelves. Or money was tight due to not working, rent being due and a child at home, or some other draining situation. We are so very grateful to have been able to not be helpless like so much of society through this miserable time. Our families, got used to it some time ago, us being out here. They made peace with it the day there was no bread and they had to ask me for some. Or when fresh vegies were rotten due to supply chain issues but they could find plenty in my garden.
Wildflower Farm, was a place I dreamed of. One of those sweet pastoral dreams a city dweller grows up knowing will never come true, that became unavoidable when I became ill. I never expected to get to do this. I never thought I had what it takes to make this work. I have learned pacing myself is important, compromise is critical, hard work never ends, burn out is real so breaks are just a necessary evil.
We are not fully self sufficient, but we work hard in that direction as we create a new path through life for ourselves, always reaching to do even more ourselves and to get closer to the ideal we envision. We are however far more self sufficient than many in this world. 7 years in, we continue to learn and grow in this homesteading lifestyle. We welcome comments and advice and ideas and questions.
We welcome visitors from all over to our home with strict covid policies in place. We spend our time learning to live all over again in a more environmental and sustainable way though even there we are far from perfect always learning and growing doing better as we know better.
This little homestead farm is a magical place named for the New England wildflowers that grow all around. A place where a physicist, watches the night sky on clear nights with the aide of mirror and glass, and a woman, works endlessly in the gardens, the kitchen, and a variety of projects to create and to keep a very unique life style running and functioning. Wildflower Farm, has become so much more than simply a piece of land we can grow a few vegetables on. The longer I spend here, the more alive the land seems, the more I learn about it's function and the more meaning it has. My place in the universe and the next steps on our new path become ever more clear.
We welcome you on this journey with us.
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