Winter has finally arrived here at Cross Island Farms. With the temperature hovering around zero and a fresh few inches of snow cover, we have been spending our time away from seasonal chores huddled around the wood stove.

Over the past few days David has hauled 260 small square bales of Certified Organic hay from a farm in Theresa, unloaded and stacked them in our Roadside Greenhouse where they will be stored until they are consumed by our hungry ruminents, or moved to make way for our May Greenhouse opening, whichever comes first. This hay is about 12% protein as tested by Cornell labs, providing the extra nutrition required by our pregnant goats and lactating cows. We figure that at approximately 50 pounds per bale, in loading and unloading the truck over several hauls, David lifted about 13 tons of hay single-handedly. "You must have alot of muscle," I said after we completed the calculations. "I'm thin but I'm 'wiry,' whatever that means," he retorted. David took the next day off from hard labor to rest.

About three weeks ago we discovered our first greenish-colored egg in the hen house. What we once thought were Araucana and have since learned are Americana (an offshoot of the former breed) chickens have begun doing what we have raised them for: laying certified organic free-range shades-of green/gray/blue (with an occasional pink) eggs now at the rate of almost a dozen a day. We have the "Just Laid" eggs for sale on our front porch in an old milk cooler with the honor can on top, or you may find them at Doxtater's Farmers Market on Route 37 in Pamelia.

After feeding the animals this morning, David and I harnessed up the pups and took them for a grooming expedition over the cross country ski trails criss-crossing the land behind the farmhouse. The dogs pull David who is attached to a yoke pulling a 55 gallon plastic drum which rotates as it moves along behind him, gently tapping down the trails to improve their ski-ability and preserve the snow a bit longer. We've been skiing almost every day for the past 10, but this is the first time the conditions are right for grooming. As we passed by outside the far right fenceline, our boar, BB, and our two sows (the ballet dancers of a previous email) trotted along for a time on their side of the fence curious to see what was up.

Sprouting under lights in our living room are three varieties of onions and two of parsley which I planted from seed at the beginning of the month. This is the earliest I have ever started sets, but with the hoop house still standing, I am looking forward to getting some plants in the ground by mid-February and onions do best with about 10 weeks leadtime before transplanting. Early in January I plan to start some head lettuce, chard, kale, bok choy and fennel as an experiment to see if they can survive in the hoop house if planted in February. Meanwhile, we continue to harvest greens in the hoop house from our early fall planting.

Just under two weeks ago we said goodbye to Aram and Lauren, two WWOOFers from Indiana who stayed with us for 10 days in December. Thanks to their help we now have a double layer of plastic over our largest greenhouse which will do double duty as shelter for goats in one half, and for spring vegetable sets on the other.

On a final note, Cross Island Farms has been nominated for the Jefferson County Job Development Corporation's "New Business Venture Award." The winner will be announced at their annual dinner on January 29th. Wish us luck.