Wake Up!
There is a goofy Disney movie called Rocketman. In one scene, because of an accident, the main character doesn’t go into “hyper-sleep” with his crew mates and is isolated and alone on the ship for eight months. He does everything he can think of to pass the time. He makes a chain of paper dolls, paints the ceiling and goes bananas screaming comically for his fellow crew members to wake up. Wake up! Wake Up! WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!
I was thinking about this recently as I stood in my pasture.
I’m killing time.
Waiting.
I look out over my fields, feeling helpless against the endless snow pack. I live in a desert of ice. The cows are grazing through the snow pack but we still supplement with hay …and the hay pile is running low. The wood pile is running low. Propane is crazy-expensive. I’m ready for winter to end.
How many more months to go? How long before the world comes back to life?
Wake up! Come on! I’m ready already! Let’s butcher some chickens! Let’s build some fence while fighting mosquitoes and dodging poison ivy! Bring on the milk cows slapping us in the face with a manure-covered tail. ..and the flies, oh! the endless, beautiful clouds of flies! At least let it warm up enough to tap the trees!
It can’t happen fast enough.
And when it does I’ll be ready for winter again.
Chism Heritage Farm 
I’m curious. We garden year round, no downtime. We have always been under the belief that when we move to another climate and unable to garden in the winter, that we might “enjoy” some time with fewer responsibilities. But the more I read and learn, the more I realize that probably won’t be true. Chores will still arise and the air temperature is the only difference.
Am I anywhere close in this new belief?
You know, we looked at moving to Florida a couple of times. I am always amazed when I’m working there in January and I hear lawn mowers. But there are trade-offs anywhere you go.
We do a lot of work in each season. But we don’t do the same work year-round. I think it’s nice to put the lawn mower away for 6 or 7 months.
I pulled out all of our lawn years ago, so no need for a lawnmower. But the vegetables we grow in the lawn’s place makes up for mowing work.