25 Acre Woods Digest (1/7/2024): Plowing into the New Year

As we wake up this morning to 11° outside, could there be anything quite so invigorating as taking doggo for a brisk walk down the driveway (Michelle) and the gorilla cart to the woodshed for a refill (Chip)?

The 25 Acre Woods Team wishes you the best for 2024, hoping that you too have such enticing activities to get you out of bed in the morning.

Fun fact: 11°F = -11°C. We are pleased that, after a month of waiting for first this part and then that one, our furnace is back in working order.

As you move into the New Year, we hope that you smoothly plow through the obstacles you’ll face.

Here, we use our new attachment for the Mule to provide a small 25 Acres demonstration.

Forecasts for the next two weeks promise us 18” of snow. So, we’ll see how well the plow faces up to a taste of what Maine can offer.

Readers, you rose to the challenge.

In our last edition, we challenged you for your best tips on how to grow lettuce more than 4” tall.

Your helpful responses poured in. Among them all, this one from Erica Key stood out:

“Invite friends from the city to visit and have them bring lettuce that is already 5" tall”

“(And curry paste, I'm guessing you don't have a lot of great places to source fresh curry paste nearby?)”

Kudos to Erica for the winning answer. Just so you’re aware, she’s not wrong about the curry paste.

Pirate leader Michelle organized a rollicking time for the crew over the holidays.

That’s quartermaster Zach holding down the center of the team and apparently-newly-sprung-convicts Zora and her boyfriend Watson protecting our flank.

Where Should Chip Spend January?

So, I had plans ….

January turns out to be a great month for felling trees. All the leaves are gone, so you can see everything. And trees reduce their moisture to prevent freezing, so the wood splits easier and seasons faster.

But Zora has found herself what one can only call a boondoggle (err, quality learning experience) in which NYU sends her class to Ecuador for a week.

Stay in the 15° weather cutting trees in New Vineyard or head to the Galapagos?

And that’s it for this edition. Stay tuned to find out whether Chip got his chores done or absconded to the equator. If the furnace breaks down next year, will there be firewood to make up for it?