INTRODUCTION
Barlow Roots Newsletter - 3/6/2025

In my last update we were celebrating a fresh coating of snow so we could do some of our favorite winter, outdoor hobbies, like skiing, sledding, etc. Well that snow didn’t last long and it certainly felt like spring had sprung. Until last night! A fresh dumping of 10 inches of heavy, wet snow greeted us this morning. 🙂 March snow is certainly expected here so this is no big shocker! And to look on the bright side a little extra moisture in the ground will be helpful. Looking at the extended forecast this snow should melt off quick as we march towards spring!

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Enjoy this weeks newsletter!

HOMESTEAD UPDATE
Tapping is Done, Lots of Outdoor Fun!

On the homestead we’ve picked up a few projects, had some fun and also continued to take advantage of the restful season. With some great looking sap running weather in the forecast we tapped our maples on February 22. That certainly is early but the weather looked really good. Well…. nothing really happened right away. I would say it was just in the past few days that sap actually started to run. We still haven’t gotten out the bulk tank yet. We’ve had some buckets fill but we are distributing it among other buckets and storing a few buckets in the garage. We will likely need to get the big tank up and running end of this week to collect.

We didn’t have many good days for outdoor winter fun this year. We either had not enough snow or too much cold! The stars aligned for us last weekend and the kids had some friends over for some sledding. It was beautiful and sunny and they had a blast. On a similar note Ingrid and I snuck out for a date night at our local ski hill. It was such a gorgeous night! 50 degrees, no wind, sunshine and actually decent snow on the hill. We skied until our legs gave out and had a great night. That same week we took advantage of our last homeschool ski day of the year and got out with the whole family. Some friends watched out youngest so we could all hit the hill together. Super fun!

This week with the fresh snow we were back in snow removal mode. Unfortunately, the last time it snowed I busted a part of my plow. It should be easy to fix but I don’t have the part ordered yet. So we fired up the skid steer and cleared enough snow to make it work. 🙂 Espen also used out snow blower on some of the smaller areas, which was super helpful. The snow is crazy wet and heavy! It was a good workout. As I woke up and saw the volume of snow that had fallen, I was a bit nervous about our high tunnels! Thankfully all was good, but I did use a big snow rake to remove snow and take the pressure off our metal hoops. Its been a few years since I had to do that!

MARKET GARDENING
Seeding has Started! New High Tunnel Coming!

We officially signed the paperwork for our high tunnel grant this past week. The folks at our local USDA office have been so gracious and kind to help us through the process. We went to their office and got everything signed and ready to go. We are still working to finalize the last steps but it seems like all is going well.

Our plan for the installation of this tunnel has been ever evolving! There are a number of moving parts, but in the end we don’t have any control over the weather. At this point here is the plan. It is devised to take a little pressure off of us early this spring. As soon as we are able we will take down the current tunnel we call the West Tunnel. This tunnel is currently sitting where we plan to put the new tunnel. We will take down the West Tunnel and get it reinstalled in it’s new location. This will give us 16 covered beds for this season, just like we had last season. For planning purposes we know what we will have and we just go with it. If we have time and the weather cooperates we will work to get the new tunnel installed as well. But we aren’t planning to have crops that need to be covered in that space this year. So it gives us the whole season to pick away at it and work on the tunnel. This tunnel will require a little more attention to detail and it will be nice to not be in a rush. Ideally, we will plant our late summer crops in this tunnel with a fresh cover on it and have it take us into the fall and winter.

Ingrid started planting seeds this week! At this point she is only planting onions as they take a bit longer. We have the seed starting shelves moved into my office and will slowly start to fill them up as we go through this next month. We are ready to plant into the ground in the tunnels as well but the soil is still plenty cold! And it would be pretty fruitless at this point. So we will keep checking and pray for sun and warmth and plant when the ground is ready. You just can’t rush some of this stuff!

CLOSING
Set Backs Happen

Set backs happen! It sure felt like an early spring was on the way but a fresh snow storm has set us back. And even when this snow melts it may not be the last of the snow for this year! If you are one of my kids, and let’s be honest me too, you are excited about the snow! Because snow is fun! We could worry and fret about being pushed back or we could celebrate the snow! In life I am trying more and more to celebrate the “snow.” We don’t have control over SO much in our life, why worry when things don’t go our way. Or why worry in advance about things not going our way in the future. In my life, I am working more and more to give these scenarios to God. It is what we are called to do and when I make a concerted effort to do it, life is better.