What's Your Winter Project?

GEORGIA FOLK AND FARM LIFE - As Advent eases into its fourth week and Christmas sits just over the horizon—perched there like a rooster ready to crow—another season quietly lines itself up behind it. Around here, we call it project season.

Project season comes right on the heels of Christmas—when the decorations come down and the long work of winter begins. It settles into those dark, blustery days when the wind blows cold enough to sharpen your thinking. It’s the season for the things we tend to put off the rest of the year—the work that needs patience, intention, and the kind of focus that only winter can provide. Here at Fair Chance, we’ve got a list going already.

One of our big undertakings this winter is building a dedicated seed room inside the barn. It’ll be a warm, controlled space where we can germinate seeds through the winter, getting a jump on spring planting. Our goal is simple: grow food in our family garden that’s pesticide-free and traceable all the way back to the seed. We want to know where it started, how it was raised, and what went into it—if anything at all.

Even while the land rests and winter holds everything still, there’s something hopeful about tending life indoors, knowing it’s all aimed at spring. The greenhouse and new raised beds will follow in due time. Around here, there’s always something in motion—and that’s just the way we like it.

Just over the next hill, a neighbor is deep into a project of his own. The lime spreader he’s looking for is really just a small cog in a much larger wheel. His winter work is focused on rehabilitating topsoil and restoring natural wildlife habitat across our properties. It’s slow, thoughtful stewardship—walking ground, studying what grows, and helping the land heal itself. It’s a gift to have someone willing to dedicate his time to that kind of care.

Finding a used two-ton lime spreader would make a real difference, helping reach areas where heavy equipment can’t go and giving the soil exactly what it needs to recover. It’s the kind of quiet work that rarely makes noise, but leaves the land better than it was found.

Winter has a way of reminding us that preparation is its own kind of harvest.

Big or small, what projects are waiting on your horizon this season? I’d love to hear about them.

~Matt Jolley