2021 Forward

Our farm is in Wisconsin. It is winter and it is a new year. Wisconsin’s state motto is Forward. That sounds like a good plan.

We make a t shirt every year and it has our logo on the front and a tagline on the back. Last year the back of our shirt said DAMMIT, apropos for 2020, enough said. This year it’s going to say FORWARD. It’s pretty much the only choice I figure.

2020 and it's repercussions resulted in me finally stepping full time into my Farmer/Artist shoes. It was daunting and invigorating all at once. In the Studio and Workshop, Ed and I worked on a tandem Small Works Release of things we made this fall. Ed created a bunch of beautiful small carved boxes and some great step stools. I doubled down on my paintings from the Livestock Conservancy Series, put together a new 2021 calendar and finished 8 commissioned paintings. Angus helped me create a new card game, Farm Flip.  All the items went up onto our website store and our friends, family and supporters came through in magnanimous fashion. We learned how to pack and ship and turned into an e-commerce site! We are so grateful for the chance to send you our work. Thank you.

On the Farm, this year we pressed on in our farm goals. We added a small flock of Shetland sheep, and are awaiting spring lambs. Goats are happy, horses fat, and chickens are still laying. Mom and I became egg delivery girls for an egg subscription service we started this summer in response to the Covid. It worked out great and gave us an outlet for extra produce from the garden.

Fleeces from the Angora goats are stacking up in my workroom and my clipping technique is getting better with each biannual shearing. Santa brought me this awesome sheep chair, and when Liam and Aspen were home for the holidays they helped me trim the goats feet. It makes rassling them so much easier. Winter nights are perfect for carding and spinning their fiber in the glow of the woodstove.

Winter has come gently this year. I prefer winter chores to summer. There's a wonderful Norwegian saying – “Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær!” “There is no bad weather, only bad clothes!” In the winter you can always put on more clothes, in the summer there is a limit to how much you can remove to deal with the weather. I have finally broken the code on the perfect winter chore outfit.

The base layer is just what I am wearing for the day. Next is the mighty Carhartt bib overall. I like the side leg zips, if you pull them up, you can even remove them with your shoes on, but I usually slip them on sans boots. They have lots of pockets, stretchy shoulder straps and extra padding all around in case you slip on the ice.

Then, I put on my classic Sorel Caribou snow boots. Mine are 18 years old and still perfect. The Caribou has seam-sealed waterproof construction, a Sherpa snow cuff, extreme traction sole, and the ability to withstand chilling temperatures. The kicker is the removeable washable recycled felt inner boot. These are the magic key to warm tootsies. You can go online and buy replacements if your dog eats one. These can be laced up tight, but I just slip them on with out lacing up, my bibs cover up the boot tops and no snow gets in.

Next up, handy dandy Lands End down vest, mine again is 20+ years old, has a few holes where some fluff has escaped but a little duct tape fixes that.

This year I added the luxe comfort hack of a beautiful wild rag. What is a wild rag you ask? Well, in the 1800's cowboys and cowgirls adopted the use of wild rags to protect themselves from wind, rain and sun while on the trail. Used for work and play this garment proved useful on the trail for any number of purposes. A temporary fix for equipment, a flag for a race, a potholder by the campfire, a blindfold for training a horse and much more. Most rags are silk and called wild for the bright colors and patterns popular with the Vaquero cowboys of the Great Basin West. I bought my wild rag at the Buck Brannaman horsemanship clinic I attended this fall and boy howdy has it changed my life.It is called Springtime at the Houlihan Ranch and is printed with quotes about horsemanship from Mr. Brannaman. I know it sounds crazy but on a subzero morning at o dark thirty, wrapping this 48” square of silk around my neck and tucking it into my vest, feels like I am in heaven. Silk is amazing, it is warm, it’s insulating and snugged up over my nose it keeps the hay out and warm in and those freezing zippers away from my face. It wicks away moisture, is natural and wears forever. Note the tricky buckaroo square knot, here is a video to teach you how.

Next comes my stalwart Carhartt Duck Jacket. I’m never gonna’ give up this coat. I promised my mom I wouldn’t wear it off the farm anymore, the cuffs are frayed, and the pockets are full of hay, but it’s my security blanket. It’s broken in, soft as a flannel blanket and my old friend.

Next goes on the hat. Nepal Sherpa wool hat, lined with fleece, ear flaps. Yep-Sherpas know how to stay warm.

Last item, mittens. Yes mittens, not gloves. I recently did a poll, and most folks choose to wear gloves, but either they don’t spend a lot of time outside or they don’t live in a really cold place. The Inuktitut word for mittens is Paulueet. These folks in the arctic know how to keep their hands warm and all you really need to hold stuff is an opposable thumb. Mittens are the best invention in outerwear. Your 4 fingers together keep each other toasty company and the thumb can slip in for a warm-up if he needs to. I have never found a pair of gloves that kept my hands as warm as mittens. Mine are just deerskin fleece lined from Fleet Farm. The leather is worn in and pretty water repellent by now.

If its light out, I am good to go, if its dark I put on a mini headlamp and I can go conquer the world, no matter how cold.

Next post, all about winter chores..