When Maddy approached me about writing this blog, the first thing I thought is: "No. It would be way too hard to do what she's asking." I figured she had it way easier in Northern California. We have a much longer and colder winter here in Wisconsin. Then I realized that I didn't know what was possible until I tried, and I decided to give it a shot.

This year Beo and I have really made an effort to have our food as local as possible. Beo produced a great amount of food from our own gardens, we tried to be more frequent visitors at local farmer's market, and we found a locally owned grocery store that's equally far away from as Whole Foods, but has more local organic produce options. I really haven't explored what the possibilities are for eating local and organic in winter in Wisconsin. Last year we ate organic, but much of it came from far away.

So as we start this endeavor, I find myself feeling quite like a squirrel. Each day is a little colder, and suddenly it feels like there isn't nearly as much food as we need. We've preserved only a few items, just enough for a few winter meals. When I look around with my squirrel brain though, I see the abundance that's possible. We still have kale, lettuce, peppers, and basil in our own garden. The farmer's markets are full of squash, corn, apples and more.

My goal with this blog is to try to discover some simple and economic methods that will work to help us eat local year round.