We were busy for the first couple weeks of November, preparing the farm for winter, preserving food, and packing to flow southward.

 

November 13th was one year to the day from my last day at my internet marketing job in downtown Minneapolis. Coincidentally, it was also the day that the four of us rolled out from the farm, for 4 months of travel and working on other farms down south – WWOOFing as we did last winter.

Why leave? For one thing, the farm is not yet ready for us to overwinter – the well would freeze, the firewood pile is too small and uncured, the trailer is drafty. These things could certainly be overcome, but we prefer to travel anyway – escape the worst of winter’s cold, meet new people, see new places, learn new things – and spend some well-earned time away from the farm, where we have spent almost every day working fro sunup to sundown for the entire season. Winter’s frigid spell gives us an opportunity to leave the field behind for a while, and get out of well-worn ruts of routine and responsibility.

Over the two days before we planned to leave, a storm buried the farm beneath 16 inches of snow  – and nearly trapped us there.

The snowplow took 2 and a half days to clear the road, just in time for us to leave – and our amazing neighbors Dave & Marcie helped us escape – plowing us out, and then pulling us up and out of their driveway when we got stuck there while trying to drop off some veggies as we departed.

To start the journey off, we picked up my mom and drove with her out to Illinois, to my sister’s house – where I’m writing from now. My mom flew back to the Twin Cities after a few days – we’re staying here for two weeks, enjoying the company and beautiful home of my sister and her husband and their two whippets.

We leave for Yokna Bottoms Farm in Oxford, Mississippi in Saturday. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for … and look forward to leaving on our journey filled with good food and fortified by two weeks of family relaxation!