There’s frost on the pumpkin, a nip in the air and we even had some graupel falling in some areas around here on Wednesday.
Graupel, you say?
Granular snow, frozen precipitation, a harbinger of things to come, this first graupel shower has me thinking holidays and warm blankets and heavy outdoor clothes lots of mittens, gloves and hats, and yes…the holidays.
We were blessed this year with a warm and very long autumn. Leaves hung on a little longer, migrating birds had more time to hang out on ponds or in our forests, deer had great grazing and we farmers and gardeners had more time to put our gardens to bed.
Or did we?
We had a busy fall here at the farm, harvesting summer crops well past the usual cutoff date and making hay well into this month. Too wet through most of the summer to work the fields for a crop of hay to feed the critters through the winter, we found ourselves doing the hard summer work on mild autumn days instead. We were picking outdoor crops of summer squashes, peppers and corn until just a week or so ago, and couldn’t put the beds to bed until now. It may be too late to lay down cover crops, now, which will do our soils no favors. We had to keep up with grass mowing a lot longer than usual, and picking the summer crops longer put us behind with everything. It is very stressful now, trying to get everything done all at one time. And the holidays are looming.
The pre-season stress is real — for all of us.
Retailers who rely on this time of year to come into the black from a red line as their bottom financial line are nervous. The COVID-19 nightmare continues, with backlogs from the many shutdowns of last year tying up factories and food processors, shortages of employees to do the work necessary to try to catch up, bigger than ever demand for supplies and services as folks have shifted their purchasing patterns, supplies to make products of all sorts due to shortages of truckers as well as backups of supplies ready to enter ports.
Our world is a mess.
The reluctance of some to come back into the workforce with the virus raging, the inability of some to come back into the workforce because of childcare and eldercare issues, the increased number of baby boomers deciding to retire instead of risking health, the re-focus of many businesses to try to meet increased consumer demands. . . our economy is in a bit of turmoil, too.
All of these factors are heating up to make for a very stressful holiday season, and increasing costs for your preparations may put a strain on your home budget. Turmoil and hardship around the world, a natural order losing species every day, a climate change turning everything we ever knew upside down, wars and turmoils destroying lives and homelands, the news is another stressor that sits in the background at all times. We have a “perfect” storm brewing that will demand that we make some changes to our living patterns to preserve our spirit and our mental health as we struggle to adapt to a brave new world.
I am consciously working to slow down and start planning to enjoy the little things and the important things during these stressful times and urge all around me to do the same. Instead of seeing the snow and the darkness as a curse, look for the blessing in the beauty around you in the stark loveliness of your surroundings. If you have spaghetti instead of a turkey for Thanksgiving, it’s OK.
Enjoy the time and the place and the people and feed your soul and your spirit and don’t worry about your belly. If you have only one gift for the family to share at Christmas, it’s OK.
Enjoy the season and the feelings and the family and friends around you and feed your soul and your spirit instead of the pockets of retailers. If you don’t have enough for your family, reach out for help. There are others around you willing to share their hearts and their wallets to make your holidays special.
In the spirit of giving, let’s not forget to give to ourselves. . . a quiet time, a boost to our spirits and a hope for the future. More importantly, remember to give to others. As my Nana used to say, “the only things you get to keep in life are the things you give away.”
What good is a blessing if it is not shared?
Becky Nelson is co-owner of Beaver Pond Farm in Newport, New Hampshire. You may reach her at [email protected].
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