Winter is still very much here, but this is the time of year when my mind always starts to look forward.
The days are slowly getting longer, even if you barely notice it just yet. There is a sense that spring is on the way, and with it, hopefully better weather, drier ground, and the chance to get back out working in the fields.
After being stuck mainly in the yard for the past two months, it feels nice to be thinking about field jobs again.
Even planning them gives the mind a lift. There is comfort in knowing that the short days are numbered and that the land will soon start to wake up. For farmers, spring is always a fresh start, no matter how many seasons we have seen before.
Reseeing
One job that keeps coming back into my thoughts is a particular field that has been on the list for reseeding for years.
Drains have been put into it a few times, each time with the intention that it would be next in line.
Somehow, though, it has always been pushed aside in favour of other fields. There is always something that looks easier or more urgent at the time.
Ten years later, it is still waiting. This spring, I am hopeful that it will finally get the attention it deserves.
Before any ploughing or reseeding can happen, there is work to be done around the edges.
The branches around the field need to be cut back, and I will be getting one of my contractors to come in and do that job.
Over time, hedges and trees have crept out, making it impossible to get the whole field ploughed.
The contractor in question has a mulcher type device on a 13 tonne digger, which can make a really tidy job.
Once they are cut back, the field will feel opened up again and ready for the plough.
Gravel
Another simple job on the spring to do list is to spread a load of gravel has been sitting in the yard since last April.
Not really a job that needs to be left to the spring, I’m just hoping I will manage to get it done this spring!
The plan was to use it to gravel the street outside my mother’s house and to finish off the street around my own place.
Like many small jobs, it was easy to leave it until later, and then later turned into months. A fact that has left my wife and mother suitably unimpressed!
So hopefully spring will be a good chance to finally get it done and clear the yard at the same time.
Spring on the way
The robot lawn mower has also been sent away for its annual service. It’s a small thing, but another signal that the growing season is not far off.
I love the feeling of expectation and anticipation at this time of year. Spring has not arrived yet, but it is close enough to plan for.
Lists are being made, contractors are being lined up, and motivation is slowly building again. After a good year in 2025, there is hope that 2026 will bring the same kind of weather and opportunity.
For now, winter is still firmly in the driving seat, but the balance is shifting.
The days are stretching, the plans are forming, and the pull back to the land is getting stronger.
Spring is coming, and with it the chance to make progress on jobs that have been waiting far too long.
SHARING OPTIONS