Today was the first big day in the garden! Winter time is a time of less physical labor. It is a time for eating warming foods, and working on indoor projects. The tasks of winter are not heavily physical. Since I had a case of pregnancy related heart failure in 2006, winter is a time to simply keep warm for me. I have always been a cold-natured person, and since the heart failure, I am more sensitive to cold. Certainly my family notices, always telling me that I want the house too warm.

   The first days of gardening in the spring are a time when my body reminds me that I haven't been doing as much over the winter. Tonight as the result of my first real day of planting, I am aching. However, there are a few things that I do to help the process of returning to the garden.

    One of the first things I do, is purposely start working late in the afternoon. This insures that it is the warmest part of the day, and also that I do not over-extend myself. The sun going down, then becomes my timer.

    Another thing that is important is to stay hydrated. Today, I found myself feeling pretty blah toward the end, and I knew I needed to go drink some liquid. I went as soon as I realized and got a drink. When it is cool out, it is easy to ignore your body's signals for thirst. Cool wind, and late winter sunlight are often more drying that you realize. It is very important to drink enough, even when you don't feel like you need it. Muscles suffering from dehydration cannot carry the load you put on them. So drink plenty of fluids!

   It is also important to eat good meals, when you are asking your body to do work that you haven't done all winter. Today, I was shoveling, hoeing, weeding, and planting. It didn't take long for me to start to feel the effects of this difficult work, which at the end of the summer, is not near so difficult. I had a sandwich before going out, but felt the need for a few carbohydrates, when I cam back in for my water.

   Another thing that is helpful, is to make sure that if you have to cook a family meal after returning to the house, that you have an easy meal to prepare. Tonight, I made the third meal from a 10lb. bag of chicken that I have served. We had chicken tacos.

   The other day I roasted half a bag of chicken for dinner, one night. At the same time I boiled the other half for chicken stock. I took out half the chicken, and made a pot of chicken soup with the help of a few Ramen noodles, and some vegetables for another meal. The remainder of the chicken, I stuck in a ziplock in the refrigerator. I also put several bags of stock in the freezer for future meals. Tonight I used the chicken from the refrigerator for chicken tacos, and fed the four of us that are in the house tonight.

   So tonight I had a good nutritious meal ready within about 15 minutes of coming in the house. The only thing I wish is that the chicken would have been home raised. However, I am still in recovery mode from the great animal annihilation of November 2012. Even so, I've got lovely chicks just doing fantastically, and today we got 5 eggs from our few hens that are just beginning to lay. So grateful for those 5 eggs! Won't be long until we will have beautiful chicken to eat right here on the farm.