The Daily: 14 November 2023

Cut asparagus plants to the ground now.
     — Old Farmer's Almanac planner for 14 November

My lunar year begins with the new moon that falls between 1 November and 29 November. The full moon in this first moon cycle of the lunar year falls between 15 November and 13 December. I call this month the Winter Sleep Moon because to me that’s the best description of this time of hibernation and increasing cold and darkness. In my country the clocks change during this moon, falling back an hour, which means that sunset now happens before 4:30pm. Here in central Vermont, the earliest sunset, 4:11pm, often starts during the Winter Sleep Moon. So it is very dark. And the short days make cold days — and even colder nights. Cold and long nights.

In Vermont, you want to have your house winterized before this moon cycle. For some, that means tacking up plastic on windows and closing off unused rooms. I close off the attic and seal the attic windows. I often put plastic on the guest bedroom windows also, but this year I’m behind. I didn’t get the window air conditioner out until almost Halloween — because it was still warm. I don’t know if I’ll put up the plastic or just put draft blockers on the windows and close the curtains. I suspect that I’ll keep procrastinating until it’s unnecessary. I do have all the other draft blockers out and the back porch double windows sealed shut. Even with the furnace on the fritz, it’s not dropped below 50° inside.

I’ve also nearly finished winterizing the garden. I have a bed of roots that I need to cover with fabric and a few bulbs — ornamental alliums and naturalizing daffodils — to plant in the bank out front. There are also a few hostas to cut back and compost. They held on right up to Halloween, so I am behind on that as well. Apparently, I ordered German garlic back in the spring also, because a small box from Richter’s Herbs showed up this week. But that’s all that is left to this garden season. It is both sad and a relief to look out at the empty raised beds and trimmed perennial plantings. Sad, because there’s no food and flowers until next year. A relief because there are no weeds either.

Most years there may still be apples and pears on the trees, but the big tree crop this time of year is nuts. Acorns and beech nuts are everywhere. Chestnuts and hazelnuts are both ripe. Walnuts are finishing up. All of these can be gathered during the Winter Sleep Moon.

Thanksgiving falls in this moon cycle. This is an awkward holiday and not only because it’s a case of white-washing the early colonists. (I try not to think too much about the origins of this day and focus instead on just being grateful.) All the symbols and colors of this holiday mark it as a harvest festival — except there is very little to harvest by this time in the sun’s cycle. Brussel’s sprouts are ready for picking by now, and there is kale. Autumn peas might still be producing, particularly snow peas. Some roots can be left in the ground until it freezes solid so that you can pull them in the early winter. But this is early winter, not harvest, certainly not fall — and yet all Thanksgiving decorations are orange and red and brown, the colors of autumn leaves. Most years, there are no colored leaves on the trees by this moon. This year, it’s all bare branches; the only colored leaves are the plastic ones on the windows at work.

The first big snow usually falls in this moon also. We’ve had a few inches so far, but no accumulation. There are forecasts for a larger storm this weekend. I suspect we’ll have a white Thanksgiving this year. I only hope there isn’t too much ice. I don’t want to lose power when we’re cooking.

During the Winter Sleep Moon, there may be gift projects, but they are either close to done or so late in starting that it’s better to just put them off for next year. There are also craft fairs that are capitalizing on holiday shopping. I like going and seeing what people make even though most years I don’t find anything for the people on my holiday list. This moon is also a good time to get out and walk (or jog or whatever) before that becomes difficult with the weather. But mostly this moon is for hunkering down and sleeping through as many of the dark hours as I can.

What season is it where you are? Do you have a Winter Sleep Moon right now — or at all? What is in season? Are there foods you can eat from the garden where you live? How about foraging? How do you store it all? What is the weather usually like? How is it different than it used to be?

Today, think about meal planning for winter holidays using only local foods. This is not a problem in the South… it is a tricky task here in the North — though rewarding! The food that doesn’t have to travel long distances always tastes the best because it is fresher. If you’re lucky like me, the local foods are also more nutritious and more delicious (these are related things). You might still want some special things like chocolate, but loca-vore holiday meals are so much more satisfying — I predict that you’ll not want to go back to shipped product.

©Elizabeth Anker 2023