Webmaster’s note: The format of this column includes all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! Phil writes this month’s column.
Gather, Laugh, Eat
Last week, we had a wonderful reminder of what a good snowfall can do. The browns and grays of late fall, along with the murky weather, gave way to a brilliant landscape of snow and sun. The reflected light, blindingly bright, brought with it cold weather that invigorates the body and mind.
It changes routines this new environment. The driveway, the paths, every coming and going must be cleared or recorded in a frozen memoir. The hose to water the livestock now receives more attention than any other time of year. Careful metering means running water that does not overflow the troughs. Careless metering means frozen lines or flooded places. The need to drive anywhere now has a time before takeoff component, to clear, to warm, and to scrape. Careless summertime steps now must shorten and become mindful of the ice beneath.
Bernd Heinrich, in A Year In The Maine Woods, reminds me that the coming of snow also shows the evidence of traffic. The pastures record but a fraction of the night traffic that occurs. The snow records it all. Walking the pigs’ fence line shows me who else I’m feeding when they dare venture into the open field, where they came from, and where they went. It truly is fascinating how populated everything is and how many wild things walk the same ground every day.
So, it is with sadness that I reminisce on the past week because today, the landscape has taken a 180-degree turn and pushed us back a couple of weeks. This current weather can only be helped by culinary delights. Beef stew, yup. Veal or beef short ribs…oh, my! Burritos with spice to warm from the inside out, please. Steak, home fries, and a beer? Tastes like summer. Tacos with salsa and Queso Fresco? I’m nearing the equator.
Late fall and winter give us that opportunity to draw closer to our loved ones. You can’t work outdoors as much, so gather, laugh, and eat.
Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously permitted us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.