THE FURROW: The online newsletter of Howell Living History Farm

Today is the first day of winter. It's beautiful and sunny outside, but at 57 degrees, it feels more like the first day of spring.

More rain is forecast for tonight. If you've been reading this blog throughout 2011, you know that soggy weather has been a common theme. By the end of November, 2011 already registered as the wettest year in New Jersey recorded history. All the rain we've been getting this December is piling on to the new record.

The climate data we've been referencing in these blog posts all comes from the website of the New Jersey state climatologist. If you're interested in weather (which most farmers are) the monthly climate reports make for great reading:

http://climate.rutgers.edu/stateclim/

Howell Farm has been closed to the public (except the visitor center) for the past several weeks, but life on a 1900s-era farm continues. Farmer Rob and the interns have been spending time training oxen, milking cows, and of course doing all the regular chores. In the winter, when animals spend more time inside the barn, mucking stalls becomes a big job.

Repairs continue as well. Farmer Jonathan recently repaired some fences taken down by the flash floods of Hurricane Irene, and the roof of the main Howell Farm animal barn is getting some fixes from a hired roofing crew.

The winter wheat has been taking advantage of a mild December and continues to grow. Both of the wheat fields look green and lush.

Coming soon: a PDF version of the 2011 Furrow, so you can download an entire year's worth of blog posts and read the story of a year of farming at Howell Living History Farm.