If it weren't for these winter hibernation days I don't know how I would be able to sustain the necesary energy and morale for this "little" farm project. During this time my body can rest, my creativity can turn to other things and my well of inspiration can be recharged.

The FedCo seed catalog arrived a couple days ago- always something to look forward to, so in the next couple of weeks I will inventory my seeds and order more. One of my main enterprises is fresh cut flowers and it is always fun to see what new flowers I might discover.

This coming year my sister and I are adding a new farm enterprise (something I would never dream of in the height of the season! a sometimes dubious outcome of this dreamy time...): farm dinners. This will entail enlarging my kitchen garden to provide produce for the dinners, which adds another exciting element to seed shopping.

I am entering my third season doing this farm, and even though in some ways each of the previous two seasons have felt like lifetimes of work and mistakes, during this time of reflection and perspective I can see how I have barely scratched the surface of what I may do here. I have had the permaculture concepts in mind the whole time, but have thus far been just trying to keep my head above water, and put in place some of the essential physical structures. Now that I have an irrigation system and an 8' deer fence surrounding the farm (3 acres), and some observation and interaction I feel like I might be able to begin some planning. (I would LOVE to host a PDC class here in the next couple years to refresh my knowledge and get the creative insights of like-minded folks.)

I am starting small in my planning and I am definitely making a lot of small mistakes to learn from! I am starting with existing elements, looking for leverage points and ways these elements might support each other. Specifically I am looking at a small but poorly neglected fruit orchard, and four well-loved goats. I think a food/medicine forest is indicated, and I know there is some great forage for the goats there as well (plantain, orchard grass, chicory, blackberry). Of course, I have to protect trees and other plants from the goats, and there may be a problem with the goats eating apple leaves in the fall (?), but I suspect there are several ways the goats and the orchard/food forest can support each other.

Any ideas, input, feedback is greatly welcomed!