On the Homestead Under January’s Coppice Moon

Reader Contribution by Aiyanna Sezak-Blatt and Wild Abundance

It’s just past the winter solstice, and we can begin to feel the light expanding on the horizon. Where it once was ditch black night, there is now a lingering glow illuminating the evening skyline. Here in the Appalachian Mountains, the subtle shift signals the slow lengthening of days.

Like the pace of the sun swelling in the sky, we move slowly in this season. More than “doing”, this is a time to turn inward, to draw and map your garden beds, to sip chaga chai, to read, to order seeds, to envision, and dream.

But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do to nurture the needs of the homestead. January is a time for trimming trees, coppicing shrubs, and removing suckers in anticipation of the fruit and season to come. Here at Wild Abundance, a permaculture and primitive skills school in Barnardsville, North Carolina (pictured below), we offer this advice: Move slow, coppice mindfully, sleep in, read, and relish this cold and introverted time.

Here is our guide to homesteading beneath January’s cold and brilliant “Coppice Moon.” This guide was written and created by Natalie Bogwalker, the founder and director of Wild Abundance, with contributions from Chloe Lieberman and Zev Friedman. This guide to permaculture through the seasons was created with the southeastern bio-region in mind.

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