Winter Farming...

By the end of this week, the major part of winter farming will be done. Only a couple of rows remain to be pruned and tied. Through November and December, we had a crew of 10 men out there working. Now, we are down to 3 fellas who are battling their way through the jungle that is our youngest field.

Oh my! There are many beautiful canes growing in that young field! -- A jungle to work through.

And once pruned and top-tied, they are so tall!

I love how orderly and tidy they look once they have been arc-ed and the final tie is done.

From a mess…

To order.

Having a big crew this year was something new for us. For a long time, we have had one or maybe two families slowly work through the field for the entire winter, thereby guaranteeing them an income for all of the cold months. But our latest family was getting older, and tired of the hard physical work, and decided to find something other than outside work for the winter. Fortunately, we were able to find a good group of guys who needed the work, and they kept doggedly at it and swept through the field.

They are gamers! Remember all that rain – 39 degree rain – in December? They were out there working nearly every day. We don’t require them to come when it is so nasty out, but they were here, gutting it out, getting the work done, earning the dollars their families need.

I admire that…and I’m thankful for them more than I can express.

And if you come by our field, you can admire their handiwork too. The fields just look so pretty when they are all neatly tied…

          ...and sound asleep like they’re supposed to be right now.

 

We’re thankful for the cold weather week, and a night below 20 degrees. It’s too soon for them to start thinking about waking up, and that will help them sleep a little deeper.

Just rest until spring, berries dear!