And that means making sure we are buttoned up and ready for winter. We recently obtained a new wood splitter for the tractor which has relieved Jeremiah of the dubious honor of splitting all of our wood…somewhere between 7-10 cord.
This year I have taken on the job of cutting the firewood to length since so many other chores have fallen on Jeremiah’s shoulders. We may come to regret that decision when we are burning wood of varied lengths this winter…my eye for consistency might leave something to be desired.
Other winter considerations that are new for us this year are regarding the pigs. We have to figure out winter water, and shelter for winter farrowing. Right now all of the pigs are in field housing which is ok for now, but newborn piglets are going to need more protection. Who would have thought when we build the post and beam barn last year that it would already be too small, but here we are. Jeremiah is working on an addition with stalls. It has been considerably more work that we might have thought as we had to bring the grade up, requiring a retaining wall which Jeremiah had to engineer and construct.
Needless to say, winter in VT always requires preparation, but this year we’ve added a few extra dimensions!