A blog from from our Mayor, Kasey Whitetail.
The air in Stillwater Village is already sharp with the promise of frost, and the maples are shedding their fire-colored leaves. Fall in the village isn’t just beautiful; it’s the season of preparation, when every basket of harvest and every nail hammered into a coop is really a love letter to the months ahead.
My raised beds are winding down now, though the pumpkins are swelling nicely, bright lanterns against the fading green, and the wheat is ready for harvest. These last gifts of the season feel especially precious, a reminder that the earth tucks away plenty before winter closes in.
The animals need their winter comforts, same as me. My cow will get extra bedding to keep her stall warm, and I’m double checking the barn doors for drafts that might let in the north wind. The pigs, with their mischievous snouts, need plenty of dry straw to burrow into, and the chickens will thank me for keeping their coop dry, cozy, and lit with just enough warmth to take the edge off the most bitter nights.
Gardening and farming in the fall is really about kindness toward the earth, toward my animals, and toward my future self who will greet spring relieved that the work was done. Winter can be long here, but with pumpkins in storage, wheat in the bin, and the barnyard snug against the cold, it feels less like a hardship and more like a pause, a chance to breathe, to rest, and to wait for green buds under snow.
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