The Farm in Winter

A time of solitary quietude and introspection

January morning moonset. Photo by author

Our farm in winter is a very different place from what it is during the summer. During the summer months, the farm is bustling with activity. There is aways grass to mow, gardens to weed, and repairs to be made to buildings. There is wood to be cut and split, paths to be maintained, and brush to be cleared. There are new raised beds to construct, compost to be spread, and brush piles to be burned.

The air is filled with the noise of songbirds, from the conk-la-reeeeeeee of the red-winged blackbird to the hauntingly prehistoric call of the sandhill crane. During the summer, it is not unusual to see a mother coyote with her pups, or small fawns follow their mother across the distant field. The local muskrat can be seen swimming along the surface of the pond if the observer is quiet. Ducks and the geese make splash landings.

When the winter blanket of quiet descends, all that changes.

Swirls of fresh snow on the pond. Photo by author

A winter walk around the farm has a very different feel to it than other times of the year. The soft verdant carpet of summer grass is replaced by the hard, white crunch of snow. On those days following a…