Snowy Winter.  Photo by Jerry Apps

As we move ever closer to winter, my memories return to my early life on the farm.  As I think back, nearly everything we did during the other three seasons of the year was to prepare for winter.  The crops we planted in spring—oats, corn, potatoes—we harvested in summer and fall, and stored them for the farm animals to eat in winter.

The hayloft in the barn was piled to the roof with hay that we had cut in late June and July, waiting for winter when it would help feed our small herd of hungry milk cows.

The huge garden that my mother managed, with vegetables of every kind, along with such fruits as strawberries and raspberries by late fall were lined up in jars on shelves in the cellar.  Waiting for winter.

The enormous woodpile just west of the house stood waiting for winter, when it would help warm our farmhouse.  In November, we piled straw around the outside of the house, as a way to keep out the winter drafts.

As I think back, I realize that winter, in large measure, defined who we were as people.  We learned the importance of planning for the future—winter, which always arrived, ready or not.  We didn’t despise winter as it did provide some time for winter activities such as skiing, sledding, and ice skating.  But the better we planned for it, the more we could enjoy what I have called “The quiet season.”

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: We who live in the north are largely defined by winter.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Monday, November 16, 12 Noon. Launch of THE OLD TIMER SAYS: A WRITING JOURNAL.  A virtual event.  Click on the following for further information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1024707661275889/

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To read more about winter, see my book: The Quiet Season (Wisconsin Historical Society Press).  To purchase copies of The Quiet Season and The Old Timer Says: A Writing Journal, go to your local bookstore,  order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. Say hello to Jana and Dave, and look at their great selection of my books or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.