52. Happy 2026, and AWAY We Go!

Right now, I’m looking out on a snowy field blanketed in white, skeletal stalks of grasses and perennial wildflowers emerging out of the muted gray afternoon, snow still swirling, after a week of bananas cold weather.

And while it may seem like we’re locked in on Winter, here, hiding in front of a wood-fired stove with coffee and a bag of peanut butter M&M’s (you bet that’s what I’m doing right now), I am also gearing up for spring, because it’s RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

This weather witch is here to tell you that spring will be early, long, cool, wet, beginning in two weeks (mid-February) and last until June, when it will break into summer HARD, with droughts and spinning high temps.

I’m excited for this season, ready to break out into the production Hall of Fame with fruits and veggies for the masses, education for anyone who is curious to listen and experiment, and a successful integration of animals into the improvement of the land.

I put up another high tunnel with the help of an EQIP cost share and some great community members (and Nifty Hoops, of course!), plan to plant both a hedgerow with lots of flowering and fruiting plants, and a pollinator patch on the outskirts of the property, and will be hopefully getting an irrigation pipeline run from the water main at the road to the middle of the property to allow water access for the animals and the plants. Hooray for irrigation!

The sheep and pigs have been killing it with their pasture work: plants have been trampled, poo has been deposited, and spring seeds have been sown for pasture improvement. I added another sheep (a wether I’ve named Ghibli), and hopefully I get this FACT grant to include the chickens and geese into the rotation with some chicken tractors to close the loop on on this land-improvement project.

Plants have been started, germination is happening, and I’m feeling almost ready to get this Spring on the road.

This time of year (end of January/beginning of February), I’m starting seeds for transplanting into the High Tunnel 1 (her name is Persephone), and for early plants available at market for other growers. Brassicas — broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale — onions, flowers, artichokes, Swiss chard, and herbs are under lights in the laundry room.

Finally, I’ve got some conferences I’m speaking at in a couple of states, and feeling really lucky to get to share my experience and perspectives with lots of others who are interested in a little experimentation and trial and error.

So that’s January and February. Really hoping to get plants into the ground in the high tunnel by March, if not earlier.

These Winter doldrums seem to be sliding off my back and boosting productivity for once, so that’s a blessing and a feeling I’d like to hold on to, at least until September. Ha!

Double finally, this year, 2026, will be our 15 year wedding anniversary (together for 18). Hard to believe—it’s just flown by, after all — but I’m really feeling a ton of gratitude for my saint of a husband, who is on the road two hours a day to drive into the city so we can live on our farm, and helps take care of my mom (who is living with us now), and spends each weekend in his wood shop, building furniture and other things for our home to that it is comfortable and beautiful. Love that guy.

Here are some baby pics of us, including one of the few from our wedding day in Rabbit Hash, KY.

So that about wraps up January and some of February. I hope the rest of the year continues to look bright, hopeful, and full of possibility.