Autumn is my favorite season of the year. There is sense of magic in the year as the leaves fall and the smell of things settling into bed for the long winter mingles with the smoke from many fires. The world looks so cozy as it tucks itself up in fallen leaves. The end of summer comes uniquely every year, each year brings its own personality. Slow lingering summers that struggles to let go as the days grow short. Fickle summers that do not know if they are coming or going. Abrupt summers who leave without saying good bye, cold and wet the early onset of darkness felt all the more keenly as the days never reach truly warm.
Last year was the abrupt kind, it felt like it was cold since the moment we went into autumn. So much rain mixed with the cold weather I had little motivation to head out. This year, however, has been a long lingering summer. The sun coming out and kissing the air ever so lightly, that even in the shade there is a hint of warmth. Best kind of autumn!
Now that its in autumn I have moved heavily into winter preparations. Autumn prep actually starts midway through summer here. I sow seeds and start covering my beds. I think about how many animals I want over winter so that when the autumn months come I can focus on raking leaves and putting de-stocking plans into action. I order in hay and we stack firewood. I like to follow what the earth is doing so I usually try and mulch my beds in autumn. Seems nature knows what its doing so I follow along. Then when spring comes I simply start planting. and await the arrival of babies.
This year I will be looking to sell one of our white face steers and putting one in the freezer. That will bring us to four since we had two feeder calves arrive on the farm earlier this month. We hope to have a couple of ram lambs visit the farm shortly.
I look forward to updating everyone as we move through this season in preparation for the next.
Whats your favorite season?
