THE VICARAGE GETTING READY FOR THE SPRING
Winter
LATE WINTER PROJECTS AT THE VICARAGE 2026
There is no doubt that the end of winter is near. The air has become increasingly unstable. Our temperatures are fluctuating between 3 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Our New England atmosphere is full of small snowstorms that finish as bothersome ice storms making the shoveling this time of year rather nasty.
We have had two days of shoveling this week and I am thinking that by tomorrow morning we will have another five to seven inches of snow to shovel from the drive.
This is the time of year when I am itching to get out into the garden and yet all I can manage is to stay somewhat even with the everyday chores: Walking the dogs, feeding the chickens, mucking the chicken runs and coops, feeding the wild birds and wild rabbits.
This is the time of year when winter stores are running out for the forest critters and so bird seed and scraps for the bunnies and squirrels become essential for life.
Even our Cooper’s hawk is seeming a bit more desperate these days.
Still we all know Spring is just around the corner and the outside jobs will soon want doing. I am looking forward to the earth thawing out and getting my hands into garden soil again.
WHAT ABOUT SPRING MAKES EXCITES YOU?
SNOW BANKS 2026
The snow banks in town are epic after this last blizzard.
2026 has been a true old fashioned New England winter. Here’s hoping for a bit of a thaw this weekend!
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE WHERE YOU LIVE?
THE BLIZZARD OF 2026
The snow came again this morning. It wasn’t the biggest storm of the year, but I think it dumped the most snow in the shortest amount of time.
WINCHENDON SKIES FEB. 9, 2026
A WINTERY EVENING IN FEBRUARY. WINCHENDON MA 2026.
DAWN AFTER THE STORM
Here are some pictures from the aftermath, in northern Massachusetts, of winter storm Fern.
My Weather app says we got 27 inches. It feels more like 18 inches to me.
WHATS IT LIKE WHERE YOU LIVE?
Winter Storm Fern
Winter storm Fern has dropped about 10 inches of snow on us so far. Here are some pictures from the Vicarage.
SCENES FROM THE STORM
I meant to post these earlier in the week, but time has been a little tight.
We got about 15 inches of snow on Sunday.
It’s a real old fashioned New England winter.
I took the top off the chicken run and shoveled the snow out. Then I laid out fresh hay. The chickens don’t seem to mind the cold but they hate the snow.
How is this season treating you?
THE WIND IS WRONG
I am just about finished for the day. It is currently 13°F outside and with the windchill it feels like -5.
This blog is one of the last things on my to do list before heading off to bed. It was my day off and so that meant work around the house. I got a boatload of reading done, and I added extra straw to the chicken pen. Melanie came over tonight and helped me plastic, the stained glass window and the book nook window.
The Stairwell already feels warmer. We also put plastic on the tall window in the kitchen.
As I sit here with all the storm curtains drawn, I can hear the wind raging outside as it has been all day and for the last two days. It feels wrong, somehow, unnatural.I can’t quite say why, but it sets my teeth on edge.Maybe, this wind is one of our region’s climate change effects. I don’t know. But this weather feels different down in my soul.
DRY
One of the reasons that the leaves here in New England were so brilliant this year was because we have been cool and dry. We are currently in a level 3 drought here in Winchendon MA which means we are in critical drought. We are also in a severe fire threat. With 518 fires in the state having burned 1500 acres so far, outdoor burning of yard waste has been banned through January 15th here in MA.
That means here in the forest garden my growing pile of brush is not going anywhere at the moment. It’s Ok. I am still putting plastic on the windows inside just now. I don’t really have time for a fire in the fire pit.
Notes From the Vicarage 