One of our winter activities here at the farm is barn clean out. The farm currently has two barns, one old slanty animal barn, and the newer white warehouse type barn. When we first moved to the farm it was as renters, and there were other tenants here as well. We rented the house and land and three and a half outbuildings. The upper level of the white barn was rented by a costume shop, and the lower level and what is now our wash area were rented by a business called Used Commercial Equipment. Long ago, in the beginning, this was just fine. We couldn’t afford to rent all the space, nor did we really need it. After a few years of curing onions in our bedroom, and filling the house with winter squash, and generally prospering, the other two businesses found more suitable places and we were able to buy the farm and begin to use all of the space. We did rent out a room or two to a band for rehearsal space, and some space to a bee keeper for his things for a time. But now we have grown into the space.

After a few days of cushy indoor barn clean up we had to venture out into the elements for harvest. It’s really not that bad, and it doesn’t take us very long to gather up a few bunches of greens, some carrots and leeks. But we do love to whine good naturedly to one another. That is our number one top secret reason for letting the crew go at the end of October. We don’t want them to hear us whining during winter harvest time. Some things are best kept within the holy bounds of a marriage.
Seriously, though, our small forays out into the weather only make us more happy to be inside later, making a fire and a soup and generally enjoying the season.