Happy Spring from the Big Red Farm!

Winter sunset at the farm

Well, this was originally intended as a New Year's post, but these things get away from one.  It was nice (we thought) to have a real winter for a change; weeds, insect pests, and parasites have a much harder time surviving when the temperatures drop to Arctic levels, and with the appropriate clothing (I cannot emphasize enough how much we love our insulated coveralls), morning chores were, if not a breeze, certainly completely doable.

Hens in the hoophouse --
lots of snow on top!

Winter on the farm is pretty quiet, compared to the rest of the year, but we were still over at the farm twice a day feeding and caring for the hens and the sheep, all of whom did just fine, even in Polar Vortex weather.  The hens have spent the winter in our hoophouse, which keeps them out of the wind, and they've been laying lots of delicious eggs.  We hope to be moving them out to some more interesting pasture in the next couple weeks -- they're getting a little bored.  The sheep were completely unfazed by even the deepest snow and subzero-est nights; we often found them with an inch or so of snow on their backs in the morning, proving that their woolly coats really work!

Snowy sheep with their new shed

Now, the snow has finally melted, seeds have arrived (and some are growing in the greenhouse), there are healthy garlic leaves poking out of the ground, and it looks like winter may actually be over!  Our student farm crew has been hard at work for a couple of weeks now, preparing fields, planting peas, and otherwise getting ready for what we hope will be a great spring.  I hope you're all as excited as we are for sunny days and fresh veggies!  More updates soon, I promise.