Saturday, January 28, 2012

A Six Arrows Farm Update


Well, the Minnesota winter held its breath for a staggering couple of weeks, peaked the effort with an almost unheard-of 50 degree January day, and let it all go this morning in a frigid blast of the arctic.  From the balmy-forget-your-hat-and-wear-a-light-jacket day to a biting-button-your-coat-collar-and-wear-long-underwear day; all in forty-eight hours!  If the weather-man isn’t selling exaggerated news (which he almost certainly is either way since the poor fellow truly can’t win), the thermometer will finally drop to the more familiar few degrees above zero tonight and the wind will drive a chill through your bones at a ghastly 10-15 degrees below!  Instead of sniffing stale autumn air when I step outdoors, I can gasp enough to swallow a snowball when I turn the handle and the crack between door and jam wuthers in my face.

Yet again the family room in the basement becomes a natural retreat after dinner and during the short mornings and afternoons.  Here every day has its fire and across the floor and festooned over chairs and sofas our papers and projects bask with us in the heat.  Now we can delve into the deep ingenuity and musical wonder of Bach’s double violin concerto, study reams of evidence and talk thoroughly and frequently on the subject of the United States Jury System, piece and perfect the lines and seams in an 1860’s military frock coat, pour over documents and study guides and reference books on every topic from calculus to air brakes.
Now we can rise early in the blessed dark of waning winter nights to unborn mornings with coffee in the pot and socks on our toes.  Hot food, however simple, is suddenly banquet fare when the aromas meet the freezing howl at the door.  The satisfaction of “beating the cold” by fetching fresh onions from the root cellar (now in official working order!) to concoct a big batch of spaghetti sauce is even better than pulling them right out of the garden!  The precious food we stored away for these long, “garden-less” months is reappearing to grace the table and Aubrey’s famous pesto remains the favorite by far!

I got a little jolt last week when a small package arrived in the mail with a Burpee Seed Company return address on it.  Yes, the first of the seeds!  Here we are planning to fill the garden yet again while the ground sleeps deeply.

Finally I can truly sign off,
Stay Warm!

Craig, Karen and The Six Arrows