When you are tied to the rhythms of farm life, the beginning of a new year aligns perfectly with winter’s slower pace. It is an opportunity to pause and recharge, creating space for thoughtful planning and reflection.  The chores don’t disappear but their tempo softens, granting us the rare gift of time and I find opportunities to put up my feet, linger over coffee, and let my mind wander. There’s something about flipping the calendar that encourages us to embrace possibilities.

January has centered itself around spiritual renewal. Relationships have been a recurring theme, leaving me with a deeper sense of gratitude for the people in my life and awareness of the extra time I have been able to devote to them. So much of what guides us operates beneath the surface—values, habits, and hopes — but these things get shaped by outside influences as well as our own wisdom of lived experience. My goal for 2026 is to set intentions that go beyond resolutions – intentions rooted in gratitude, hope and the desire to be more spiritually directed and connected. More aligned and aware in my priorities and choices.

No two farm years are the same, just like no two people years are the same in our own lives. A new year means new possibilities for a deeper, richer quality of life. Which of my experiments paid off last year? What did I learn or learn to do differently? Where was the most fun I had? What would I like to do differently this year to get more of that?