It snowed today! I happen to be in the city at the moment, so while I’m not there to witness it, I got the news this morning. From down in the city, I can see the clouds circling the mountains, a reminder that even the desert has seasons.
We had moved from Illinois, where Jack Frost is no stranger. Snow sticks for months and the wind makes everything ache with a frosty vengeance, but here in New Mexico, the snow doesn’t stick as long and it doesn’t get as bitterly cold. Still, this means we have to plan.
Our winterizing efforts have included waterproofing and insulating the goat crate, putting up wind fences, and placing hay bales under the main trailer to reduce wind passing underneath. It’s extremely windy at the homestead, with gusts clocking up to 50 mph the other day, so it is by no means warm-up on the mountain. It’s beginning to be too cold to do bricks and other outside activities, so we are starting our main winter goal: planning for 2022.
In the spring, we are planting a pumpkin patch, a vegetable garden, and a flower garden. I’m also planning on getting six Coturnix quails, as both eggs and meat are a neat little side hustle. This means we have a lot to prepare for and a lot to buy. We finished our seed order today and our soil will need to be amended heavily to grow crops and I need to plan out quail coops and build supplies. This doesn’t include the countless other projects we have on the side, like our future donkey shelter, but these two I’m most excited about.
I think a common misconception is that there just isn’t much to do during winter, but this could not be farther from the truth. Goats still need to be taken care of, the fence still needs to be put up, and many plans still have to be made for the spring. However, I’m so incredibly excited to see what 2022 has to bring.