By now we have enough food in the larder to feed us through most of the winter. So, I turn my head to the preparation of the farm for the winter months. Should you be winterizing, too?
What a great post. Thank you for all this information. I need to get better at stocking up on food, though our little ADU is so small we don't have a lot of room for it. With better organizing, I could fit in more, though.
I think it is wise to have a couple of weeks food in the store room. Though I just went hunting in the kitchen for something to eat and can’t be bothered cooking so made marmalade on toast!! I could see nothing to eat at first glance.
I think it’s a good idea, too. The other thing I’ve been doing is really working on eating what we have in the fridge. It’s too easy to let veggies go bad in the drawer (and I have no pigs to give them too).
When living in smaller places in the past, it really shifted my ability to store food when I began to see it as beautiful decoration. Buying it from stores isn't always pretty, but repacking it from the busy-ness of labels into jars and crocks that suit your style can really double duty on beauty and nourishment. Perhaps that thought can help you as well, so I've shared it 💚
Oh I love that! I’m so glad you shared this idea. It is so interesting to live in a smaller space and have to really change my consciousness about so many things—decoration and storage included.
I so enjoyed that walk round the farm today, thank you for finding the time to do that. A great catch up on all the usual subjects, including Quacker. 🙏🏼💖
I absolutely love how you've captured the poetry in practicality here! The way you described winterizing your farm feels less like a chore list and more like reading an old wisdom book passed down through generations. It's always lovely to see WaiWai.
Thank you lovely! Wai is so naughty. I had to walk half way down the drive to bring him back this morning - he must have snuck out when I was not watching.
On an unrelated note - do you know how I can care for a sick squirrel?
She is not showing signs of illness, except she is wobbly and lethargic.
She only has 3 feet (that's how I met her). She seemed to have lost her leg during birth or earlier on. She usually comes for her almonds every day, but she skipped the last couple of days and then showed up today not looking right.
Thank you so much Raed - this is wonderful. Go back to the body of the newsletter and click on the Blue Button labeled Subscribe - then choose either of the paid options - we would love to have you join us!
Thanks for much for the link! I truly appreciate it. Trying to grow my audience on Substack has been slow for me - but I love the people I am meeting. So glad we connected! And I love this post. Made me think about my own winterizing steps here at the farm. I love the leaves in the bird pen! Great idea.
The leaves for the hens is a winter favourite. They love scratching about in them plus I have plenty!! And thank you so much for joining us! I like slow growth - it gives me time to get to know people!
Such a fun walkabout! Your wonderful walkabouts have allowed us to become up close and personal with all on the Farmy. All looks well there! We are working in our garden, harvesting and organizing as well. I'm coming to grips with the changing of the seasons, but not so happy about the time change. I will adjust, but may continue to be disgruntled when darkness arrives at 5:00 for awhile yet.
I'm knee-deep in leaves and pine needles here. We had a couple of very windy days last weekend and both came down simultaneously. It makes it seem a much bigger job----usually the pine needles come down first and get raked and stored away and by then the leaves are beginning to fall. So it doesn't seem such an enormous task to contend with. It does seem that there are more leaves than usual and I've almost filled two sections of the compost bins with shredded leaves and those usually hold most of the leaves that I shred to use as mulch for my flower beds. But this year there is a huge amount down with still more to come off the trees. I guess the excess can just go straight onto my flower beds rather than waiting till spring to mulch. My son came in from a walk yesterday with the biggest maple leaf that I have ever seen! From the bottom where the stem is attached to the top of the middle point it was 12 inches and across, between the two side points of the leaf, it was 10 inches. Just giant sized-----I could hardly believe my eyes when he held it up to show me. So maybe the early spring here gave the trees, bushes, etc extra time to grow larger foliage and that's part of the puzzle.
I loved your comment about how you often felt like water running down a ditch........... I know how that feels.
Yes people throughout time have used this time of year to prepare for the long slumber that is winter. Things need to be put to rest; it was a dicey time viz. will we have enough to get through the winter months? It was also a time of rest; not much could be done but wait. This sounds nice.
It is a good feeling to be ready for winter - though to be fair unless there is a terrible natural disaster we do have the supermarket (40 minutes away).
We have a lot of our winter food "put by" as I've learned to call it. I have the rest of the celery to bring in, for freezing and drying, as well as seemingly infinite parsley that I won't put much more of up. As you said, only store what you'll eat! My husband does all the cooking and says he'll try and use more parsley this winter than last, but it also starts giving fresh flavor again so early in the spring that we don't need quarts and quarts of it for the winter!
