Winter whammy

sunrise winter hike Cape Croker Neyaashiinigmiing
Hiking the Neyaashiinigmiing bluffs on a beautiful winter morning.

 

It’s been a wild winter. A mild December lulled us into believing we would get a break this year. Silly, silly us. By the end of February–when we often have a thaw, but not this year–our daughter had missed a record sixteen days of school because of cancelled busses. We even saw the weather website post ‘Blizzard Warning,’ which was a new meteorologic category for many of us. In the midst of this, our physical access to the outside world was throttled.

I’m stealing from Peter’s letter/essay that he shared with several family members in February about the experience.

My Personal Groundhog Day

By Peter

I sometimes tell students the proverb: “There’s no such thing as bad weather—just poorly prepared people.” That perspective has been intercepted and tasered the past two weeks. Even slightly decent weather has been an exception.

Continue reading “Winter whammy”

Food and Community

Polka Dot Hen Produce is the market garden enterprise located at Bird’s Nest Garden Farm. Bird’s Nest Garden Farm is our off-grid homestead located about 20 minutes north of Wiarton.

With our friends and visitors, we love to exchange great ideas about gardening, small-scale farming, permaculture, cooking and off-grid living. 

Visitors to our place experience a beautiful regenerating landscape while breathing the fresh air of the countryside. The Bruce Trail is nearby for excursions into the forest.

Longterm, our farm goal is to be a hub for folks to: 

  • learn about growing their own food
  • learn about cooking with fresh local ingredients
  • learn about natural small scale farming methods
  • get outside!

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The Winter Homestead Lifestyle

Snowfall on polka dot hen produce homestead bruce peninsula
The first winter snowfall covers our homestead in white frosting.

Well, it’s been a quiet winter so far here on the homestead. Nowhere near the spirit-crushing amount of snow and cold temperatures we endured last winter. Yet. Thank goodness. That was a challenge. We’ll see what February brings.

Still, this season does bring a change in daily life that we both look forward to and dread at the same time. Fire building we look forward to – constantly carting wood into the house, we dread. Snow is really great for skiing and snowshoeing; blowing it off the driveway is not so enjoyable. Walking the dog takes on new meaning. However, we all agree that snow days are awesome. Continue reading “The Winter Homestead Lifestyle”