Frozen

February observed temps compared to average at SeaTac Aiport.

We don't get the kind of cold temperatures we've been seeing this past week very often in the Pacific Northwest.  When we scheduled to have our 1/4 acre plowed two weeks ago, we thought it would happen right away.  However, farming is an exercise in patience simply because it is undertaken under the open unpredictability of a large planetary body.  One cannot rely fully on averages to predict the weather, as you can see on the graph we've been nowhere near average lately.

At first the plowing had to be postponed due to heavy rain over a few days.  The wet soil was too soft for the tractor to traverse the land without leaving ruts.  The irony is that waiting for the soil to dry out meant waiting for the drier, colder air to arrive.  The dry air was nice, but it was Yukon air.  Instead of drying out, the topsoil froze.  You can't plow a frozen field.  And so we've been waiting.

We thaw out starting tonight.  Hopefully we can get the field plowed quickly after the thaw, as the warmer air is being brought to us by a series of wet storms.  Farming is not for the impatient.

From cold to wet...Winter in the PNW

 - Ben