November 20

When the footers for the kitchen area were put in, the clothesline had to go. We’ve had this steel pipe clothesline since my eight-year-old was a baby. It turns out hanging clothesline between trees does the same thing, plus it looks like a giant game of cat’s cradle.

A couple of cold snaps came through and it reminds me of just how ill prepared we really are for the extremes of cold and heat here. Also, laundry. When it is cold staying on top of the laundry is a must. So there is laundry on the line, laundry on the floor, laundry in the hampers, and laundry on beds.

At least some of it’s clean.

Firewood is another one of those things we don’t think about until it gets cold and then it’s a huge part of our every day. Collect, cut, stack, haul, and heat. This year we bartered for a few loads of the stuff and that has me thinking about the future. We don’t exactly have a woodlot and so just how sustainable is wood heat for us really?

We’ve still got last year’s wood ashes to sift and mix into the gardens.

We moved the wood stove over to the new cabin about a month ago. The chimney had literally fallen into a crumbling heap one day and it seemed significant, this moving of the hearth so to speak. That also means that the old cabin, where much of my kitchen and our office are, is now unheated. And so we continue to work within the confines of the elements.

This little lady has gotten better at being on egg duty. The hens continue to lay in various places and the boys are excellent nest-locators. A couple of years ago we had a flock in the dozens but most of that became dinner for a hawk or two. And so now we put more chickens on the list of to-dos.

The garden is mostly put to bed at this point. I haven’t been out since the freezing temperatures but I’m guessing that chard may be the only thing still kicking, if that. With the ongoing construction and all around busyness, we’ve decided to wait until spring to start anew. Maybe some manure and other amendments will get added but for now we’re growing these babies and spaces under our care.

Abram’s garden, on the other hand, is looking quite nice. He put up the fence, made the gate, and planted garlic and fava beans, both of which are doing fine despite the cold.

I have a feeling there will be more gardening responsibilities in this little man’s future. We’ve traveled to big cities with bright lights and billboards and smack dab in the middle of it all he had to say was “That’s a nice looking tree.”

I’m pretty sure that made me smile harder than I had in a while.