I could stand to up the storage total on our chicken feed... But with only six, if we do run short during bad weather or otherwise, they wouldn't mind sharing in our hoard of oatmeal or buckwheat groats to pass the time.
I dry it. Dehydrator if I have time. Otherwise a bunch with a rubber band hung in a dry place in the house will do it eventually. The celery I chop and freeze but I dry the leaves like I do the parsley. My husband likes to cook with the flavor but not the texture sometimes.
Nov 4·edited Nov 4Liked by Cecilia At The Kitchens Garden
It does get down to -5/6° C in the winter nights, but not all day. It'll always warm up within the day when the suns out. And there are no outdoor animals I need to tell to hunker down!
What a charming & intimate tour around the farmy this pretty November Sunday. It was positively good medicine for me this morning, relaxing my tense shoulders & anxious mind. With a leap of imagination & memory, I could smell the cold air, the dusty chicken house & barn, the frosty compost pile & the crunchy brown leaves under your all's feet. Many thanks for this pleasant & soothing interlude.
I still have a few chores to prep the outside for winter. I have drained and hung the hoses, moved leaves from under some trees to along the deer path. The deer like the soft bedding and it keeps the weeds down in summer. The tomato plants are still green but not producing any more. After this rainy spell is over I will get to them. I pulled the started on the snow blower. It started first pull. I hope it does that when it snows and is cold. Next week I will plant some garlic.
What a great post. Thank you for all this information. I need to get better at stocking up on food, though our little ADU is so small we don't have a lot of room for it. With better organizing, I could fit in more, though.
I think it is wise to have a couple of weeks food in the store room. Though I just went hunting in the kitchen for something to eat and can’t be bothered cooking so made marmalade on toast!! I could see nothing to eat at first glance.
I think it’s a good idea, too. The other thing I’ve been doing is really working on eating what we have in the fridge. It’s too easy to let veggies go bad in the drawer (and I have no pigs to give them too).
When living in smaller places in the past, it really shifted my ability to store food when I began to see it as beautiful decoration. Buying it from stores isn't always pretty, but repacking it from the busy-ness of labels into jars and crocks that suit your style can really double duty on beauty and nourishment. Perhaps that thought can help you as well, so I've shared it 💚
That is a great thought Alli - dried herbs and peppers and garlic and onions are very pretty in the ceiling!
Oh I love that! I’m so glad you shared this idea. It is so interesting to live in a smaller space and have to really change my consciousness about so many things—decoration and storage included.
I so enjoyed that walk round the farm today, thank you for finding the time to do that. A great catch up on all the usual subjects, including Quacker. 🙏🏼💖
It was very sweet of of Quacker to present herself front and center!!
I absolutely love how you've captured the poetry in practicality here! The way you described winterizing your farm feels less like a chore list and more like reading an old wisdom book passed down through generations. It's always lovely to see WaiWai.
Happy New Week Cecilia.
Thank you lovely! Wai is so naughty. I had to walk half way down the drive to bring him back this morning - he must have snuck out when I was not watching.
Too cute.
On an unrelated note - do you know how I can care for a sick squirrel?
She is not showing signs of illness, except she is wobbly and lethargic.
She only has 3 feet (that's how I met her). She seemed to have lost her leg during birth or earlier on. She usually comes for her almonds every day, but she skipped the last couple of days and then showed up today not looking right.
Wildlife in OC is not very helpful :(
How can I participate I mean to be a paid subscriber?
Thank you so much Raed - this is wonderful. Go back to the body of the newsletter and click on the Blue Button labeled Subscribe - then choose either of the paid options - we would love to have you join us!
Let me know if you have any trouble.
I did it
Fantastic! You will receive an email to confirm! Thank you so much! Have a great evening!
That will be great and will work
Dear It does not work.
But does not work
Nice
🙏
Thanks for much for the link! I truly appreciate it. Trying to grow my audience on Substack has been slow for me - but I love the people I am meeting. So glad we connected! And I love this post. Made me think about my own winterizing steps here at the farm. I love the leaves in the bird pen! Great idea.
The leaves for the hens is a winter favourite. They love scratching about in them plus I have plenty!! And thank you so much for joining us! I like slow growth - it gives me time to get to know people!
