Winter time on the Farm

 Although the winter in Nova Scotia is relatively short compared to other places in Canada, winter has a huge impact on the farm. When living in Calgary, AB, we often found winter started in October and ended in late March/early April. In Nova Scotia, we often have weather that isn't extra cold or snowy until early to mid January and ends mid to late March on average. Those two or three months however, have a big impact on how the farm operates. 

The biggest impact is how the weather impacts operations and equipment. Generally, through the year there is no issue with running water to the cattle and chickens but in the winter we are always dealing with frozen water. When I had the barn renovated last year, the biggest expense was running new pipes with electric heat wrap on all the pipes so they wouldn't freeze in the dead of winter. Since we've had some nighttime temperatures this winter go down to -25 degrees celsius in some cases, the heat tape keeps 99% of the barn thawed out with the exception of the spouts on the water bowel I heat with a heat gun by hand. This is hard for all farms and no matter how well you are set up, it still creates more work.

The next impact is on equipment. I've learned over the last few years that running equipment in the winter is much less productive then in the other 3 seasons. Not only do you have to drive them in the snow and make them work hard, and burn more fuel, but you have more repairs. When equipment is running in colder temperatures, it's hard on the batteries, components that need fluid (like hydraulics), and parts of the machine that have plastic components. Because it takes such a toll on the farm equipment, I've started to park all the equipment for the winter except for the one farm tractor for clearing snow. 

A very positive impact is possibly the only good part of winter on a farm, which is the ability to rest. As any home owner knows, there is always a list of things to do but multiply that by a hundred on a farm. During the non-winter months, we are very limited to basic farm chores when the weather is poor or there is a lot of snow. This allows us to actually take weekends to rest and enjoy things like napping and reading that we never do in the other months. I often joke with my friends that the winter is the time I catch up with my Netflix shows that everyone talks about all year since I don't watch much TV when I can be doing farm work. 

Another small winter enjoyment is the use of goods that we have harvested or produced during the rest of the year. Starting in December we start to use more of the preserves and vegetables we have stored from harvests through the year. We also cook the chickens we raised and had processed in the spring as well as the beef from the previous cow we have had butchered. It's an enjoyable and rewarding part of winter to know the summer and fall harvests will sustain us through the winter.

Overall the winter presents unique aspects to farm life that we don't see in other seasons. Some we enjoy and some we don't but overall it makes us thankful to be living in this part of the world and on this wonderful farm.

Taking Apart Your Bar M Ranch Wreath

 Every year, I (Christina) hand-tie a couple hundred double-sided Christmas wreaths. I cut all of the balsam fir brush by hand from trees along the woods roads and pastures on our farm. I snip the brush into smaller pieces, assemble them in little bundles and use spools of green wire to wrap them around a metal ring. 

If you leave it assembled as-is, it has to be put in the garbage because of the metal inside of the compostable balsam fir. Please note, there are other types of wreaths that are made in different ways so their disassembly might be different. When you’re done with a wreath that I’ve made, here’s how to take it apart.

I attach any bows and cones with wire after the wreaths are complete. So, working in reverse order of how they’re made, the bows and cones should be removed first. Lay the wreath bow-side-down and find the wires that have been twisted to secure the bow and cones. Un-twist the wires and remove the decorations. Then, pry back the brush and find the green wire and metal ring. Snip the green wire (with old scissors or wire snips) and start unwinding. I find it easiest to keep unwinding and crunch the wire up into a ball as I go instead of snipping the wire into a bunch of small pieces. If you wanted to wind the wire up carefully, it could be reused for another purpose. As you unwind the wire, you’ll see all of the induvial bundles of balsam fir. All of the balsam fir can then be composted. I throw the wire in the garbage. The wire ring can be reused or recycled with scrap metal.

Every year, after Christmas, I get a couple dozen wreaths returned, and I take them apart myself and reuse the rings. I offer this “service” to anyone who buys a wreath from me. They can be dropped off at the farm anytime, no questions asked, and I’ll know what to do with them.