Are we really this close to the close of the year? The light is thin, the calendar is on its final page, but the fields are green instead of white. Yesterday, I opened the door to the porch to let the sun stream in, and the cluster flies thought it was spring, and woke to buzz around and bash themselves against the window panes. Outside, it topped out at 60 and sunny.

Miranda was home from school with a cold, but nobody can feel too sick on such an afternoon, so we tacked up Trigger and took a ride around the farm, marveling at the cover crops, still growing, the hens, still foraging, their triclawed feet scratching bugs from the soft ground.

There is no frost coming for the next six days. No frost! Not even close – the lowest low predicted is 37 degrees. Weird as it feels, we’ll take it. It makes the winter work so much easier, and the animals are more comfortable, and require much less hay. We are using less bedding, too. The dairy cows are back on pasture this week, basking in the afternoon sun and cropping the last bits of grass from the field.

Weather Station at Essex Farm

The newest New York Mesonet weather station, installed right here at Essex Farm, is now online. Go to http://www.nysmesonet.org/mesonow and click the Essex spot on the map of New York to see current data, which includes air temperature, wind speed, soil temperature at three depths, dew point, pressure and solar radiation. It’s almost unbearably exciting to weather-obsessed farmers like us. The live camera shows a view of Paddock 2, looking north toward Blockhouse Road. Local forecasts should be better now that we have local data…” Continue Reading this Essex Farm Note.

Related articles

• Essex Farm: Readying the Fields (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
• Essex Farm: Heavy Fall Work (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
• Essex Farm: Beautifully Mature (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
• Essex Farm: Perception of Cold (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)