Winter Fun:

So what does a farmer do in the winter months?

I wonder that myself, that is what do other farmers do in the winter months? by the time I get back into the house, seeing as though I have spent may-october basically living in the farmstand kitchen… hopefully this moving back into the house kitchen happen’s before Thanksgiving, so then we host a rather large Thanksgiving Holiday Meal for friends and family. and the Christmas Holiday and all the events and traditions that go with it begin.

by the time all of that specialness is over its the 1st week of January, and I am just dieing to give this home some well deserved TLC! for example this years project was removing all the furniture, curtains and hardware from the living room and setting up ladders, and then I refinished our ceiling, with 3 coats of sheet rock compound and 3 sandings with all of that dust just about everywhere. Then I painted it with 2 coats of ceiling paint and then painted all the trim in the living room 5 windows and 3 doors later, it was beautiful and I was totally filled with pride and felt alittle closer to my house.

Inbetween all of the big project, I attended the ag show and wrapped up last years farm papers and prepared my taxes and did my organic certification renewal. by then it was February 1. still not getting all of the work out of me that I wanted to do on the house, I then emptied out yet another room, this time a apprentice room and painted it 2 coats, and while I was doing that I found myself remembering every apprentice we have had the pleasure of hosting 29 in all over the last 9 years that had slept in that room. I put that room back together. and yup started another project this time the bathroom, this home as large as it is has just one bathroom, and so its rather used alot. we have lived here 15 years and never has it had so much as a coat of paint. so Kenya decided for christmas she would paint the bathroom for me. she put 3 weeks into it and Gil and I finished by removing all the old brick red floor tile and replacing it with something alittle less red. yup just recently Gil and I were up past 11pm one night grouting the floor with out gloves and the grout is black. oh but it is finished and beautiful!

Just in time for Sage and I to head to Vermont’s NOFA conference for farmers over the Valentine weekend, Sage to the official farmer kids conference and I with black tinted hands (from grouting) to the most exciting group of folks I have ever had the pleasure to be around. I have come back with more ideas that anyone could imagine, I actually have the thought that life is just to short and that their is so much more to do… I am simply bursting with things to do.. so the house is finished for this season and I am head first into planning our 15th year in Belgrade Maine.

Farmer Mary Perry