In the Bleak Midwinter

For some folks, midwinter is a SAD time. The type of winter might be a factor in how one feels. Some are inclined toward no winter at all, others are inclined toward a real winter all winter. For some it may be an increase in the number of grey days during a typical Ohio River valley winter, or the shortened days and lengthened shadows.

Whatever affection for winter, or lack thereof, among many folks, at Bezold Farms the bleak midwinter is welcomed, enjoyed, and cherished. The quiet peacefulness in the stillness of sounds muffled by snow cover, leaves no longer rustling in the trees, the silent hooves of white-tail deer, the intermittent songs of the stalwart winter birds.

The bleak midwinter is a time to work on all the tasks that get shoved to the margins and off the page during the growing season. This time of year is for retrospection of what was and envisioning what can be. Cleaning up, moving things around, contemplating the misses of last year, and strategizing for success in the upcoming busy time. It is the time to explore President Eisenhower’s admonition: “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”

The bleak midwinter is always brightened by the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association Conference. The conference is a wonderful time to sit down and learn, to hear varied perspectives, to glimpse a view into what is happening that so often we cannot look up to see during the busy time. The conference offers numerous workshops. The topics are varied, always timely, and benefit anyone who eats.

The bleak midwinter is a time for rest and recuperation away from the busy time; a time to appreciate what our hard work, labor, sweat, and exhaustion provided for this time when it’s too late and too early, when the last busy season was “put by” and we can recharge for the long, hot, sun bleached days of the next busy season.