The Dead of Winter

I was told today that one's first Winter in the country is always like this.

February is just around the corner, and we are now in the Dead of Winter. I remember as though in a dream how when we first arrived in September, the place was teeming with life. You couldn't look anywhere without spotting a garner snake, a frog, a dragon fly, a busy bee, a millipede, a blue jay. Even if you tried. Now, I can stare out of my window for hours hoping to spot an animal, some kind of life other than the cluster flies that are to my amazement still alive and well in our house, or those other lives that sleep in my bed and that I feed myself everyday, whose survival I assure.

We have only one vehicle in use right now. It goes to work everyday, and leaves me behind at home. Being a city girl all of my life until now, I was accustomed to walking everywhere, and meeting loads of people along the way. It is true that as city dwellers, I and everyone else tried very hard not to have their gazes meet to avoid having to say hello or having to look down to the ground in embarrassment or God forbid, having to smile back despite being in a bad mood. I longed for the day when I'd be able to fully embrace solitude and have the opportunity to spend an entire day by myself without seeing anyone at all. I've done that now, quite a lot, and while I do enjoy it, most of the time it's not by choice.  I love my own company, but I've found I actually like the company of others too.

Two days ago, a nice lady from the Women's Institute called me and asked if I wanted to join her and the other Institute ladies for lunch. I was overjoyed. Women! Live women to talk to about farming and solitude! We had a lovely lunch today and I feel re-invigorated after the stimulating discussions about chickens, pigs, vegetables, draft horses, ponies, and sheep's milk. I love the country!


On the bright side of Winter,  I've learned that February is the time to plan summer gardens and order seeds. I couldn't wait another day and placed my orders yesterday. The thought of these colourful, juicy and tasty summer treats warmed my heart quite a bit. I was like a kid in a candy store. This will be the first time I try my hand at vegetable gardening. I hope to be able to grow enough to provide for our household for the entire year. That's the plan, anyway. Here's what I ordered for my 350-square-foot summer garden, my 400-square-foot winter storage garden and my herb garden:

Eleven varieties of tomatoes
Tomatillos
New Zealand Spinach
Winter squash (Spaghetti, Butternut, Yellow Scallop, Acorn)
Purple top white globe turnip
Black beauty and Golden zucchini
Lutz green leaf beet
Red and green cabbage
Potatoes
Premium mix - brassica
De Cicco brocoli
Chantenay and Dragon carrots
Pok Choy
Straight eight cucumbers
Curly green kale
Sugar snap peas
Cherry Belle radish
Bleu de solaize leek
Dakota tears, Rossa di Milano and Evergreen onions
Orange Bell peppers
Jalapenos
Rutabaga
Sweet delight melon
Early green moss endive
Parsnip
Crimson sweet watermelon
Baby leaf lettuce
Five-colour chards
Grand Rapids leaf lettuce
Arugula
Chamomille
Coriander
Dill
Garlic chives
Greek oregano
Lovage
Mustard
Parsley
Rosemary
Sage
Savory
Sorrel
Sweet Basil
Dark Opal basil

and loads of flower seeds!

Already growing on our property: rhubarb, strawberries, elderberries, tarragon, thyme, raspberries, asparagus and horseradish.

Here are some great places to order seeds online:

Terra Edibles Local organic, heirloom seeds

Hope Seeds Canadian certified-organic seeds

Ontario Seeds Larger Ontario seed company

If you feel inclined to start a vegetable garden of your own for the first time, whether you live in the city, in a village or  in the country, I strongly recommend getting a copy of "From Seed to Table - A Practical Guide to Eating and Growing Green" by Janette Haase.

It's a fantastic book that classifies all of the gardening tasks and recipe ideas according to the months of the year. For an inexperienced vegetable gardener like myself, this is the ideal guide to simplify the daunting task of knowing when to start transplants, how many to start, when to plant, when to harvest, how to store and preserve your harvest etc. and how to eat seasonally based on what you have grown yourself, whether it be fresh, or preserved, or on what's available at the market.

Until May, when I finally get to taste the fruits of my upcoming labour, I only get to salivate to my daydreams while loading some more wood into my best friend's belly.

Life in the Country

Stuart and I feel like we've finally come home.

Where is this neurotic woman you guys all know? I feel like she might have gone away for ever. I never realized until now how claustrophobic the city made me feel. That the city was the root of most of my anxieties. Life here is slow and steady, with always a task to be done but no stress involved. New and old friends have been welcoming us with open arms and offering more help than we really need. Were so grateful! And its always good to be able to return the favor.

Yesterday, we got invited to help with the cattle drive at a friend's farm. Ive never been so close to a cow (or a bull) before! I must admit that I found their enormous size unnerving, but I soon realized that they were much more afraid of me, a stranger, than I was of them. A two and a half ton bull skittered past me like I was a wolf in sheep's clothing. So strange!

Emma and Chico are in Paradise here. Though the road is close to the house and cars go by at 80 clicks and hour here, they are allowed to roam free. Its amazing how quickly they learned the boundaries of their territory and remain within them. We have a new barn cat. He just showed up one day to eat from the compost pile and I set him up a little bed and some food in the barn. We don't see him much because of the dogs, but I've had three sightings so far. The food is always gone in the morning, but for all I know, raccoons are eating it. When I've seen him five times, i'll name him.

I've never been an early riser, but my favorite thing nowadays, is to rise at 6:30 and head outside in my nightgown and a warm coat to have my first cigarette while watching the sun rise over the hill and the ground frost melt in the shape of the barn.

 

We finally bought a clothes drier last week as it's become too rainy and cold to hang clothes on the line. The drier was delivered to our door in 30 minutes with this:

(the note says: "Thanks for buying from Smitty's Appliances, I do appreciate your business. And welcome to the area. Please come back. A little treat on Smitty."

 I love the country!

So we also set up our new wood stove yesterday. Stuart made a beautiful slate base for it. now were really warm and we can save on oil! It is so very exciting!

Working hard and living good.