The Smallholder Magazine No.3 Get Ready for Winter Back Issue

I try not to view the winter as the dark, cold and rather wet time it is but more as the beginning of a
new season. For example, most small flock owners don’t put the ram into the flock before November
or even December, so as to get lambs April or May to catch the best of the grass. Even as we endure the long month of January which to me, is always a bit of a let down after Christmas and seems to have the shortest days with the worst of weather, there are signs that the spring is on the way from the appearance of early lambs and kids to the maturing of pregnant livestock waiting to give birth further into the spring. In some ways winter is a ‘rest’ as the dark evenings stop a lot of activities so I try to use it as a time to plan the year ahead and to sort out things that I want to try and do the following year. It’s a good time to begin some home dairying and in this issue we have a guide to home yoghurt making and a step-by-step guide to a smallholder’s cheese. Time too get out the fleece saved or bought from the summer and prepare it for spinning - our previous issues have covered choosing and washing a fleece whilst this one looks at hand carding. Also time to get to grips with a new spinning wheel for which you’ll find our guide very handy. And to read some of the many books aimed to give you new skills – see our book guide.