Such a fun walkabout! Your wonderful walkabouts have allowed us to become up close and personal with all on the Farmy. All looks well there! We are working in our garden, harvesting and organizing as well. I'm coming to grips with the changing of the seasons, but not so happy about the time change. I will adjust, but may continue to be disgruntled when darkness arrives at 5:00 for awhile yet.
I hate the time change too. There is no earthly reason for daylight saving to continue. I have no idea why it still is going.
I'm knee-deep in leaves and pine needles here. We had a couple of very windy days last weekend and both came down simultaneously. It makes it seem a much bigger job----usually the pine needles come down first and get raked and stored away and by then the leaves are beginning to fall. So it doesn't seem such an enormous task to contend with. It does seem that there are more leaves than usual and I've almost filled two sections of the compost bins with shredded leaves and those usually hold most of the leaves that I shred to use as mulch for my flower beds. But this year there is a huge amount down with still more to come off the trees. I guess the excess can just go straight onto my flower beds rather than waiting till spring to mulch. My son came in from a walk yesterday with the biggest maple leaf that I have ever seen! From the bottom where the stem is attached to the top of the middle point it was 12 inches and across, between the two side points of the leaf, it was 10 inches. Just giant sized-----I could hardly believe my eyes when he held it up to show me. So maybe the early spring here gave the trees, bushes, etc extra time to grow larger foliage and that's part of the puzzle.
I loved your comment about how you often felt like water running down a ditch........... I know how that feels.
That enormous maple leaf is a puzzlement. And yes! We are water and we move like we get too.. It is something I am thinking about.
Yes people throughout time have used this time of year to prepare for the long slumber that is winter. Things need to be put to rest; it was a dicey time viz. will we have enough to get through the winter months? It was also a time of rest; not much could be done but wait. This sounds nice.
Yes - sitting by the fire sewing - that sounds nice to me!
you are so well organized and logical about it, basic needs covered, and extra care put in place for the harshest months. very inspriational.
It is a good feeling to be ready for winter - though to be fair unless there is a terrible natural disaster we do have the supermarket (40 minutes away).
We have a lot of our winter food "put by" as I've learned to call it. I have the rest of the celery to bring in, for freezing and drying, as well as seemingly infinite parsley that I won't put much more of up. As you said, only store what you'll eat! My husband does all the cooking and says he'll try and use more parsley this winter than last, but it also starts giving fresh flavor again so early in the spring that we don't need quarts and quarts of it for the winter!
I could stand to up the storage total on our chicken feed... But with only six, if we do run short during bad weather or otherwise, they wouldn't mind sharing in our hoard of oatmeal or buckwheat groats to pass the time.
Buckwheat! How do you put by your parsley - I just pop it in a paper bag and set it in the back of the fridge. I LOVE parsley. And celery soup!!
I dry it. Dehydrator if I have time. Otherwise a bunch with a rubber band hung in a dry place in the house will do it eventually. The celery I chop and freeze but I dry the leaves like I do the parsley. My husband likes to cook with the flavor but not the texture sometimes.
Oo. Dried celery leaves. That is a stunning tip!
How spoilt I am to live in a flat that requires minimal winterising. Thank you for this look inside your process!
I am sure your little flat allows you more writing time. Do your winters get very cold?
It does get down to -5/6° C in the winter nights, but not all day. It'll always warm up within the day when the suns out. And there are no outdoor animals I need to tell to hunker down!
All your outside animals are IN!
Their winterising involves not malting until spring!!
What a charming & intimate tour around the farmy this pretty November Sunday. It was positively good medicine for me this morning, relaxing my tense shoulders & anxious mind. With a leap of imagination & memory, I could smell the cold air, the dusty chicken house & barn, the frosty compost pile & the crunchy brown leaves under your all's feet. Many thanks for this pleasant & soothing interlude.
To hear our little tour relaxed you is wonderful! That is the best result.
I still have a few chores to prep the outside for winter. I have drained and hung the hoses, moved leaves from under some trees to along the deer path. The deer like the soft bedding and it keeps the weeds down in summer. The tomato plants are still green but not producing any more. After this rainy spell is over I will get to them. I pulled the started on the snow blower. It started first pull. I hope it does that when it snows and is cold. Next week I will plant some garlic.
'pulled the starter' ... you probably assumed that. :-)
Yes! I assumed that. Sounds like you have things in hand. I like the image of the deer resting in the leaves you leave.