On Bedlam Farm, Maria and I each have our distinct roles. She tends to most of the feeding of the animals, I tend to shop, do most of the cooking and am both Hunter -Gatherer, and Quartermaster.

My absolutely favorite farm chore and responsibility is planning for the winter, which in our part of the country, means getting ready for winter the first week of May and staying with it until we are prepared.

First, I called Sandy Adams, a farmer we know and trust who lives to the North of us. I ordered 70 bales of hay, the price will range between $4 and $6 a bale, depending on how fast the first cut comes up, and how hard it was to harvest it.

Sandy and her husband Brian always stop to chat for five or six minutes, they don’t dally. They always stack the hay for us and often put it in when we aren’t there.

I have to call them up to arrange payment, they never mention it otherwise.

My second call was to our farrier, Matt Ross, to get Fanny and Luly’s hooves trimmed for the summer, we will want to trim them again in October, the last trim before winter. He came today.

Matthew is businesslike and wonderful with the donkeys, I have to call him three times, he always answers on the third call. Luly and Fanny love him and love to snuggle with him they love to get their nails done.

We contact Liz, our sheep shearer, and make plans for her to come in late Spring. She will also come in November to shear the sheep before winter.

The third call is to Greg Burch, whose dog J.D. inspired me to get Gus, and then Bud. Greg is our wood provider, he is out all summer in the deep woods chopping wood, when he gets a full truck, he calls me, and if I’m not home, he just brings it over and I’ll pay him when he’s passing by.

He knows where to put it, a cord of wood costs $180 and we usually order seven cords. Greg brings a load every couple of weeks, Maria, my Willa Cather wife, loves to stack it herself, if she’s too busy we get somebody to come over and help.

We patched up the slate back porch with concrete, and someone is coming to replace the molding that blew off in a windstorm.  We will need to have the slate roofs checked and, if necessary, have the tiles replaced.

All of these things have be done by late October. We expect to have our solar panels ready in a month, hopefully before summer. That will save some money.

I’m delighted to report that by May 8th, the hay has been ordered, the first load of firewood delivered, the front porch and south side of the house have been painted.

I take my Quartermastering work seriously, winter is hard, but I love its harshness and beauty, and it’s my job to see that we are ready.

We will be.