Winter is Here!

Here it is... another New England winter.  The snow has started flying (much to the dismay of my chickens).  The turkeys are tucked into the freezer and winter squash is in the cellar.  I have more time for relaxing indoor projects- I thought I'd get some reading done and maybe some baking.  Instead, I sit by the fire  consumed with studying seed catalogs and looking at hatchery websites.  The lists I have made keep getting revised with my plans for spring! 

I can't wait to start planting again.  This year I will be adding asparagus, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke (in a confined raised bed), and rhubarb to the garden.  At least one more peach tree will be added to our orchard along with some apple trees which need to be replaced.  My husband and I have even thought about adding some nut trees (thanks to an article in the January/February 2011 Hobby Farms magazine and Fruit, Berry, and Nut Inventory from Seed Savers Exchange). 

Instead of just raising cornish cross chickens as our meat chickens, I would also like to try some colored rangers and/or kosher kings.  I also want to add more variety to my laying flock by possibly ordering some Salmon Faverolles, Dominiques, Buff Chanteclers, New Hampshire Reds, and maybe some Delawares.  I'll probably change my mind on a few of these breeds and/or add more on to my list as winter progresses- like I said the lists keep getting revised.